Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart

Thank you, You’re welcome, No problem are some of the most over used phrases in the English language.

Think about how often you say them each day and then ask yourself if you meant them, did you feel them in your heart.

In the last month and a half I have once again been reminded of the huge benefit of giving thanks with a grateful heart; really feeling my thankfulness before I speak or write it.

I have been on a bit of an adventure to build my business through Facebook.  I have followed a very specific strategy as advocated by Steven Aitchison in his online course Your FB Challenge Solved.  As with every business I need to make connections, allow people to get to know me, and bring value to their lives.

For those of you who have been following me for a while you know that Inspiration is very important to me.  I fully believe that each of us can live an inspired life that is constantly unfolding as we set creation in motion.

Gratitude and thankfulness plays a vital role for us in creating and living inspired lives as it elevates our energy levels and emotions and aligns us with things that feel good to us.

James Brown sang about it, and we all know how it is to feel good about something!  Remember when you overcame an obstacle or performed a difficult task exceptionally or how fabulous you felt after being at the hairdresser.  When someone pays you a lovely compliment you feel enjoyment within yourself. It is wonderful!  When you are feeling good, when your energy is positive and upbeat it is difficult for circumstance to depress you.

My life choice is to exercise thankfulness and gratitude in all situations and to align with this value, I thank each person who shares one of my posts on my Facebook page Inspire for Life Coaching.

This might seem like a waste of time to some or a huge amount of work for others, but this is my decision.  You see I am thankful.  I am thankful that someone I do not know, has taken the time to interact with my creation, been inspired by it and then shared it with others.  I am thankful that people are contacting me for help and sharing their stories with me.  I am thankful that people are getting to know me and allowing me to know them.

Sometimes the online world seems a little surreal to me.  I was contemplating the reach that my work has and the potential I have to both influence and harm, when I felt overwhelming gratitude for the privilege I have in touching lives, making a difference and contributing to the betterment of the planet.

In that joy-joy moment, I created a little graphic post to say Thank You and I pinned it to the top of my page.  Steven shared this post and it went viral.  As you can see it was a very personal message from me to the people coming to my page and what really surprised me was how much this post resonated with people, both on Steven’s page and mine.  His followers were thanking him for being such an inspiration and sharing so many thought provoking, life changing posts and people began sharing the post profusely.

As I write this, currently the post has reached over 123 000 people.  It has been shared 1539 times and liked by 4267 people.  These numbers are a little unfathomable to me and seem surreal, and yet as per my decision I have thanked all the people who have shared this post.

What I marvel at is the incredible heartfelt, embracing response that I’ve received.  People thank me for saying thank you.  Others have reminded me that it’s the seemingly small things that make a huge difference.  One follower told me that if we all shared a little more in our everyday lives the world would be a far better place.  Coenie said, “GREAT post — it’s the kind of post I’d want ALL my friends & family to see!! So I thank you for sharing it!”  Many people mentioned loving the post and so the feedback goes.

All the while I am flabbergasted that my very personal heartfelt thanks resonated with so many others and they want to share the sentiment further.

What I realised is this; I truly, deeply felt thankful and it was from that place of feeling that I created the post.  I was not spewing out meaningless jargon or stringing words together, I was showing others how I felt and this is what they responded to, because they know how it is to feel good about something.

You might be wondering how my story can relate to your life, or why you should even care.  I am of the opinion that when we let go of rhetoric, those meaningless words we use each day that are without feeling or connection, then we can really impact others.

When we give thanks with a grateful heart, with meaning and connection others can feel it.  Sometimes people want to brush our thanks aside or try to minimise it, but this is not a reason not to give it from the heart.

Take a moment to think of something where you would like to say thank you.  Allow yourself to really feel your thanks.  Think of what you are thanking others for, allow yourself to feel good about the experience, connect with it and those involved and allow thanks to flow within you.  Once you are filled with heartfelt thanks express it to those involved.  Remember you are not looking for recognition, but you are recognising others and connecting with your heart.

The more you practice heartfelt thanks and learn to give thanks with a grateful heart, the easier it will become.

What will you give thanks with a grateful heart for today?