The Problem With Gratitude

It’s a good question.

We know who we are grateful for in our lives, yet how often do we take the time to remind those who we appreciated that they are actually appreciated?

I was recently the recipient of a random act of gratitude. Unexpectedly, someone had gone out of their way to express how grateful they were for my contribution to a project we had both been working on. Honestly, I didn’t know how to respond, eventually finding the words “thank you” after instinctively attempting to minimize my contribution. The entire interaction, while appreciated, left me feeling a bit uncomfortable.

Why would something as powerful as gratitude ever feel uncomfortable to receive?

Perhaps it’s because we’re so used to not receiving it.

There is a degree of vulnerability associated with expressing gratitude. It’s often an interruption of the expected and usual conversations, and the recipient is left to wonder about the motivation behind why the gratitude was being expressed in the first place. The risk of being vulnerable is mitigated with our silence. And sometimes silence is just easier.

Which is too bad.

Thanks to my random act of gratitude I was reminded of how powerful gratitude expressed actually is. But that first requires a willingness of the giver to break their silence and actually express such words, even if the entire process may feel a bit uncomfortable for both.

There are people in your world – and in mine – who would benefit greatly if our silence was broken and they were to receive our words of sincere gratitude and appreciation for their presence in our lives.

I’m ready to start.

How about you?

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash