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How Saying ‘Thanks’ Builds Your Self-Esteem And Increases Your Productivity.
Discover the meaning of one of the words at the heart of our social interactions.
One of the first words a child learns is “thank you.” A verb most often used in the present indicative, which seems to dance on the thin wire between politeness and gratitude. Did you know that it has magical powers?
It can turn anyone into an instant philanthropist, makes mothers cry and fathers lose their minds all at once, bringing down governments, churches, mobs, and armed forces alike with its golden voice? Its power is so great that even a king has been known to bend his knees when he hears it spoken from a young, humble mouth, by a young, humble hand, in the light of the day, but without looking up, so as not to waste the precious moments he is granted for this short moment of glory.
The need for appreciation is one of the basic psychological needs, along with the need for love, connection, or autonomy. We grow and develop optimally only to others, from the relationship with our parents or attachments to the relationship at school with our teachers, colleagues, and friends. We are social beings and we need each other.
This need is part of what psychologists call human nature or essential human traits.
