During this time of thanksgiving many people take the opportunity to express gratitude and appreciation to the people in their lives and for what they have as well. When we express gratitude or appreciation it’s good to remember to be specific. For instance, instead of saying “thank you for being in my life”, you could consider saying “thank you for being in my life and always inspiring me to be a better version of myself”.

Here’s another example of being specific. “You look lovely”. You could consider rephrasing this so that you are more specific by saying “You look lovely. I like what you’ve done with your hair.”

Being specific tells the other person whom you are expressing gratitude and appreciation to that you are aware of how they’ve contributed to your life. This makes the other person feel good and you’ve just made a difference in their life.

I’ll leave you with a quote from my guru on gratitude and appreciation. He truly taught me so much about this simply by being a wonderful example of a person that lived these qualities. He always made me feel that he appreciated everything that I did. It truly is one wonderful way of telling someone you love them.

So, show appreciation for every little thing that comes your way. Whether you express this verbally or not you can still express appreciation inwardly by acknowledging to yourself how grateful you are.

“Gratitude and appreciation are the key virtues for a better life. They are the spell that is cast to dissolve hatred, hurt and sadness, the medicine which heals subjective states of mind, restoring self-respect, confidence and security.” ~ Gurudeva

During an exercise at a workshop that I conducted recently in Australia, a dad takes a few minutes to express his appreciation to his 10-year-old daughter and how she has made a difference in his life. She takes a few minutes as well to do the same.