The Power of Thank You

Confession time:  I’m not sure if it is noticeable to those who read my blogs, but it is fairly noticeable to those who know me in real life.  To some more so than others. 

I am shy. 

Extremely shy at times.  Attempting to talk to someone I don’t know can be incredibly intimidating, even terrifying at times.  Strange since I work in retail.  But there is a huge difference between initiating conversation with someone I just met and offering to help someone find something in a store, at least in my head there is thankfully.

Anyway, because of this one little problem, there is one thing about the blogging world I’ve always had a bit of trouble with, leaving comments.  I will go read a fantastic blog post that made me laugh, cry, inspired me, etc.  Above all it’s extraordinary.  The kind of post you naturally share on every single social media network known to man.  But the top way to show some love for such a glorious masterpiece of blog writing? 

Leave a comment. 

Noooooooo!  Anything but that!  What in the world do I possibly write in this darn comment box?!  How do I put my thoughts and feelings into actual concrete words and sentences?!  Ahhhh!

Yes that is actually the kind of thing that’s goes through my head most of the time.  Sometimes it’s easier.  I just mention the first thing that pops in my head like an idea about something to add to the project/recipe I just read about. 

But most of the time I’m stuck.  What message can I send to this blogger to show my appreciation for their work, that doesn’t sound like I’m simply trying to spam them with links to my own blog.  Yes, that’s another fear of mine.

I realized something recently.  That kind of thing that you think and wonder “why didn’t I think of this before?!”  The whole point is to show appreciation.  Off-line I think it’s super important to show your appreciation for others, so I frequently do so with one simple little phrase. 

Thank you. 

When someone says something nice to me, or holds a door for me, or anything else big or small.  I say thank you because again it is important to show your appreciation, even for little things or especially for little things.  And saying thank you is the easiest way to do so.  So easy how can you not say it? 

So maybe instead of worrying about what to say online to people when leaving comments, it’s best to just keep it simple. 

Just say thank you. 

Thank you for sharing this photo that made me laugh.  Thank you for telling this story that inspired me.  Thank you for showing me how to do/make something that I really needed.  Thank you for taking the time to visit.  Because that’s what really matters.

Thank you for reading this, it makes me smile. :)