How often have you heard this advice?
"Take a few seconds in your marriage—or any relationship for that matter—and simply say 'Thank you.'"I imagine you've heard that suggestion a few times. So, let me ask you a fairly blunt question:
How many times in the past week did you say "Thank you" to your husband or wife?
For those of you who frequently—and sincerely—thank your spouse, here is a "high five!”
We seem to have so much to do these days and so many other things on our minds to also get done, we do not take the time to do some of the "little" but powerful things to improve our relationships.
Your spouse cooks a great dinner. You could give her (or him) a fast "thanks" at the end of the meal, or you could stand up and get right up in front of her (or him) and say, "Thank you, honey, for that wonderful dinner!"
When your spouse reaches over and hands you the salt or the newspaper or an item of clothing, you could take for granted that simple act OR you could say, "Thanks" and include a big smile! Did that take long? Did we lose any time in our hectic day when we said: "thank you"?
Of course not.
Do we want to demonstrate to our spouse that we appreciate them and appreciate what they do? Hopefully yes.
A very simple way to do this is with frequent use of the two words "Thank you" ... and feel free to throw in a big smile as a bonus.
There are many ways to say "Thank you." The husband brings her wife flowers and the wife wonders "what's the occasion?" The husband says, "just wanted to say thank you for all of the wonderful things you do."
The wife cooks a completely off the charts dinner one night and the husband here wants to know what the occasion is. The wife simply lets him know how much she appreciates him and everything he does!
My apologies to any readers who feel I've stereotyped men and women here by these last two examples—but I give these solely as examples of expressing appreciation.
Don't underestimate these two words. Make an effort to thank your husband...your wife...your mom...your daughter...sister, friend, neighbor!
Do it often.
Of course, it helps if you're genuinely thankful when you tell someone "thank you," but even if you are not, go ahead and say those two magical words anyway.
Yes, I'm suggesting you fake it a bit. Why? Well, because in your heart of hearts, you really are thankful that someone did something that made your life a little bit easier, better, more enjoyable. You may not feel it right then and there, you may have your attention on some upset, but take a real pro-active step to improve your relationship and say:
Thank you.
The more often you and your spouse find sincere ways to communicate your "thanks" to each other, the brighter your marriage will be.
