Four Simple Ways to Celebrate National Thank You Month

January is National Thank You Month. Adoption STAR Founder and CEO Michele Fried wants you to help her celebrate!

Michele Fried
By Michele Fried

How many ways can you say “thank you?”
Well, in many languages thank you sounds like gracias, domo arigato, תודה , شكرا , köszönöm, ありがとう, merci…
January is National Thank You Month – a month dedicated to gratitude and sharing thanks with those people, places and things that have touched our lives.

Maybe you are someone who already says thank you often, but when it comes to saying thanks, there tends to be room for growth.

So join me this month by celebrating National Thank You Month and using the four creative ideas below to get started.

  1. Thank someone in your life. It could be a parent, sibling, friend or mentor. Go the extra mile and tell them in person, call them or write them a handwritten note rather than sending a text or email. Tell them why you are thankful for them.
  2. Thank someone new. Leave a note of thanks (okay you can send an email if it’s the best way to communicate with them) to a service professional, to a neighbor, to a colleague you may not have the opportunity to thank often, to the deli worker, mail person or local fire station. Such unexpected thank you gestures are the most meaningful.
  3. Say a thank you prayer or mantra or poem each morning. In some religion’s morning prayers offer a change to feel energized. In Judaism, there is a daily morning prayer known as Modeh Ani, which translates to I Give Thanks. It is a prayer designed to give thanks for the miracle of life every single day.
  4. Make a donation to a non-profit agency you care about in honor of someone you are thankful for. Two thank you’s for the price of one – it doesn’t get better than that!

Thank you for reading and participating with me to celebrate the beauty of saying “thank you” this month and all the days that follow.