Promise #78: Give ginormous thanks for nothin’
- Oct, 12 2011
- By Tracey
- Hope
- 4 Comments
When is the last time you thanked someone for ruining your day? Or letting you down?
You probably don’t even need to think about the answer. I’m 99% sure it’s neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeever. I’m right there with ya.
Funny thing is, we owe these folks our warmest, deepest, most heartfelt gratitude. If it weren’t for their inaction, ineptitude and insincerity we might never know what we’re really made of.
Think about it for a minute.
The person who didn’t come through for you taught you how to get the job done on your own.
The one who lied through her teeth, taught you the importance of truth.
The friend who abandoned you when you needed them most taught you how to be a great friend to someone who’s worth it.
Remember that hottie you didn’t think you could live without? You’re more alive than ever now, aren’t you?
Let’s not forget the ogre of a boss who sucked the wind out of your sails, morning after morning, day after day. S/he gave you the fuel to find a better job.
The puppy who ate the pillow on the couch, pooped on the carpet and chiseled that wood chair leg down to a nub? Yes. Love is forgiving and kind.
Thank the mailman for not delivering the package when (clearly) you were home. Now you know how important it is to deliver what’s expected.
The lazy co-worker who took credit for your efforts? Karma is kind to those who give credit where credit is due.
The guy who always left the seat up? Muchas gracias: it’s much easier to navigate in the dark with a nightlight, anyway.
The nag? Deal with the small stuff and there’s usually nothing left to sweat.
The gossip who got your story all wrong? Words can be used to build bridges or burn them—the choice is always yours.
And the one who walks through life with dark-colored glasses? Thank that one, especially, for reminding you just how much better life is when you live it on the bright side.
Take it to the comments, my friends. What kind of thanks do you owe for nothin’?
April
I should give huuuuge thanks daily to a former manager who showed me up close and personal how a fundamentally good person could turn into a military dictator given the right circumstances. I feel grateful all the time for being out of that situation, but I rarely stop to appreciate the experience itself.
It taught me strength and empathy… and it gave me the impetus to do things differently.
Tracey
Hi April-Thanks for sharing your thanks with us! Work is usually riddled with these life lessons, isn’t it? You’re probably so much better off with that experience behind you and the future ahead of you. :-)
Tanja
Love this post, Tracey! On a small scale, I’m thankful for the people who cut me off in traffic – SO many lessons I can learn from them:
- the importance of driving courteously
- the ability to shine a light onto my own reflex “grrrrrrrrr” response and examine it
- the way it provides a commonly experienced, easy-to-recognise prompt for my aforementioned reflex, and lets me measure my progress in untangling my emotional response from what’s actually happening over time (it’s taking me less and less time each time it happens to realise I’ve gone “grrrrrrr” and let the annoyance go – one day, I may even discover I’m recognising my tendency to respond before I actually do the responding – which will be a major gift to be thankful for!)
I’ll be trying to think of other “thanks for nothing!” things I can be grateful for too over the next little while – thank you for prompting the thought (and no, I’m definitely not thanking YOU for nothing!)
Tracey
Tanja- I love your list. Thanks for sharing it with us. I think we can all relate to the grrrr response and I wish you luck with harnessing it!