The power of ‘Please,’ ‘Thank you’ and ‘Sorry’

In our day to day life, we are assisted by people, service boys, car drivers and maids. Some based on our promptings; others are voluntary given by the givers. Have we ever thought of how happy they would feel if we ever thanked and appreciated whatever service they are doing for us? Some people just walk away, some can be excused if they forget, but what about those who out rightly walk away simply because they pay for the services rendered to them without saying ‘thank you’.

Even if we pay for services rendered to us, a few words of appreciation would cost us nothing. After all, basic courtesy requires us to treat people with kindness, respect and dignity. ‘Please’, ‘thank you’ and ‘sorry’ are the simplest yet the most powerful and magical words in English language and any language or culture at all.  They are one of the key factors of success if we use them wisely and diligently.

‘I’m sorry’, ‘please’ and ‘thank you’. Why are those two little words so difficult to utter? Perhaps because they hold enormous power, some people find it very hard to say that they are sorry for whatever wrong they might have done to someone.

Out of shere ego or whatever, some people see themselves as above and beyond everything that they come across in carrying out their daily activities.

An honest ‘I am sorry’, ‘please’ or ‘thank you’ can mend a broken and improve existing relationships, dissolve anger, soothe shattered pride or heal a broken heart. Meanwhile, avoiding these simple magic words breaks strained relationships and or strains others — and it can reveal something negative about you. Being incapable of apologizing can be a real character flaw.

We take care to look really gorgeous in the latest fashion trend and behave properly when in the midst of people and social gathering, but how many times have we bothered to thank those people who are not as opportuned as ourselves who go about doing one or two things for us or when last did we speak with respect to the service boy who brings us tea or coffee in our offices? If you think the status of a person and their financial position are reasons for you to respect them, then you better do a rethink.

Around you are biographies of most successful people in their various fields of endeavours – all have one thing in common: they all knew the power of these simple magic words and they applied it in dealing with people they came across with in life. There is this famous saying that “people might forget what you say or what you do, but they will never forget the way you made them feel”. Pause and ponder over this and you will find that it is indeed true.

Generally when we grow up, we tend to forget that the use of these words is not really necessary and forget and ignore their usage. Most times we do get the feeling to say and use these words, but we find it difficult to bring it out in words as we feel expressing these would hurt our ego particularly when the need arises. By not expressing these magic words you are being rude to others especially if you are on the offensive .You must note that gratitude is the best attitude.

The point is that these magic words are gradually being extinct in some way.  We need to remind ourselves that these words play a very important role in our daily communications and lives. Admitting a mistake by saying sorry helps to build trust, by saying sorry you do not lose respect rather you gain more respect, respect needs to be earned rather than demanded. The best way to start teaching these magic words with young children is by using them yourself; young children love to model our behaviour be it good or bad. There have been times where a simple I am sorry, please or thank you would have made a difference in the world but it never did happen. Practice using these gentle magic words to become part of your daily life and you would be surprised what difference it will make in your entire life.

Harriet Beecher Stowe once said “the bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and from deeds left undone”. Let us not shed tears like these in future by not putting to use the power of these magic words when the opportunity avails itself in our lives.