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Culture Duck Tales
November/December 2004 A Special Thanks to You! This is the time of year when we gather with family and friends to celebrate our connections with each other and to count our blessings. It’s a time when we demonstrate our appreciation to others who make a difference in our daily lives - the newspaper person who braves early mornings and cold weather, the waitress who smiles even on bad days, the car mechanic you can really trust.
Be Thankful Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire, If you did, what would there be to look forward to? Be thankful when you don’t know something, For it gives you the opportunity to learn. Be thankful for the difficult times. During those times you grow. Be thankful for your limitations, Because they give you opportunities for improvement. Be thankful for each new challenge, Because it will build your strength and character. Be thankful for your mistakes. They will teach you valuable lessons. Be thankful when you’re tired and weary, Because it means you’ve made a difference. It is easy to be thankful for the good things. A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are also thankful for the setbacks. GRATITUDE can turn a negative into a positive. Find a way to be thankful for your troubles and they can become your blessings. —Author Unknown A Tip Drives Home a Point A taxi driver was on his way home when he spotted an old man on a street corner. The taxi driver debated whether to pick up the old man, who was waving frantically for him to stop. The driver did stop, and helped the old man in the car. Although he was tired, the driver made pleasant conversation with the man, driving him 16 blocks to his destination. The fare came to $5.40. The old man confessed he didn’t have his wallet and would be unable to pay the driver. Apologetically, he asked the taxi driver for his address and said he’d send him a check for the amount owed. The driver thought the old man was lying and considered giving him a piece of his mind. Instead, the driver said that this would be unnecessary; after some prodding from the old man, however, the taxi driver gave him his address. The taxi driver expected nothing to come of the event. But a week later, he received an envelope in the mail. Inside was a check for $1,000. The signature on the check? Howard Hughes. This story reminds us that courtesy and compassion are always the best approach, and that it’s best to give others the benefit of the doubt. Sometimes the rewards of politeness can be enormous. The Personal Touch With just the right approach, midsize and large businesses can treat their customers in the same personal and friendly manner that smaller, hometown businesses do. The key is relationship building—creating customer relationships that go beyond fulfilling orders and sending invoices. Let customers know that you care about how their company is doing and that you appreciate receiving their business. Building strong ties with customers has never been more important. Consider these relationship-building ideas from your buddy Trust E. Duck®:
Count Your Blessings People who are more involved in their faith seem to be happier and more optimistic than others, say researchers. But what is it exactly about faith that promotes this sense of well-being? Two professors say the answer is gratitude. All the world’s major religions—Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and Hindu—view gratitude as an important quality that should be practiced daily. But, as the researchers discovered, you don’t have to belong to organized religion to benefit from being grateful. The researchers divided several hundred people into groups of three. Each group kept a diary. The first group recorded daily events. The second group recorded their unpleasant experiences, and the last group listed things they were grateful for each day. Those in the last group reported higher levels of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, optimism, and energy. In addition, that group experienced less depression and stress, was more likely to help others, exercised more, achieved more personal goals, and was more likely to feel loved. And there’s more. People in the gratitude group initiated a cycle of kindness in which one kind act encouraged another. The researchers note that these benefits extend to the general population, regardless of faith or lack of faith. Therefore, say the researchers, anyone can increase their sense of well-being and create positive social effects. All you need to do is count your blessings. |
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