The major gift giving is happening next week! All your efforts to provide well chosen gifts wrapped in festive paper, adhering closely to lists of those relationships requiring gifts, monitoring a growing credit card balance, the last minute “crap I gotta get them a present because they gave me one”, will soon be over. The season of giving, deep sigh.
Soon to be followed with the season of not getting, of not getting a thank you via phone call, email, text nor mail. The season of paying your credit card but having no idea if your gift was appreciated at all. The Season of Ingratitude, acronym of SOI.
I struggle with SOI. Here are a few tips I try. I welcome your comments and ideas!
a.) Extend Mercy: People are not showing gratitude NOT because they are rude or dismissive of the gift, they are just racing as fast as they can to keep up with their lives.
b.) Practice Fun: next gift giving occasion, buy them thank you cards and stamps. They may not have any. Include a short how-to write a thank you note:
Simple formula that works for any occasion:
· Express your gratitude and name the gift or action you received.
· Write a sentence or two about how you benefited from the gift or actions.
· Conclude by mentioning the next time you hope to speak to or visit with the other person.
c.) Self-Care: You feel slighted, ignored, used, insert your adjective here: ___________. Time to take care of yourself. One idea is to write a summary of how the holiday went. I do this. I attach the summary to November 1st of the next year in my calendar. I can choose to change my giving practices if I choose. But journaling or summarizing does help reduce the angst. I prefer to be proactive when upset. Hope this helps you too.
I am very curious what helps you. Perhaps we can add to this list together. After all being the overly generous, competent women we are, we need to harness our powers for good!
Happy Holidays!
Dr. Pepper James