The law of declining gratitude

I've written about this before, but it happen again today so I thought it was worth repeating. It's something I call the "Law of declining gratitude" or "the more doors, the less thanks".

Here's an example. Let's say you are walking in front on someone and are entering a mall or building with multiple sets of doors. And lets assume you are a polite person and hold the door open for the person behind you, and they, in return are also polite. The theory states that: The more doors you open, the smaller the "thanks" you receive.

So -- if you hold open one door -- a person might say "thank you".

If there is a second door -- a person might only say "thanks".

And if there happens to be a third door you hold open -- they likely will say nothing.

The more doors... the less thanks you get.

Try it. And let me know.

But here's the lesson I take away from this observation. We all know it's important to be polite and say thanks -- but its easy to stop saying thanks when someone repeatedly does good. Like in my door example. So whether its at work, at home or out in public, think about who you should say thanks to whom you haven't for a long time. Who are you under appreciating? It's never too late to say "thanks".