Credit: Yao Xiao

As you know, the majority of the time I write my own blog posts—after all, that’s what you signed up for. Every now and then, however, I bump into something so smart/helpful I want to share it with you. The cartoon, linked in the photo above, was just that.

What the author/illustrator did was to take everyday situations where we are prone to saying, “I’m sorry” and instead flip it to “Thank you.”

For example, instead of saying “Sorry I’m late” you might say, “Thank you for your patience.” Or, instead of saying “Sorry I’m just rambling,” you might say “Thank you for listening.”

Smart, right?

And while this struck me as important idea to implement anytime, I thought it might be particularly helpful during the holiday season when– despite the jolly and ho ho ho– tempers have been known to fray and/or people have been known to be a little blue, leading to a groundswell of apologizing.

But—as the creator of this piece points out—you don’t need to apologize for taking up space in the world.

I think it’s also helpful because it brings the other person into alliance with you: rather than keeping the focus on you and your ostensible misdeeds, it acknowledges and appreciates their participation.

So have a look—I look forward to hearing what you think.