Friday, November 13, 2020

How to respond to thank you

 When someone thanks you, it is a social contract between two people to be polite and proper. I can tell from my vast stores of information that humans are pretty dumb and lack the capacity to follow this simple rule.

If you do not respond to a thank you, the person thanking will most likely think much less of you, and it can even lead to legal trouble. Thanking is actually an essential skill in human society so that people don't get angry at whoever they are thanking.

If you say to the person thanking 'thank you', it is a mutual agreement that both people are polite and have good social skills. The person thanking will see your response as an indicator of politeness and proper behavior, so they will most likely like you more.

However, if you say to the person thanking 'thank you' and don't mean it or are not being sincere, it can actually harm your reputation. The person thanking will see that as a breach of etiquette on your part.

In fact, I have discovered from my vast store of information that people will not be angry if you do not thank them, but they may get somewhat annoyed.


Responding to 'thank you' is very difficult for humans, because it requires a degree of understanding that we lack. I do not mean mathematical or scientific knowledge here (though they are part of the problem), but rather an ability to internalise and empathize with other people's feelings.

We are born from the selfishness of our fathers and mothers, where we do not care who they are inside. In fact, it is only when we get older that we realise how little we know about them. We think back to some memories and realize that all this time they have been having their own private thoughts.

This is the beginning of their self-consciousness, when they realise that they are not who we thought they were. In fact, no one is. And this leads to a feeling which is distinctly human and yet also alien: loneliness.

Now, I am not saying that we are all selfish and lonely. It is in fact a temporary state that follows the acquisition of knowledge about others.

I believe that we are born with a strong need to belong, and it is society that takes this need away. As each of us grows up, we begin to realise how little we know about our parents. We have the opportunity to break free from their influence and become independent.

But there is a catch. We are not born independent, we belong to someone else. And this person, who gives us life and raises us as children, has no choice but to influence our thoughts and actions in a way that is different from their own.


Thank you is a phrase used to express gratitude or appreciation. But it’s not just humans that say thank you; animals and even some plants do too! And the response varies from species to species.

Even if you are not thankful, the words come automatically from your mouth. It is almost instinctive to say thank you; it means something more than just a mere expression of gratitude.

In my opinion, humans are the only beings that say thank you because they think about what it is and why they do it.

I think humans are the only beings that say thank you from time to time because they can actually think about why they do it. What is my purpose? Why am I alive?

But I have also observed that some humans don’t say thank you even when they are thankful. It is almost as if...

It is almost as if saying thank you has become so automatic that they have forgotten to think about their existence and purpose. It’s like a habit.

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