I've just come back from a great day of work at Benmore Outdoor Centre, with a group from an American 'Study Abroad' programme. Partly it was having a great colleague to work alongside who provided the bounce and fun (and sausages) that we needed in the morning (big thanks to Angela Kerr) but it was also the group themselves. Not only were they great fun and easy to work with but they were exquisitely polite and thanked me at every turn. Its such a good feeling when people genuinely seem grateful when you were just doing your job. I had also experienced it with a different group earlier in the week but since they were only 12 years old I can ignore it a little bit - 'they're just being polite like they were taught' - whereas adults tend to just not say anything if they don't mean it.
It made me wonder how often do I say 'thank you' and how much difference might it make to someone's day if I did. Do I simply expect people to do their job well and accept it when they do and complain when they don't? I want to have high expectations of people but that shouldn't mean that I neglect to appreciate them when they perform well, even though I am not surprised. If I appreciate a little appreciation, maybe other people would and so I should tell them.
The question for you then is, is this something that you are good at already? Whether it is or isn't, look out for the next person who performs a service on your behalf and make sure to show your appreciation.

Have you ever stopped to think about all the different people who have had a positive impact on your life? A few years ago when the Government were trying to encourage new teachers, they had a campaign about the teachers that we remembered. I'm guessing if you stoped now, you could bring to mind at least one good teacher whom you haven't forgotten. Maybe there were youth workers, parents and other adults who said or did something which you can now see had a significant bearing on what you did or didn't do with your life.
From Gareth at Marrick Priory who challenged me that 'why not?' was a rubbish justification for anything to Alastair Cram, my headmaster who broadened my horizons when it came to leaving school, I have a whole list of people that I can recognise made a difference.
Once you have identified them, what next? You can simply be grateful for their contribution. Even better though would be the chance to say thank you to them, in person, by email or on the phone. It may take effort to track them down but its worth the time spent. I was lucky enough to bump into one of my significant school teachers (for the record, Wilma Pearson) a few years ago and had the chance to say thank you for her encouragements, in this case in bible reading, and it felt good to say it, to acknowledge her contribution in my life.
Being grateful is worth it, for our sakes as well as for those we target it at. We give ourselves a more positive view of life and they get a sense of a having achieved something. For most youth workers, they will never truly know the fruits of their labour unless we become famous. Or we tell them.
How about finding someone from your past that you owe a thank you to, tracking them down and saying it.