Actions speak louder than words

I don't do enough, generally. The most consistent thing I do to show love and appreciation is expressed through being excessively polite. I'll thank someone sincerely for covering a $5 lunch someplace, or express how much I enjoyed spending time with a family member if we're out somewhere. The response I get is usually an amused "No problem" or something similar, because I do this in situations where people apparently don't expect to see their courtesy verbally recognized. Part of the problem with this is that I'm quite shy, and tend to think that if I perform an actual action to show appreciation, it will only come off as awkward, especially coming from me. Historically, my presentation of such things has been in itself awkward, so it's a self-fulfilling prophecy, I guess.

It's interesting to think about, because politeness is (generally) such a passive gesture. I myself am rather passive, and rather than be an influence, I instead tend to be influenced. But I don't want this, at least not totally. Underneath the surface I am wildly passionate about a good number of things, and one of the major things I'm trying to change about my personality involves unearthing those passions so that I can tell the people in my life, "Yes, you matter. You have an enormous amount of value to me, and I'm so happy to have you in my life. Thank you; thank you so much." That, as Crowdmaker mentioned above, would be something with actual force. I hope to build enough confidence in myself that people would come to expect it from me, and not the, well, quiet fox that people see now. Perhaps at that point, actions themselves will come more easily.

Jam it back in, in the dark.