SPREAD THE WORD

Saying thank-you is more than good manners,
It is good spiritually!”     
 – Alfred Painter

And the word is, “Thanks!”  Something magical happened last week.  In the space of three days I received two handwritten thank-you notes.  The first was from Victoria, a neighbor who recently graduated from high school and will be attending college next year.  Her note expressed appreciation for a gift given in recognition of her commencement. It was touching and reflected the delightful young woman she has become.  The second note was from a Linked-In connection named Jason and it was a bit more of a surprise, as it was a thank-you for a late afternoon meeting over some iced tea.  While I’ve received numerous emails thanking me for taking the time to meet with someone, I cannot recall having ever received a written thank-you note for the same thing.  It made an impression, and a very favorable one at that. It also reminded me of the revolution starting through the inspiring words of an old friend, Elena Anguita.

I met Elena many years ago through a mutual colleague.  At the time I was investigating the use of on-line coursework as a possible venue for students who were pursuing high school graduation requirements through alternative venues.  My friend introduced me to Elena an account executive with Edgenuity, a company specializing in helping schools create on-line curriculums and virtual academies.  We connected and she was extremely helpful in helping us implement our school district’s first on-line venue (I didn’t send her a thank-you note – guilt now haunts me).   Fast forward to 2017 and our paths cross again, but this time it’s not in person, but by way of a book she has written,  Spread Thanks:  Create Miracles Through the Power of Ink.   Through her book, Elena reminds us that one of the first lessons we learned as children was to say thank-you.  I certainly did! I remember my mother watching over my shoulder as I penned thank-you notes for gifts received for a birthday, holiday or other special occasions.  I still try to write them, but I admit, email has made things so much easier (and less personal). Elena however believes that there is a transformational power that can belong to each of us by simply hand writing and sharing notes of gratitude.  She shares, “ I always felt there was more I had to give to the world—something big, but I didn’t know what. An idea came to me.  I saw the phrase “a thank you a day” in my mind.  I knew I was being called to take action, so I started to write a thank-you note a day and sent it to anyone who had helped me. I kept doing this each morning, and before long,  I found that this simple practice changed my life completely.   I became so much more joyful, healthier, and less stressed than I’d ever been.”  More, joy, better health and less stress as a by-product of simply writing a thank you note? Sounds like a no-brainer to me!

Ironically a year following the publication of Elena’s book, research conducted at the University of Chicago and published in Psychological Science revealed that most of us underestimate the positive effect a hand-written thank-you note has on the recipient and on the author.  The Chicago study served to reinforce earlier neuroimaging research conducted at the University of Indiana suggesting that even months after a simple, short gratitude writing task, people’s brains are still wired to feel extra thankful.  The implication is that gratitude tasks work, at least in part, because they have a self-perpetuating nature.  “The more you practice gratitude, the more attuned you are to it and the more you can enjoy its psychological benefits.  These psychological benefits include a feeling of well-being and reduced depression.”

So what do we have to lose?  It would seem that by investing a few moments a day in writing a thank-you note, purchasing a stamp, and mailing it, we brighten someone else’s day, enhance our joy factor, heighten our sense of well-being, rewire our brain to feel extra thankful, improve our health and reduce stress.  I’m in, are you?

 

EMBRACE THE CHALLENGE