Letter of Gratitude
Hello Reader,
Thank you. Thank you for being here. Thank you for being willing to learn. Thank you for spreading kindness throughout your communities. Thank you for wanting to write a Letter of Gratitude.
Simply put, a letter of gratitude is a written message where you can express your thanks to someone ;) Here is an excerpt from one of mine …
I just wanted to practice gratitude and say thank you!
Starting right at the beginning, thank you for being willing to meet up with someone who reached out to you on LinkedIn. Thank you for introducing me to xxxxx and helping me get a week long internship … I don’t know if I ever mentioned how that conference was a huge confidence booster for me. I saw that the crowds at the conference didn’t know more than I did. I saw that I could contribute. I saw that I could network. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Why express gratitude?
It is the right thing to do! I believe if someone has served us in a meaningful way, we can and should recognize their contribution. The format of the message is up to you; spoken, a voice note, a drawing, or in the case of this blog, a letter.
The tool, a letter of gratitude, was formalised by Martin Seligman, founder of Positive Psychology, in his 2006 book - Authentic Happiness. Since then, academic research has consistently shown that expressing gratitude is beneficial for the writer, as well as the receiver, boosting our happiness and decreasing depression (Toepfer (2011), O’Leary (2015), Kumar (2018), Berger (2019), Jans-Beken (2019)).
Seligman originally designed the letter to be addressed to someone who had touched our lives but whom we had never properly expressed our thanks. Once written, the task was to meet up with said person and read the letter out loud to them. That is one way to do it :)
“The most crucial element is to be authentic and genuine!
Be yourself.”
Instructions
The way you write and deliver your letter of gratitude is completely in your hands. The most crucial element is to be authentic and genuine! Be yourself. It doesn’t matter how long or short it is - write what needs to be written. Deliver it in whichever manner suits you and the recipient; in person, in the mail, e-mail, record, video. Say thank you in your way.
Wishing you warmth and joy!
Helping Young Professionals & Postgraduate Students Improve