Last week, I received a letter from a former student. She followed the English immersion course about a year ago and she wanted to let me know how she was doing. She also mentioned that she really wanted to thank me for helping her move forward in her English learning process.
I was extremely touched by her letter and I thought about the fact that there are so many people I too should take the time to thank!So, I started with my friend Donna. On Saturday, as I was talking to her, I told her how grateful I was that she created this blog for me. Without her, I would have never done it! I told her I would write her a letter about it, but then I just spilled out everything I would have wanted to say in that letter. So much, that at the end of my speech, she asked me jokingly if I intended on committing suicide soon!!!!
Sonja Lyubomirsky, a positive psychologist working at the University of California, Riverside actually conducted a study on the positive effect of being grateful and expressing it.
Some study participants were asked to write letters of gratitude to people who had helped them in some way. The study found that these people reported a lasting increase in happiness (over weeks and even months) after implementing that habit. Surprisingly, they found that even those who only wrote but didn't send the letters felt better afterwards.
So many people impact your life in a positive way, but they are often not aware of it! It could be close friends or a former teacher, but it could also be someone who briefly passed though your life leaving a lasting mark... one that you carry with you and that has somehow helped mould who you are!
So, I've decided, I'm taking out my 1992 flowery writing paper and I will start thanking those I have never had the chance to thank!
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