Gratitude is a happiness trigger. I have a little Positive Psychology challenge for you this Thanksgiving week.
There is something called a “Gratitude Letter”, and I want you to consider this week writing one to somebody who has had a positive impact on your life.
This is a really simple idea that is so very powerful. And it is a great way for you to express your gratitude in this season.
Here are some actionable steps to begin:
- Set aside some time!
This could be 10 or 15 minutes… or half an hour!
- Be very specific about how this particular person has impacted your life
If you can point to a specific instance that was impactful to you, do that! Tell them what it meant to you and why it was so important coming from them.
- Print it and present it!
In this day and age, we are so used to getting emails and text messages, but create a physical version of your gratitude letter – you can even make it pretty in some way!
- Read it out loud to them.
There’s something really powerful about hearing someone express gratitude to you.
When you give gratitude as a gift to someone else, it is really unforgettable. It multiplies the positive emotion they feel from your gratitude.
Here’s the amazing thing about gratitude. When you express your gratitude, it actually elevates you. You feel more positive emotions when you express gratitude to someone for doing something that they didn’t have to do.
So, who will get your gratitude letter? When can you schedule in that 10 or 15 minutes to write out your thanks and be bold and be specific?
When we talk about Thanksgiving, it is easy to just generalize all the things that we are thankful for, but when we take a moment to be intentional and specific about what we are thankful for, it really makes a huge difference.
As I mentioned before, gratitude is a happiness trigger. I would love for you to figure out what your top happiness triggers are and what your power triggers are!
You can go here to find the happiness assessment and find out what your happiness triggers are. Remember this week, that you can be intentional about triggering your happiness—and one of the ways is expressing your gratitude.
Coach Yourself
What happiness trigger currently elevates my positive emotion?
What happiness trigger can I increase to elevate my positive emotion?
