365 Thank You Notes

On the same road trip I mentioned in my last post,  I listened to a story on NPR about a person who last year made a New Year's Resolution at the start of 2010: to write a handwritten thank you note (emails and texts didn't count) to some one each day no matter what.  He did it to establish the habit of being thankful every day for something.

It forced him to look for good things that others had done.  And to tell them he appreciated it.  Kind of like the key insight from the One Minute Manager.  "Catch someone doing something right and tell them."

Made a substantial difference in his life, not just with friends and relatives, but with customers and coworkers.  To do it everyday takes you out of doing it for family and friends only. 

While I won't be committing to a thank you note a day, I will be picking up some stationary shortly and try to do at least one a week. 

Shouldn't you?