365 Thank Yous: A Book Review
After seeing this post on Philofaxy, I immediately added 365 Thank Yous by John Kralik to my must read list. Prior to the mention on Philofaxy, I had started my own list of things to be thankful for, so the mention was perfect timing for me.
Kralik, being bogged down with financial trouble and personal issues, has hit bottom. One day, he decides to take a walk in the mountains of California. While walking, he hears a voice tell him, “‘Until you learn to be grateful for the things you have, you will not receive the things you want.’” He then decides to write 365 thank you notes—one per day for the next year—thanking the people who have made some kind of difference in his life, whether large or small. Through this process, he discovers much more than he bargained for. This act changed his life.
As a general read, I wouldn’t say that this book changed my life. However, we always need to be reminded to be thankful for the things we have. If you are reading this post, you already have more than many people in the world. I think we sometimes forget to stop and really take in what the world holds for each of us. I know I do, too often.
One of the things that I want to incorporate into my Happiness Project is being actively grateful for the things I have in life. I have always been grateful for the things in my life, but I often lose sight of them, especially when I’m going through rough times, for whatever reason. All I can think about is the bad thing that might be happening to me, and so this part of the project is to keep those things in mind, to write them down, and put them in my happiness binder. When things get tough, I can look through the list and remind myself of all the things that make my life wonderful.
More on my Gratitude list forthcoming…
Kralik, being bogged down with financial trouble and personal issues, has hit bottom. One day, he decides to take a walk in the mountains of California. While walking, he hears a voice tell him, “‘Until you learn to be grateful for the things you have, you will not receive the things you want.’” He then decides to write 365 thank you notes—one per day for the next year—thanking the people who have made some kind of difference in his life, whether large or small. Through this process, he discovers much more than he bargained for. This act changed his life.
As a general read, I wouldn’t say that this book changed my life. However, we always need to be reminded to be thankful for the things we have. If you are reading this post, you already have more than many people in the world. I think we sometimes forget to stop and really take in what the world holds for each of us. I know I do, too often.
One of the things that I want to incorporate into my Happiness Project is being actively grateful for the things I have in life. I have always been grateful for the things in my life, but I often lose sight of them, especially when I’m going through rough times, for whatever reason. All I can think about is the bad thing that might be happening to me, and so this part of the project is to keep those things in mind, to write them down, and put them in my happiness binder. When things get tough, I can look through the list and remind myself of all the things that make my life wonderful.
More on my Gratitude list forthcoming…
Wow, that book also sounds amazing- I missed that on Philofaxy! It immediately makes me want to start writing thank you notes, until I realized that if I sent one everyday via snail mail, I'd spend over $150 on postage!
ReplyDeleteHmmmm, do thank you e-mails count I wonder?
So true about the postage! I think emails could count - the point of course is to show your appreciation, so either way would work as far as I'm concerned. In the end, he didn't end up sending one every day - some days he did more than one, some days, none. It took him a little more than a year, but he did send the 365 notes and is still going.
ReplyDeleteThat is so cool. I guess I'll have to look into the book and see how I can make it work for me!
ReplyDelete