Richland Source has a tradition called Thank You Thursday which involves writing thank-you notes to people (originally this took place on Thursdays, hence the name.)

It’s one of our core values: “begin with gratitude.”

I’ve found writing these thank-you’s to be fun. And I don’t know about you, but I’m a sucker for snail mail — there’s something so… Nostalgic and *beautifully archaic* about it.

What’s great about gratitude is it benefits not only the receiver but the giver, too. Think about it. Don’t you just feel good when you bring a smile to someone’s face?

Practicing gratitude can boost your mental and physical health. Benefits include higher levels of happiness, reduced rates of depression and anxiety, as well as better sleep and immune functioning, according to Dr. Blake Wagner Jr., clinical psychologist and president of New Directions Counseling Center.

“Expressing our appreciation through thank-you notes is certainly one way of experiencing gratitude for ourselves and demonstrating kindness towards others,” said Wagner, who’s also a lecturer at Ohio State Mansfield.

Take cue from Jimmy Fallon who has “Thank You Note Friday” by dedicating a day to giving thanks.

“A Day of Thanks,” a proven gratitude practice, involves paying special attention to the kindness you receive from others and then deliberately expressing your gratitude toward those responsible, Wagner said. Let them know your appreciation verbally, via text or email, as appropriate to the situation.

Or write a gratitude letter to somebody who has made a significant impact on your life. This scientifically proven practice from the field of Positive Psychology often targets individuals you feel you have not properly thanked, Wagner said.

“With this gratitude practice the key is to not only write the letter, but to also read the letter of gratitude to the person face-to-face,” he said. “Some studies have shown that this technique can lead to some boost in happiness up to 30 days later.”

Not to be forgotten are acts of kindness.

“Kindness and compassion are known to be strongly correlated with our level of happiness and life satisfaction,” Wagner said.

Many find it to be most beneficial to select one day in a week to become particularly focused on the practice of altruistic actions, he said.

It doesn’t have to be some grand gesture — treat a coworker to lunch, send an email expressing appreciation or make a donation to a favorite charity. 

“Henry James was right when he noted that three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind,” Wagner said.