It's gratiTWOSDAY (a surprising 2-minute practice that DOUBLES your Happiness)

It's gratiTUESDAY or gratiTWOSDAY (all puns intended!). 


#gratitudeGRAVY 5

This next practice will take just 2-minutes and is a happiness game-changer. It comes from Harvard-trained happiness researcher, Shawn Achor.

Gratitude Practice #5
Today's practice is to start your Tuesday (yes, first thing) with writing a 2-minute thank you email or text to someone in your world.

No frills. Nothing fancy. The only requirement is that you express gratitude, appreciation or praise to the other person for something specific.

It doesn't have to be about anything too significant to make a big difference in their day (and yours).

According to Shawn, the best results come from doing this practice at least 3 times a week, but for #gratitudegravy, start with Tuesdays, then decide if you want to up your frequency to daily or 3-times a week.

After you read about its health benefits (below), you might be extra motivated with this one.

Not only does it have a number of significant health benefits, but it also transforms what has become the overwhelming bane of our existence (email inboxes) into something uplifting and enjoyable.

The Big Benefits of this 2-Minute Practice

• Firstly, you make someone else's day.
• Secondly, you actually start to think of yourself in a more positive way. You're now the type of person who praises or thanks people frequently. This boosts your confidence and self-love. Your brain loves to think about you in this positive way.
• Thirdly, you start to get emails and texts back that are also big mood boosters.
(Side bonus, people in these studies also were perceived as positive leaders because of the praise and recognition they were doling out.)
• Fourthly (and most importantly), 21-days from now (if you're practicing daily), your social connection score will skyrocket to the top 10% worldwide.


What on earth is a social connection score and why do I care?

According to Shawn, your social connection score is how researchers measure the breadth, depth, and meaning in our social relationships.

It has nothing to do with your social media prowess and it's in no way related to your digital likes, comments, shares or engagements.

According to the research, your social connection score is the greatest predictor of long-term happiness levels (by a long shot). 

Not only does it predict your happiness, but it also predicts your lifespan. 

That's right. A high social connection score is as predictive of your lifespan as obesity, high blood pressure and smoking! Researchers were more accurate in predicting someone's life-span as correlated to their social connection score than they were able to predict someone's life-span based on the correlation between smoking and cancer.

Go back and read that, again, as it bears repeating ...

Basically, the deeper and more meaningful your social connections are---->the longer scientists predict you will live. And they'll be more accurate in that lifespan prediction than if they were to predict your life based on your weight or tobacco use.

(This social butterfly who ALWAYS got in trouble at school for being too social feels quite validated right about now ).

Want extra gravy?
A no-frills email or text is all it takes for this one, but if you want to add a little analog to your digital world, download the FELT App. You handwrite a card on your phone and they mail it out for you. Faster than waiting in line for a stamp!

(photo from Felt App)

You have 1440 minutes in your day and, collectively, we send out 200 billion emails in one 24-hour period. Surely one of those daily emails and two of your 1440 minutes could be used to type a short, yet meaningful thank you or note of praise to someone you care about.

What a nicer experience email will soon be for all of us!

Write on-
Lizzie Larock
Coach & Creator of Gratitude GRAVY & The Life Feast



PS If you're sharing on social, please use #gratitudegravy. Tag me or follow along on Instagram. I'll be adding some gravy to my stories...

Need a reminder? Missed a day? All #gratitudegravy prompts are right here:

Day 1---> Don't let your gratitude be bland (tip to get the most out of gratitude)
Day 2---> Look for the good (3 good things)
Day 3---> The GREATful Outdoors
Day 4 --> How to make a grATTITUDE adjustment at work