Make Someone's Day and Yours Too

Isn't it interesting that even people who don't like to send letters, admit that they love receiving them? Handwritten personal letters build relationships in a way no other communication can.

When my children were young they grumbled as I insisted that they send handwritten thank you notes for every Christmas and birthday gift they received. From the way they moaned and whined, you'd think they'd grow up hating to send thank you notes. On the contrary, they even send thank you's to each member of the interview committee following job interviews.

In addition to handwritten letters, I also like to send "real" greeting cards for holidays when people least expect them. Last year, one friend commented that she didn't even know they made Happy Thanksgiving cards.

You can buy a set of 6 or 8 of these holiday cards for almost every holiday for less than $5. It only takes a few minutes to address them and most mailmen will pick up outgoing mail when they deliver your incoming mail.

Every Christmas I tell the highlights of our family's year in poetic form, print it on holiday paper and include it along with a picture in my Christmas greetings. Not only does this delight my friends and family, but it has given me quite a collection of memory details over the years that I would have forgotten otherwise.

I also enjoy sending postcards when I travel. To make this task easy I print off address labels of friends and relatives before I leave town. On the first day of my trip I look for affordable sets of postcards. Then when I have a long ride or down time, I can jot a brief greeting on each card. If I don't find a post office handy I ask the hotel guest services associate to get the stamps and mail them for me.

Showing gratitude is one of the habits happy people share. The great thing about sending personal handwritten letters is not only do you make someone's day, but you also make your own.

Flora Morris Brown, Ph.D. is an author, coach, speaker, consultant and entrepreneur. She has impacted the lives of students, educators, business owners, leaders and many audiences during her career. Her passion for encouraging people to make choices that lead to their happiness began when she was a junior high inner city English teacher and continued to grow deeper as she worked with university students, her own private tutoring program, and with retailers and business owners.
She has written language arts texts, academic articles, curriculum, grant proposals, and motivational guides. Her passion for writing and inspiring others has lead her to create and maintain twelve websites, three blogs and two newsletters.
Her book, Coloring Your Life Happy, scheduled for Spring 2009 release, promotes making choices that give you the life you want.
The philosophy she lives by is "Nobody becomes somebody without the help of somebody else."
From her blog, http://www.ColorYourLifeHappy.com, she encourages uncovering your inner joy and making choices that lead to the life you want.