the fastest way to happiness today

Last week, I sent my high school history teacher a thank-you note.

(Yes, I am this dorky.) 

It was mainly a catch-up on what’s been happening in my life in the last two decades, but I ended with this:

I think of you every so often, as one of the inspirational women in my life. Your ‘pearls of wisdom’ still stick, over 20 years later.  Thank you for everything you gave us then, that we’ve taken forward since.

She replied the next day with a long, newsy email which began like this:

Thank you very much indeed for taking the time to write and let me know what you have been doing since I last saw you! I was just thrilled to read your email and would like to especially thank you for your kind words, which mean so much to me. I just loved my teaching career and particularly my twenty five years at the school.  I could instantly put a face to your name and remember you well. 

Noice!

The truth is, I’d been in the mood to ‘pay it forward’ after several people wrote to me last week, following my confessional newsletter about dealing with stumbling blocks.  It feels good to be on the receiving end of someone’s heartfelt thanks.  So, when I noticed my teacher’s daughter’s name pop up in a mutual friend’s Facebook thread, I thought - why not?

This woman’s colleague – Mrs Downer - was just as inspirational.  Both of them had not only taught me at school but guided me as supervisors during my Prac Teaching placement in my Dip Ed at uni.  It’s for the latter support that I was particularly grateful.  (If you’ve ever been twenty-one and had to stand up for the first time in front of a class full of scatty Year Nine girls and be scintillating on the topic of the Spanish Armada, you’ll appreciate how crucial their moral support was.)

When I posted on Facebook that I’d been in touch with my teacher, an America professor replied, ‘I’d love to get a thank you note like that!’   It occurred to me how many people make a mark on us, who we unintentionally take for granted in our lives.  We get busy.  Time passes.  It seems too late. 

It’s never too late - until it is.  I wish I could have sent a thank you note to Mrs Downer, who smiled encouragingly from the back of the room, shared her trick for remembering names and told me how to maintain some semblance of control over the class...

But I can’t.  She died last year.

A psychology study in the US found that - rather than become happy when we are successful, we become successful when we’re happy.  Our brains are brighter, faster and more creative when they’re in a positive state. 

The same study found that two of the five most proven methods to increase happiness are ‘gratitude’ and ‘random acts of kindness’.  We all love a bit of multi-tasking, so why not combine the two?

Is there someone who would love to hear from you? 

Thinking about why you’re grateful for their influence in your life, no matter how small, and lighting up their day will light up yours... and when your brain is lit up positively, your work is easier and more effective... which increases your chance of success today.

If you do this, I’d love to hear about it!  Please contact me with any feel-good stories, any time.