A paper titled “Undervaluing Gratitude” was published in the Sage Journals in June 2018.
Psychologists Amit Kumar and Nicholas Epley, co-authors of the paper, asked the participants to write gratitude letters to their friends or acquaintances. The participants were also asked to predict the happiness that the recipients would feel when receiving the gratitude letters. The happiness they predicted was three out of five points; more people were concerned that the recipients would feel awkward and the letters might look pretentious or insincere than those who expected that the recipients would feel grateful.
However, the level of happiness of those who received the gratitude letters was four points, which was higher than expected. Letters were just one paragraph written in less than five minutes, but the recipients were impressed by the writers’ caring heart.
It’s okay even if your sentences are rough. It is not the message itself but your heart that is delivered to the other person. Trust the power of gratitude and express it with courage. The happiness the other person feels is greater than you think.