"Unexpected kindness is the most powerful, least costly, and most underrated agent of human change."

- Bob Kerrey

One of the most powerful things you can do for someone else, and for yourself, is to write a handwritten card expressing your appreciation for somebody.

It's even more powerful if you don't have a specific reason for writing the card. You write it, just because.

Imagine how surprised and delighted the recipient of the card will be when they see it in the mail, open it up, and read it.

But if you don't have a specific reason for writing the card, what should you say in it? It's sometimes challenging to know what to write.

My friend Yasmin told me about how he writes his notes of appreciation, so I want to share his format with you. Hopefully this sparks some ideas on what to write.

Here's his template (as told by Yasmin)

Dear Name,

Start the card with: "I remember the time when..." So now I'm reconnecting with a moment that we shared. Something special. A magical moment or experience. And by doing that now it brings me into that moment. And for the card recipient, it brings them into that moment.

The next thing you write: “What I appreciate most about you is..”

So it's not necessarily something that you did as a reciprocal or to thank you, but it's about a quality about yourself, something about you that I appreciate most.

And then the final part of the note is the part where I just think to myself, if today was my last day, what would I want you to know? And I'm going really deep in terms of what would I want to share with the recipient

-----

Wow! Powerful stuff, right? Thanks for sharing that, Yasmin!

Imagine getting a heartfelt card like that!! How would it make you feel?

So go out, be kind, and write someone a surprise, heartfelt note of appreciation.