The Power of Gratitude

[jgrahamc]

http://blog.jgc.org/2010/10/power-of-gratitude.html

[davidw]

We're back to the regularly scheduled good content after the rant. Thanks!

Kidding aside, as the author of some minor open source software, and a few things here and there, it's always really nice to receive a note of thanks. Take a moment to do so with that Rails plugin or other little something or other that makes your life easier.

[draegtun → davidw]

With every installation of Perl comes perlthanks: http://perldoc.perl.org/perlthanks.html

    * Can you use perlbug to submit a thank-you note?

    Yes, you can do this by either using the -T option, 
    or by invoking the program as perlthanks

From older perlbug perldoc it said: Thank-you notes are good. It makes people smile.

:)

[NickPollard → davidw]

I think a big part of gratitude in the cases like open source software, is that it validates your effort - it's not just that they're being polite to you, it's that they're making it clear they value what you made, that it is worth something to them.

[zafka]

While it is indeed pleasant to be on the receiving end of gratitude, there is also real value in being grateful.

The author made the point, that as a result of showing gratitude, he was somewhat rewarded. I find that just the mental boost that I get when I am in a grateful state of mind is valuable.

[100k]

Another nice benefit of gratitude is that studies have show it improves the thanker's happiness.

"The Happiness Hypothesis" covers some of the research on this. Participants would write a thank you letter to someone they felt they owed something to, or keep a gratitude diary.

There are a few details on this page: http://www.happinesshypothesis.com/beyond-gethappy.html

[kertap]

Jeff Atwood recently commented on this comic http://theoatmeal.com/comics/email that they left out the "Thanks" email. This article and my own opinions makes me wonder why wouldn't you say thanks.

[hundredwatt]

Take blame, give praise