When was the last time you sent a handwritten thank you note—and truly felt its impact?

In a world dominated by quick texts and emails, it’s easy to overlook small, mindfulness gestures that deepen connection. This episode is about another growth mindset shift and highlights how something as simple as a handwritten note can cut through the noise, combat loneliness, enhance resilience, and create genuine human bonds in a way digital communication often can’t.

• Discover why handwritten thank you notes carry more emotional weight and lasting impact than digital messages
• Learn the surprising psychological research behind gratitude and why we underestimate its power
• Gain a simple, actionable way to strengthen relationships and create more meaning in your daily life

Press play now to learn how one small, intentional habit can create deeper connections and a powerful ripple effect in your life.

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With Whole Again: A Fresh Approach to Mindfulness and Resilience through Kintsugi Wisdom, listeners explore mindfulness and resilience through personal stories of trauma, scars, and injury while learning to overcome PTSD, imposter syndrome, self-doubt, and perfectionism with self-compassion, self-love, and self-worth. Through insightful discussions on building resilience, fitness, and stress management, as well as mindfulness practices and digital wellness, the show offers practical tools such as breathwork, micro-dose meditation, grounding techniques, visualization, and daily affirmations for anxiety relief and stress reduction. Inspired by the art of kintsugi, the podcast embodies healing as a transformative process, encouraging a shift in perspective from worry and overwhelm to gratitude and personal growth. By exploring the mind-body connection, micro-dosing strategies for emotional well-being, and

 Hey there, it's Michael. Welcome to Whole again, the show that is with you as you walk towards who you're becoming this year on Fridays, I'm sharing different tips with you, things I've learned along the way since my last bad day. This year, I celebrate 25 years from that big accident. That really sparked what I'm currently doing and sharing here on whole again.

And today we're up to number 11, the handwritten thank you note allow me to share a bit more. When I was growing up, my mom was really my mom, not my dad. Demanded that we write. Thank you notes to usually our relatives for gifts that were given to us on our birthday and during Christmas, and generally speaking, these were not long thank you notes.

If I remember correctly, most of mine sounded like, dear Grandma, thank you for the $5 you gave me for my birthday back then. $5 was a big deal. I plan to use them to buy baseball cards. I love you. Thank you, Michael. That was about it. Now, I didn't really enjoy writing them. I would rather have been doing anything else, but my mom insisted so it happened and I'm glad she stayed honest to do them as a parent.

We also forced our daughters to write thank you notes as well. But in this internet age that we live in, I think we've forgotten the value of a handwritten note card. And before I go any further, I'm not saying that everything deserves a handwritten card. Sometimes a thoughtful email or a meaningful text will suffice.

In other research, there is also a greater appreciation for the handwritten card because it takes more time. People know that it takes effort to go out and buy a card, write it out, put a stamp on it, and get it to the mailbox. This all helps create a different vibe or energy that brings us together. The thing is taking time to do the handwritten note card sends a message to the receiver.

It actually ties back to a previous tip that I've shared, which was all around giving a shit. Making the effort isn't much, but it says so much, and it helps us create greater social bonds. We can talk all day long about how lonely everyone is, and certainly there is a loneliness epidemic out there. We can also talk about how divided we are, and yes, we feel very divided because the data shows that as well.

But just talking about it, the moaning, it doesn't change it. We need to take action and one simple way is to say thank you again. Sometimes a text message will suffice. Other times my encouragement is to send a handwritten thank you note, and don't worry that your handwriting may look like chicken scratch.

Mine certainly does. My ability to write clearly was never great to begin with, and with all the typing I do well, that skill has atrophied. That said, going back to the study we overestimate. The awkwardness that people will judge our penmanship and we underappreciate or undervalue how much gratitude we create by sending a thank you note.

Since the pandemic, I have probably sent 10,000, close to 10,000 free stickers, merch, or copies of my last bad day shift. Across the US and into 19 different countries on this big blue marble that we all share. And I will say I didn't expect anything in return. Generosity is one foundational pillar of mindfulness, but if I'm honest, I was looking for just some acknowledgement that someone received it.

A simple text or email would've been great. The thing is 98% of folks never said anything, but a few actually sent handwritten thank you notes, and those people have a special place in my heart. In fact, I received one of those thank you notes just last week, and I posted a photo of it on Substack and also on LinkedIn.

Great care went into it. He, he actually did a drawing, a pause, breathe, reflect. I thought that was really cool. His card was memorable, and now we have a stronger connection Throughout my recovery, a whole bunch of folks deserve a thank you for my recovery. I did not do this all by myself, as I like to say.

It takes a Peloton to move us forward into who we're becoming. And those thank you notes that I've sent over the years certainly took a lot of time and during the early days of my recovery, my penmanship was even worse than it is today. But each one mattered. Yeah, it was harder, it took more time, and that's the whole point.

A proper thank you. Says I care enough about you. Acknowledge you 'cause you matter. It makes our Kintsugi even stronger. So there you have it. Tip number 11, a handwritten thank you note. In today's age where we're so busy and it's easy to take things for granted or just rip off a simple text or email writing a handwritten thank you note.

Well that's edgy. It's a bit rebellious to go analog in this digital world, and it'll also help you create more meaning in your life as you continue towards the person you're becoming.

And as always, thank you for being here. Thank you for being part of our community. If you enjoyed this tip. You think someone else might find it valuable as well? I hope you'll share it with them. And until Monday's episode, I'll have another short meditation for you. Remember to celebrate your scars as golden symbols of your strength and resilience.

And may our practice together benefit all living creatures. Keep paddling, my friend. Keep paddling. And putting a positive ripple effect into the world.

And if you wish to learn more about creating beautiful ripples and how to prevent a bad moment from turning into a bad day, please visit my website, Michael O'Brien schiff.com. And sign up for my newsletter called The Ripple Effect, and join us each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday here at Whole Again, and discover how you can heal, grow, and become more resilient and celebrate our scars as golden symbols of strength and resilience.

Until then, remember, you can always come back to your breath. You've got this. And we've got you.