Did you know that people are underestimating the power of gratitude. It has been found that when sending expressions of gratitude, it causes a boost in wellbeing for both the sender and the recipient. An article published in Psychological Science captures the results of a study conducted by students at University of Chicago, it was found among the selected participants that often people hesitate to express gratitude for two reasons. They didn’t think the person would respond with surprise or positivity. When it came to giving a written note expressing gratitude, it was assumed the recipient would feel awkward.

No one wants to intentionally create awkward moments. The assumptions held about how recipients would respond were also strong factors that caused participants to change their minds about sending expressions of gratitude. However, many expressed an ease and willingness to send gratitude notes to those they believed would respond positively to the gestures. It was also found that participants found themselves feeling “significantly happier” after sending expressions of gratitude.

After reading the article, I changed the name of our gift boxes. I hope people find many reasons to express their gratitude to people around them. I hope they find boxes of toffee and pound cakes as a sweet way to accompany those expressions of gratitude.

Here’s the link to read more:

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Kumar, Amit, and Nicholas Epley. Undervaluing Gratitude: Expressers misunderstand the consequences of showing appreciation." Psychological Science 29, no. 9 (2018): 1423-1435.