Love Letters - Beginners guide
It seems a lot of my articles are playing around with love. If this is the first one you find, check the wider meaning of the word love. Love letter is a concept I found widely used in P3 Workshops. Since I find this super valuable in other aspects of life as well, I have been introducing a little bit variated version at work. Now I want to share this with you. If some of the questions don't apply to you or feel strange, please adjust them more suitable for you.
Step 1: START WITH YOURSELF
- What have you accomplished this year / 6 months / last month?
- What are you proud of?
- What has been possible, only because you have contributed?
- What is unique about you?
Be creative, write as many and as much as you can.
Step 2: CONTINUE WITH OTHERS
Pick a person who you want to give some positive vibes and feedback. When you have that person in mind, go through the following
- Be true - make sure this is your actual insight, lying in here makes no sense
- Be as specific as possible - vague "you are a good guy" is hard to understand and repeat. Any specific event or action is easier to grasp.
- Stay on the positive - this is not "get over your bad habits" letter
- Tell who is this note from - anonymous feedback is much harder to take in
Also in here; Be creative. If you see this person often, you can leave sticky notes for the person to find. You can give the feedback verbally when you have lunch together. If the person lives far, maybe you choose to send an actual post card in the snail mail telling how precious they are to you.
Love Letter example: Dear coworker of mine [name would be better]. When you cleaned the workshop place while I was on the phone, it made me feel special. That day I had a lot of stress and pressure. The fact that you cleaned the place without my help, made me feel like you saw how stressful the day was for me and you took the extra effort to make it a little bit less stressful. I just wanted you to know how much I appreciated this. Thank you. [my name]
Step 3: REPEAT
Pick another person and repeat. When you feel down and the sky is grey, take a paper and pen and start writing to your loved ones. Or to yourself. Remember all the good things that you are and you have around you.
Yours truly, as always
-Sanna-
Ps. Let me know what in here is valuable and works for you :) Looking forward having new writing prompts, and making this even better.
Pss. This is pretty much the Words of Appreciation in 5 Love languages. Feel free to play with the others as well ;)