365 THANK-YOUs

Being thankful when things are going well is natural. Being thankful when life suddenly turns around—like landing a new job after a layoff or recovering from an illness—also feels natural. But being thankful when nothing seems to be working out? That’s not natural.

What if, though, being thankful itself is the way out when you’re stuck? That was the experiment John Kralik, a fifty-two-year-old struggling lawyer, decided to try in 2008. The result was a book based on his experience, titled 365 Thank Yous: The Year a Simple Act of Daily Gratitude Changed My Life.

He begins his now-classic book by describing a day in late December 2007:

"On December 22, 2007, I felt my life was at an irreversible personal nadir. My law firm was losing money and losing its lease. I was going through a difficult divorce, was completely out of funds, and was living in a small, stuffy apartment where I often slept on the floor under an ancient air conditioner. My sons had grown distant from me. A horrible year was ending, with promises that things would soon be even worse."

Kralik had been a lawyer for twenty-eight years—and felt he had little to show for it. With his office lease expiring soon, the landlord had given him a final notice to vacate. He didn’t have the $25,000 needed to lease a new space.

His personal life was no better. Though separated from his second wife for four years, they hadn’t reached a divorce settlement.

There was one bright spot—his relationship with a woman named Grace. But on that very day, that light dimmed too. She had just broken up with him.

Loser in the Mountains

Before the breakup, he and Grace had planned to go hiking on New Year’s Day (January 1, 2008) in the Echo Mountains. Still reeling from the split, he called to see if she’d still like to join. She declined.

So, he went hiking alone.

Lost in thoughts and worries, he wandered deep into the mountains and nearly lost his way. As darkness fell and exhaustion set in, he began stumbling and feared he might slip into a ravine or be stranded overnight. 

He writes, “I had no company that day but the inner voice that kept saying 'loser.'" Then, something unexpected happened.

“I heard a voice: ‘Until you learn to be grateful for the things you have,’ it said, ‘you will not receive the things you want.’”

He couldn’t explain where the voice came from or why it seemed to stand apart from his own thoughts. But the moment stirred a memory.

He remembered his grandfather, John Kralik Jr., who used to give him a silver dollar—with one condition: if young John wrote a thank-you letter, he’d get another dollar. “That was the way thank-you letters worked,” his grandfather said.

He writes, “I have only a few memories of my grandfather from this period of my childhood, but I remember well that on this occasion he was true to his word, and soon I had two silver dollars.”

But then came a quiet regret: “Having experienced the truth of this principle, however, I failed to learn it. I never sent a second thank-you note for the second silver dollar.”

With random thoughts swirling in his mind, he recalled that his office manager had ordered very nice personal stationery and envelopes that had become useless because the address printed on them was outdated

The Grand Idea

While thinking about his dire situation, gratefulness, grandfather’s lesson of thank-you notes, and obsolete office stationery, he came up with his grand idea:

“I would try to find one person to thank each day. One person to whom I would write a thank-you note. By the end of the year, I would have used up the stationery. I would have written 365 thank yous.”

Exhausted, as he came down the mountains, he wondered if he still had anything to be grateful for. 

Receiving a Thank-You Note

The next day, unsure of where to begin, he happened to check his mailbox. Amid the junk mail, there was an envelope. Inside was a note:

Dear John,
Thank you for the wonderful gifts you gave me. I really enjoyed the time we shared together on Christmas Eve. You are a joy, and I truly appreciate how special you make me feel.
Love, Grace

On Christmas Eve, they had exchanged gifts—he gave her a watch, and she gave him cologne.

Wondering about the synchronicity of her note, he writes:

“It seemed uncanny that Grace had written this note just before I’d determined thank-you notes to be my way out of despair. By thanking me for a Christmas present, she awakened me to something in my life, however small, for which I could be grateful. Her note was showing me the first step. And I was going to take it.”

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© 2025 Atul Mathur. All rights reserved.

Thanks for reading. In Part 2 (coming soon), we’ll explore how John Kralik’s thank-you note project unfolded—and the surprising ways it transformed his life. Stay tuned.

Meanwhile, if, like John Kralik, you also wish to spread the ripples of gratitude, take a look at these beautiful Thank You cards personally designed by Atul Mathur.