E142 - Thinking of You Week - Part 1
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Speaker: One more time.
Hello, my friend. Welcome back to another episode of Create Today with Beth Buffington. Now, to set the tone for our topic today, I want you to imagine something that you probably do once a day. Now, if you're like me, you go and get your mail every day, and you think to yourself as you're flipping through the mail that you received, "Oh, junk, junk, junk.
Here's a flyer, here's a catalog," or, "There's a bill, but I think I pay that one online already." But every now and again, you flip through your mail and you see an envelope with a handwritten address, and you think, "Ooh, what's this? And who is it from? And this piece of excitement is often a greeting card.
It could be for a birthday, an anniversary, get well, congratulations, thank you. it could be an invitation or even one of those super fun because I thought of you today cards. And that, that [00:01:00] flitter of excitement, that momentary flare of joy that you get, it makes you feel seen The goodness that this small rectangular piece of paper brings to the receiver is enormous, and it can be life-changing.
And that's the feeling that we are going to be talking about today. So quick question for you. When was the last time you got something in your mail that wasn't a bill or junk mail or a flyer or a catalog, but it was an honest to goodness someone picked this out just for me card?
And equally important, when was the last time you sent a card, an honest to goodness I picked this out especially for you card, When was the last time? And if you had to think about that for a second, you're not alone. Because the answer here is probably an extreme.
You either have a hard time remembering the [00:02:00] last time you got something in the mail especially for you as a card, or it's been a while since you sent one, or most of us can remember, if we think back maybe even a long time ago, receiving a card that came to us sometime during our life that was maybe anticipated or surprised us, and it became one of those special moments of joy that we never forgot.
And that's exactly why we're spending the next couple episodes looking into greeting cards. Not something that you grab off a rack in five minutes at a gas station right before going to a birthday party. That works, and it has its own sort of power, but I want us to focus on the intent, the careful intent behind the giving as a genuinely creative, genuinely powerful thing that you can do for someone else.
And it turns out [00:03:00] it's something that you can do for your own happiness, too. And here's why, this is important. This month, during the third week of September, and this year that's September 21 through 27, well, that is Thinking of You Week. And this is a real thing, and it has real history, and I want you this year to be ready for it because by the end of this episode, I think you're going to want to be part of it.
So what is Thinking of You Week and where did it come from? Well, it started back in 2014, launched by the Greeting Card Association. And I learned about it, especially learned a lot of details about it, so much that I want to share with you, when I was in Louisville, speaking at the National Greeting Card Association this year.
We spent a lot of time talking about the importance behind Thinking of You Week, and [00:04:00] I wanted to come back and share this good news with you. And the origin story I found, and if there's anything that the GCA wants to add or correct on what I found, please let me know. Um, the origin story I found is good and I wanted to share, and it is about a photographer named Leonard Smith who decided one year for Lent to send one card a day to someone important, just for a little personal creative practice.
And he was surprised by the replies that he got back. They were so much more heartfelt than he expected. People told him what this one card they received from him meant in ways that he never saw coming. And that idea began to outgrow him, and it turned into something much, much bigger. So by 2018, it had crossed the Atlantic to the US, and now [00:05:00] Thinking of You Week is celebrated here in the UK, in Australia, and in New Zealand.
And for 2026, over 1,000 stores that sell greeting cards are actively supporting Thinking of You Week.
And the whole idea of thinking of you week fits on a bumper sticker. Send a card, deliver a smile. And this year's official challenge is really, really simple. Seven cards to seven people in seven days, and that's it. That's the whole assignment. And I love that it's not vague. It's not, mm, just be more thoughtful this month.
It has a little bit of heft to it, a little bit of tooth, right? I, I think that makes, it makes you more accountable. It makes you do a little bit of work. And it's a whole week of thinking of [00:06:00] someone each day. I love that. It's a number, and it's a window of time, which if you know me, you know I'm a sucker for organizing and making a list around a creative goal.
So vague intentions rarely turn into actions, but seven cards, seven people, seven days, that's something you can actually do, and it's a feeling of contentment and accomplishment that will make you feel so good when you finish up your list at the end of the week. So to get you immersed and excited about the importance of seven cards, seven people in seven days, let's talk more about numbers for a second because I think these numbers will surprise you.
According to the Greeting Card Association, Americans buy something like six and a half billion greeting cards every year. That's billion with a B.
And what I [00:07:00] love about learning this information is that sending these rectangles of paper, it is still happening. Even in a world where we spend most of our communication through texting and email and social media, we are still overwhelmingly a card-buying culture.
That's so cool. And birthday cards alone make up over half of everything that's sold, and about two-thirds of those cards actually get mailed, not just handed over in person, and I think that's really cool.
And there's so many other kinds of cards that are bought and sent, you know, being, um, holiday cards, sympathy, thank you, get well, invitations, new baby cards, anniversaries, retirement, Mother's Day, Father's Day, and the list goes on and on.
So a lot of categories for one basic idea, which is I was thinking of you and I wanted [00:08:00] you to have proof of it. That's basically what a card is all about.
and here's a detail to think about. Women make up more than 80% of the people buying all of these cards. So men, you can step it up, please. Buy some cards for us ladies. And women, they tend to take their time picking out their card. They are looking for that special card, and they often purchase more than one at a time, so they can stock up for what's coming next.
So we're smart, us women, and how we buy our cards. And that's me in the card store reading all the cards to find the one that expresses my emotions best for the people I think need cards from me next.
Because finding the perfect card for me is a moment of triumph. 'Cause, you know, sending a text, that's for casual stuff, but a real card, the right card, that's reserved for the people who are card-worthy [00:09:00] of praise and adoration or love or sharing a good joke. Those are my people, and they deserve a bit of goodness that I want to share through the mail.
And I really love that phrase, card worthy. It says something about who and what a particular card is really for, 'cause at the base of it, at the core of it all, it's not the occasion.
It's about the relationship, and it's about sharing how you feel about the person that is getting the card.
And here's the number that gets to the heart of today's topic. 75% of people who send cards say they do it because they know how good it feels to get one.
Three out of four people are sending cards because they know what it feels like to get a card. This is people paying it forward by being kind to each other on purpose, [00:10:00] because kindness, it turns out, is contagious in a very literal, very trackable way. Seven in 10 card buyers actually call greeting cards essential to them.
Not nice to have, essential Now let's pause for a moment in our talk about cards to hear a word from our sponsor. And that sponsor, well, that's me. If you've been listening for a while, you know that Going Forwards isn't just a framework that I talk about on this show. Revive, realize, refine, and release, it's the actual rhythm I use to keep my own creative life alive and active, especially in seasons when creativity seems hard.
And here's the thing I've learned the hard way: you can't hold onto your creativity all by [00:11:00] yourself. Creativity stays alive and productive when you're with a community of people who are doing it alongside you, cheering you on. And let's be honest, these are the people that will notice if you go quiet for a while.
And that's what the Going Forwards Clubhouse is all about.
This is not another deadline you need to put on your calendar. It is not something else you have to learn or a workshop that you must attend. It's a space for creative people to just play. there's no pressure, there's nothing that you have to learn. With just fun stuff to do. We've got a book club built around fun books to exchange, books that I found or books that other creatives are bringing to the table.
It's also a place where you can play with your food. We've got a recipe exchange where you can share what you've cooked or how you've plated [00:12:00] your food, even if it was takeout on Tuesday. Or it could be something wonderful you've tasted at a farmers market or at a dinner party.
And there's quarterly creative challenges that you can chase for actual prizes or just play with for the fun of it. And honestly, it's also a place for creative friends to find each other and know each other and celebrate each other. Because between online comparison and anxiety and the noise of social media and the news out there, I think we could all just use a place on the internet that's just for comfort and fun and inspiration.
And this is a place that's not expensive. It's just a dollar for you to try out for the first month and $9 a month after that. Interested? Come to www.bdi-create.today, and in the upper right-hand corner there is a menu pull down. Find the [00:13:00] Going Forwards membership and come and play along with me.
And look in the show notes for a live link that will take you straight to registration.
Come and find out how fun it can be to go forwards with your creativity. Okay,
Okay, let's investigate some science behind the giving and receiving of greeting cards, because I think it's going to make you want to get on this creative bandwagon. So this is the part that I really want you to think about, because the psychology and the neuroscience behind greeting cards, it's, it's pretty cool.
First, I want to explore what happens on the receiving end of getting a card. The researchers in a UK study measured brain activity of people during the moment they received a handwritten card or letter versus getting a text or an email. And the data they received [00:14:00] showed the emotional response to a handwritten card was physically bigger and better than reading a text or an email.
In a companion piece of that same research, people associated cards and letters with roughly twice the happiness of receiving a social media message, and three times the happiness of getting just an ordinary email.
There's something about getting a card. You know, that tactile feel of the paper, the unique and personal touch of actual handwriting, the fact that a real person touched this card and sent it to you, that makes our brains just treat this communication differently, and in a good way. And for those of us who think,
"Oh, I don't know. No one really wants to hear from me," because we really underestimate what other people might want to know and hear from us, and it is something that we as humans [00:15:00] often are emotionally blind in realizing.
I want you to know about a study from researchers at the University of Chicago. This is something we all need to be aware of. Research found that people who send a thank you note or a card underestimate consistently how surprised the other person's going to be. and we also underestimate how positive the receiver is going to feel when they get our card, while we at the same time overestimate how we think this message is going to be awkward when the receiver gets the card.
So we think that the receiver's gonna go, "Well, this is weird. Why'd they send it?" When in reality, the receiver is going, "Oh my gosh, this is amazing." So we talk
ourselves out of sending the card because we're worried it's going to be received awkwardly, that our handwriting is [00:16:00] too messy, that we aren't going to be able to find the right words to say.
And here's the thing. That almost never matters. The recipient isn't grading your penmanship or your prose. They're just super glad you thought of them. and what the research found over and over again is people who send a thank you note or a small kind of gesture in the form of a card consistently
underestimate how surprised the receiver is going to be, and we overestimate how awkward we think our card is going to come across. I hope that makes sense, because here's my favorite part, the part about you, the giver. Because this episode isn't just about making someone else's day by sending a card.
The research also discovered that the people who send the card end up actually being happier than the people who receive the gift themselves. So the research noted genuinely happier, not just a little bit, [00:17:00] genuinely happier than the person who receives the card. Hmm, that's pretty cool. There's also a well-known related study, where they, give people a little bit of money, and they're told they can spend this money on themselves or someone else, and the people who spent the money on someone else instead of getting a little something for themselves reported a better mood for the rest of the day.
This same research about giving even shows up in toddlers under the age of two, who light up more by giving a treat to a friend than getting a treat for themselves. So you see, before we're even old enough to talk in full sentences, something in us already knows that giving is better than receiving.
So can you see how this is a win-win in this little rectangle of paper? A win for the receiver and a big win for the giver. So think about what that actually means for you, especially [00:18:00] and specifically during Thinking of You week later this month. That inbox that you're meaning to clear, that closet that you are wanting to unclutter, or that to-do list that you are working to tick off every day,
completing these tasks, all of them worthy of doing, so don't not do them, but none of these tasks come with research saying it's going to make you happier by the end of the week. But sending a card does. Sending a card is one of the very few things you can do that comes with an actual measured happiness return, and it pays out twice.
Once for the person that you're thinking of, and a big time return for you, my friend. So, okay, this all sounds really good, right? But how should you prepare so that you actually get this week accomplished? Seven cards to seven people in seven days. So let's think first. Who is [00:19:00] on your list? Who in your life has had a hard season lately and you haven't said anything because you didn't know what to say?
That's a good person to send a card to. Who's moved away and you've been meaning to catch up with ever since?
Who is celebrating something that you haven't acknowledged yet? A promotion, a birthday, a milestone. Or maybe this is, something that you haven't acknowledged yet that has already happened. It's never too late to celebrate. Or who's just someone that you think about sometimes out of nowhere for no particular reason?
You know, these people are particularly perfect for your list because that no particular reason feeling is exactly what Thinking of You week is built for. And I want you to notice something too. The person that you're most hesitant to send a card to is probably the person who needs a card from you the [00:20:00] most.
If a name comes to mind and you think, "Ooh, well, I don't know, they probably don't want to hear from me," I want you to stop and think, "Why am I thinking this? Why shouldn't I send a card to them?" Because these thoughts of, "Oh, I am not important to them," or, "They won't want to hear from me-" That's probably not true, and it's not a coincidence that you're thinking like this.
That kind of awkwardness is something that the research mentioned earlier. It's your inner critic talking you out of the thing that could possibly be very important to someone else. So put that person on your list. And I want to call out one more specific category because it fits so well here, and that is pen pals.
Do you have one? Do you want one? if you follow my Pinterest, you'll see in the next few days and weeks, you'll see me leaning into pen pals [00:21:00] and snail mail and a huge concentration on let's just write real letters and send real cards again. So if there's someone you've been meaning to start that kind of relationship with, a friend or a family member that you'd love to write to and get cards from, instead of just sending them a text, this is your sign.
Put them on your thinking of you list. It could be the beginning of more snail mail back and forth to come. And picture this for a second. You've got your list of seven people, and I want you to picture one of your receivers going out to check their mail on an ordinary day, expecting nothing but bills and junk mail.
But instead, they find your handwritten envelope with your carefully chosen card and message inside. And then I want you to picture them reading the message, and picture how they're going to feel. And then imagine where that [00:22:00] card might end up after it's read. Propped up on a windowsill, taped inside a cabinet door, tucked into a special place for them to feel good about your card longer than you ever imagined.
And that's not a guess or just a nice thought. That's actually an extremely common way a card from you could turn into something someone else keeps forever.
So here's a little homework, my friend. You've got this challenge from the Greeting Card Association, Thinking of You Week, seven cards to seven people in seven days. Because we're starting this now, you have time to prepare. And because you know I love a good list, I've got a list of seven ways to help you prepare for Thinking of You Week.
Are you ready? Number one, get yourself a pen and something to write on, [00:23:00] and then a lovely cup of something, maybe coffee, tea, or maybe a glass of wine. And I want you to make your list of seven people. Who are you going to choose, and what type of card might you want to send them? Maybe it will actually be for their birthday, or it's going to be a friendship card or Thinking of You card, or it'll just be blank inside.
Knowing the person and the type of card that you want to buy will make it easier for you to get these seven cards to seven people when you go to purchase cards. And number two, I want you to find all the addresses you need to send each of these cards to your seven people. I know for me,
that locating addresses for the cards I want to send is often the hardest part about sending a card. So get this task out of the way. Find those addresses as soon as possible.
Number three, check your stamp supply. Do you know [00:24:00] where your stamps are? Do you need to buy stamps? Don't wait and let not having stamps be the reason your cards sit on a counter not mailed during Thinking of You Week.
Number four, treat yourself to a trip to your favorite card store. This is my favorite part, and I want you to pick a store that specializes in cards you really, really like. You know those unusual, unique cards that speak to your particular quirky personality and to the people that you choose to send a card to.
For me, that might be Paper Source or World Market or one of my indie bookstores or one of the small boutique stores, nearby. They have an eclectic variety of cards that I find amusing or touching. so purchase a card for each of the seven people on your list. So this means that you're all set for the actual week for [00:25:00] when you mail each card each day.
And number five, starting on Sunday of the third week of September, you're going to write your first card, and
I want you to concentrate on the person that you've chosen for that day. Write a sentiment that matches the card and the person. And it can be long or short, but write something important. What is going to match the personality of the person and the card that you've picked carefully?
Have fun. Don't overthink it, and don't worry about spelling or grammar or your handwriting, Because spelling, grammar, or handwriting, they just show that this special card was chosen and written specifically by you, a real human, who thinks highly of the person that's reading it, and that's what matters.
So just put your heart into the message. And remember, data shows the person that receives it is not judging you for [00:26:00] perfection
And number six, get your card to the mailbox. Remember, it cannot be received if it is never mailed. So release and let go of your carefully chosen and written card. Remember, research says people overestimate and worry about what they wrote, but the receiver is typically over the moon excited to receive the card.
They're not gonna judge you as much as you judge yourself. They'll embrace the sentiment, and they won't expect perfection.
And number seven, congratulate yourself for making the world a better place, because it's the little things we do for one another that compound and make a big difference on our planet. So let yourself celebrate the sweetness that's going to be stirred up when each of your seven people receive the [00:27:00] special cards you've sent during Thinking of You week.
So when you drop your cards each day in the mailbox, you are quite literally doing something research says will lift your mood more than the person receiving it. And the person receiving it is going to be delighted to get news from you. And that's not a side effect. That's the whole point of Thinking of You Week
And here's the takeaway that I want you to think about today. Remember, everyone in the world is creative, and sending a card, choosing it, writing it, sealing it up, sending it off into the world to that one specific person, that is a real act of creativity.
It's actually going forwards in miniature. You're releasing something good out into the [00:28:00] world to make someone else's day joyful. And based on everything we've talked about, it's going to genuinely provide goodness in your life, too. But first things first, prepare for Thinking of You Week. Who are your people?
So this week, make your list of seven people, find the addresses, and I'll see you here next week for part two, where we're going to get our hands a little messy and maybe even make some of those cards that you're going to send for Thinking of You Week.
So imagine somewhere out there, there are seven people who during the third week of September are going to get a handwritten card from you in the mail.
And each of these people, they're going to have that blissful moment of unexpected joy because you decided to be the kind of person who sends your kind thoughts and your love in [00:29:00] the mail. And that's not a small thing. That's everything. And that, my friend, is how you can stay creative
