Master Your Time: A Practical Guide to Increase Your Productivity and Use Your Time Meaningfully

Writing a letter of gratitude reduced feelings of hopelessness in eighty-eight percent of suicidal patients and increased levels of optimism in ninety-four percent of them. In fact, some studies have shown that people often derive more pleasure from anticipating a future event than from the event itself. However, the truth is probably this: They improved their skills for two or three years and then kept doing the things they already knew, over and over again for years, and with only marginal improvements here and there. Finally, he was working on improving a specific skill (his writing ability) by focusing on specific aspects of it (improving his writing style, increasing the richness of his vocabulary and enhancing his organization skills) (#7).