A.J. Jacobs is an author, journalist, lecturer and human guinea pig. He has written four New York Times bestsellers that combine memoir, science, humor and a dash of self-help.
He is also editor at large at Esquire magazine, a commentator on NPR and a columnist for Mental Floss magazine.
Late in 2018 he released Thanks A Thousand: A Gratitude Journey. The idea was deceptively simple: A.J. decided to thank every single person involved in producing his morning cup of coffee. The resulting journey takes him across the globe, transforms his life, and reveals secrets about how gratitude can make us all happier, more generous, and more connected.
What does being grateful mean to you?
Being grateful, in my opinion, means acknowledging that you couldn’t live your life without others. And preferably telling those people as often as you can. I find it to be one of the keys to happiness. As one Benedictine monk put it, “Happiness doesn’t lead to gratitude. Gratitude leads to happiness.”
Right now, in this moment what are 3 things you are grateful for?
This sofa (quite comfy!)
Antibiotics, since I might not be on this sofa if not for them (I had pneumonia, and who knows if I would have survived).
And my dog Stella. I find dogs a close second to gratitude in being a shortcut to happiness.
Who is the first person that comes to mind when you hear, “Someone in my life that I’m grateful for and why?”
Ezra Cornell. He founded Cornell University where my parents met. So I wouldn’t exist without him.
What inspired you to write “Thanks a Thousand.”
I always liked the ritual of giving thanks, so I decided to adopt a sort-of prayer of thanksgiving before meals with my family. I say “sort-of prayer” because I’m not very religious. So instead of thanking God, I’d thank some of the people who helped make my meal a reality. I’d say, “I’d like to thank the farmer who grew these tomatoes, and the cashier who rang these groceries up when I checked out.”
And my son, who was 10 at the time, said “Dad, that’s fine. But it’s
also kind of lame. Because those people aren’t here in our apartment. They can’t hear you.
And I thought, “hmmmm. That’s an interesting idea. What if I traveled the world and thanked everyone I could for their role in my meal? To simplify it, I changed it to just my coffee. So the farmer, the barista, but also the logo designer, the road paver, the yellow-lines-in-the-road painter, etc.
What were some of the obstacles you faced while in the pursuit of thanking every single person involved in producing your morning coffee?
One of the main obstacles was just the sheer number of people I could have thanked. It could have been Thanks 10,000. Thanks a Million. Because you realize how interwoven this global web is. I needed to thank architects, warehouse workers, biologists, countertop makers, you name it. It meant I had to travel the world and spend hours every day writing thank you notes or cold-calling people.
Some people were skeptical. They said, “What are you selling? Is this a scam?” But most of them were excited to be acknowledged.
If you could only share one of the thank yous from the book which one would it be?
Well, of course my wife or else I’d get in trouble.
But also Kahlid, the 9th century goatherder. According to legend, Kahlid noticed his goats eating beans that made them hop with joy. That’s how coffee was discovered.
Can you share with us anything you are working on now and when we might be able to read it?
I’m working on a book about puzzles of all kinds – crosswords, riddles, jigsaw puzzles. I’m trying to solve all the hardest ones in the world – and also exploring whether treating current events as a puzzle might help us save the world.
In closing, what are some suggestions that you can give our readers that can help them incorporate gratitude into their daily lives?
One of my favorite rituals is to say thanks as I’m going to sleep. It’s more relaxing than counting sheep. And I like to do it alphabetically to give it some structure. So I might start with A, and say “I’m grateful for the Apple pancakes that my kids made over the weekend.” Then move on to B and say “I’m thankful for the TV show ‘Barry’ starring Henry Winkler.” And so on. I’m usually asleep by G or H.
Connect with AJ
Ajjacobs.com
Check out “Thanks A Thousand.”
