Every day we are presented opportunities to say thank you. From a door being opened to the gift of a chipper coworker who lifts our spirits…this is a season of opportunities to be thankful and to say thank you. There is also scientific evidence that expressing genuine gratitude on a daily basis can improve physical health as well by improving quality of sleep, cardiovascular (heart) health and immune function.
Imagine that … something as simple as how we think about our lives and the people in them actually has a profound impact on our health!
Gratitude promotes optimism and helps us to develop a more positive outlook. Who doesn’t need more of that?? This season you can feel tired, you can feel run down. That to do list is ever looming, in addition to all the seasonal extras that seem to stack up! An easy way to help curb the grinchiness you may be feeling is to outwardly express appreciation for the gifts in your life. There is always something to be grateful for.
But what happens if you are NOT feeling appreciated? That you’re taken advantage of, or that all your hard works and energy/effort is taken for granted? I’m in a pretty awesome facebook group that my principal BFF, Melinda Miller, and I are running full of holiday prep & planning for our staff. It’s not uncommon for an admin to express a feeling of not being appreciated.
You’re not alone, friend.
Don’t lose sight of WHY you’re doing what you’re doing. You don’t do all that you do for words of appreciation. You do it because you are trying to create an environment of awesome.
Culture matters. Creating a space where our teachers and our students are made to feel appreciated and WANT to be is a key component of our jobs…and that’s why you do what you do. Not for the thank you’s, but because it’s the RIGHT thing to do.
If you’re not feeling the love in your world, know that you are doing good work. You are doing some hard work. Some incredibly important work.
Take a moment to think about the people in your world…is there someone who might need to hear a “thank you” from you? Text or email…just a simple thought could bring a smile to someone’s face! Why don’t you text a principal friend RIGHT NOW? Just say “Hey…I see those long days you’re putting in…your staff is lucky to have such a dedicated leader!” Who wouldn’t have their day brightened by such a gesture? Even the Grinch would smile! (ok, he may smirk…but still!)
Please feel free to reread this as many times as you need too, 🙂 to help remind yourself that you are appreciated, even if not everyone vocalizes it…
Holiday hugN you,
Amta Claus
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