There is no doubt that if you act with gratitude, you positively influence other people. Currently, I am engrossed in a book called "The Happiness Project". I am sure many of you have heard of it. This book encourages me to go out and create a happiness project for myself and my students. I'm not sure how that would look in the classroom, so I'll get back to you on that! In the meantime, I currently keep a gratitude journal for myself. My belief is that being grateful will make me a better person, a better teacher, and a better student of life.
There is no doubt this is a challenging prospect, especially if you've lived in a negative household. At times, it seems that the more I try to be positive, people become more negative. I may just be more sensitive, noticing how much we all complain about things. We never talk about great things, do we? Look at the television. All I see are horrible things that are happening in the world. We talk about all car accidents, for instance. Do you realize how many people survive each day without a car accident? I'm a survivor all the time!
When I write in my gratitude journal, I sometimes struggle with writing things down. My life is not grand, and things could be going a lot better, but I have a lot to be thankful about. I encourage my students to keep one, and as a recent exercise, we did one in class. Boy, was I inspired! I have A LOT to be grateful for. And here are a few...
1. I can teach.
2. I have great, interactive students that are respectful.
3. I got to pick blueberries for the foodbank.
4. I have a wonderful family that cares about me.
5. I have enough money to pay my bills each month.
6. I have two healthy dogs.
7. I was able to find some really good deals at garage sales.
8. I have a car.
9. I have enough food to eat.
10. I get to write a blog freely :0)
What about you?
There is no doubt this is a challenging prospect, especially if you've lived in a negative household. At times, it seems that the more I try to be positive, people become more negative. I may just be more sensitive, noticing how much we all complain about things. We never talk about great things, do we? Look at the television. All I see are horrible things that are happening in the world. We talk about all car accidents, for instance. Do you realize how many people survive each day without a car accident? I'm a survivor all the time!
When I write in my gratitude journal, I sometimes struggle with writing things down. My life is not grand, and things could be going a lot better, but I have a lot to be thankful about. I encourage my students to keep one, and as a recent exercise, we did one in class. Boy, was I inspired! I have A LOT to be grateful for. And here are a few...
1. I can teach.
2. I have great, interactive students that are respectful.
3. I got to pick blueberries for the foodbank.
4. I have a wonderful family that cares about me.
5. I have enough money to pay my bills each month.
6. I have two healthy dogs.
7. I was able to find some really good deals at garage sales.
8. I have a car.
9. I have enough food to eat.
10. I get to write a blog freely :0)
What about you?
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