The Single Best Way to Be Grateful

How come she gets more likes on Facebook than me?

Why do they have so many followers on Instagram and I don’t?

How can they afford exotic vacations while I’m barely scraping by?

Am I doing as good of a job as they are?

In a world full of constant social broadcasting, it can be easy for us to fall into the trap of comparing ourselves to others. We don’t want to do it, but it happens. Everywhere we look, we see old college friends who made a bunch of cash, Facebook contacts so happy with life, and neighbors down the street that have the perfect car.

It’s natural to want to compare ourselves to others, but as educational leaders we sometimes feel like we fall short in some areas because we have committed our lives to educating youth and building school culture. For us, this “calling” has always been about something bigger than money, cars, or Facebook “likes.”

It’s about giving back and building our future.

In times when I feel a little less than my peers. The single best way for me to feel grateful is to COMPARE DOWNWARDS.

To compare downwards is to look at those that have less and be grateful for what we have, to think of those stuck in a job that they truly hate and how lucky we are to have so many good times in school.

So, in this season of Thanksgiving, let us all work to COMPARE DOWNWARDS and be grateful for what we have, who we are, and the fact that we get to do this amazing work together!

TEEN TRUTH’s instructional coach, Sarah Hayden, wrote an awesome blog this month on how to cultivate better relationships among teachers and our school counselor. CLICK HERE for Sarah’s blog. Penny Knight, took our theme of gratitude one step further with a great blog and lesson plan that help inspire gratitude among your students. CLICK HERE to read Penny’s helpful words.

Thank you to all of you for the work you do. We are going to sign off for the rest of the month to enjoy our time with family and friends for this Thanksgiving holiday. I hope you find the opportunity to do the same.

In thankfulness, we will see you in December!