After going over my last post on Changing Perspective, I realized that I loved the part about expressing gratitude (as I did to my friend in a phone message) so I decided to edit and expand it into a full post! :)
I believe whole heartedly in practicing gratitude at the end of the day, but expressing sincere appreciation to others is even more powerful. A mentor of mine named J Brad Britton once said, "Silent gratitude is like wrapping a gift and never giving it." Can you imagine that? How could you have a terrific present for someone who has truly impacted you life, but you give them the present? Worst of all, appreciation is one of the few truly significant needs that all people feel. To find out you are needed, important, and appreciated... It is one of the simple deep needs that everyone has. I know this first hand because I love it so much when people tell me how much I'm appreciated. Saying "Thank You" is a great start, but going out of your way to express gratitude is even better. The simplest form of gratitude is to send emails to teachers or mentors that have made a significant impact on your life. To give you an idea of how you can express your gratitude most effectively, I have a couple examples from my life that may give you some ideas. :)
During December of my freshman year of high school I took a step back and tried to figure out how I learned the skills that I had. I thought of a handful of teachers that got me interested enough in a variety of topics to truly pursue them in college classes and on my own. I emailed two of the most significant teachers telling them how much they impacted me. :)
First, I thought of my Oral Composition (aka Speech) teacher, Carl Silva, from my senior year in high school. When I was a freshman, I stood up to give a cross-examination for 10 minutes during a pseudo-trial in my english class. Within the minute I sat down because I went completely blank. I forgot everything... I remember distinctly one of the turning points in Carl's class a few years later. When we were working on our speech to sell, I got a number of ideas within a matter of minutes. Since Carl saw that, he wouldn't stop telling me his high expectations for my speech because I had, he thought, virtually written it out in its entirety the first day we brainstormed it. However, a couple days before the class I was delivering it in, I hadn't actually finished it. Worst of all, this ~2 minute speech had to be 100% memorized. No notes, no nothing. Because of his SUPER high expectations for me, I knew I had to deliver. (Nice little lesson for expecting a lot from people because they will often rise to the occasion). I practiced for hours and hours the two days before the speech and committed it to memory. I practiced so hard that I still have the majority of it memorized 2+ years later without looking at it since! Here is the video of my speech my teacher recorded.
I got the best grade in the class. He told our class that he has never seen a speech in his 10+ years of the class when the audience forgot during the speech that it was not a true product. :) I have used that experience in his class to give sales presentations for Vector Marketing, to give presentations in other classes, and to feel confident meeting new people. He was majorly instrumental in helping me become confident and relaxed in front of people. I know I'll use that pretty much every day for the rest of my life because it spills into almost every other significant area. So I wrote him an email thanking him. :) However seeing how much I was able to write right now about him, I'll be sending him another one after this. :)
The other teacher I emailed then was my history teacher for 3 semesters named Mr. Rojo. He taught me to always learn the other side of the news story by showing documentaries that challenged our preconceived notions about the environment, health care, and history. He taught me to dig deeper in learning and expose my self to alternative opinions and viewpoints. In a nutshell, he inspired me to continue to search for the truth --> and then spread it. In that, I have become extraordinarily interested in non-conventional ideas. These include nutrition, fitness, business, environment, and design. His response in the email I sent him a year and a half ago was quite powerful:
"I appreciate the gratitude and kind words. It's always good to know that I've been able to influence students in a positive way and, more significantly, that the influence has inspired you to make change in the world. Definitely brings a smile to my face."
My favorite part of the gratitude giving cycle is how often the person that you feel humbled to offer sincere appreciation to turns around and gives YOU sincere appreciation to. It is so beautiful realize that you were impacting the person who impacted you! :) It is mind-blowing to realize how much of an impact that we can have in our lives no matter where we are. Mr. Rojo went on and told me how much of an influence that I had on him:
"Of course, it's equally important for you to know that you were as much of an influence on me. You were one of the brightest students I've ever had in my teaching career who always looked to offer insight to the rest of your classmates. I have no doubt you have continued to enlighten your peers at Davis with your knowledge and deep analysis. Keep educating the masses!"
Lastly, I wrote more recently to my high school physics teacher a week or two ago to tell him how much he helped me. Unlike the other two classes, I didn't REALLY enjoy this class because it was the hardest I took in high school and I struggled a lot. But I've done extraordinarily well in college because he taught me the majority of the concepts. It was a random to tell him a few weeks ago; I planned to wait for Christmas break after I finish my last two physics classes to thank him. But I sent it the email anyway. He received it the day before school started for my high school telling me: "You are so kind! I cannot tell you how nice it is for a teacher to hear such feedback. It made my day, no my week." Wow... I made his week. :) I can't believe how perfect the timing was! Literally the day after he received thanks and praise he will begin his next school year teaching.
I cannot recommend expressing gratitude highly enough. Telling people how much they have inspired and helped you is one of the best things you can give to them!
Comment below! What teacher/mentor should you express gratitude to? Who has taught you the skills that you have now? What teacher/mentor has literally positively changed your life forever? I look forward to reading them! :)
I love my life! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment