Happy Thanksgiving! In today's special Thanksgiving episode, I talk about the importance of practicing gratitude every day, not just on holidays like this one. Research supports the truth behind the principle that when we are grateful for things we already have in our lives, we open ourselves to receiving more. If you tend to be the "glass half empty" type of person instead of the "glass half full" type, consider working on a practice of gratitude every day. It will help to relieve your stress...and improve your life in general.
Also, please know that on this Thanksgiving Day, I am especially grateful for you, my listener (or watcher of you are watching the episode on the "Teachers in Transition YouTube Channel"). I am grateful for your listening and watching and for your being part of my growing community.
To listen to the transcript, click here: http://bit.ly/34tjd3l
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For questions, email me at kittyboitnott@gmail.com.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Kitty Boitnott:
Are you a teacher who's feeling stressed out and overwhelmed? Do you worry that you're feeling symptoms of burnout or are you sure you've already gotten there? Have you started to dream of doing some other kind of job or perhaps pursuing a whole different career, but you don't know what else you're even qualified to do? You don't know how to start a job search. You just feel stuck. If that sounds like you, I promise you're not alone. My name is Kitty Boitnott. I'm a career transition and job search coach and I specialize in helping burnt out teachers just like you deal not only with the stress and overwhelm of your day-to-day job, but to consider what other careers might be out there waiting for you. Join me for"Teachers in Transition." In some episodes I'll be speaking to stress management techniques and how you can manage your stress on a day to day basis. In other episodes I'll be talking about career transition. What tools do you need to be successful in a job search when you're moving from one career into a totally different track? These are questions that you need answers to and I can help you find those answers. My name is Kitty Boitnott. Welcome to"Teachers in Transition." This is kitty Boitnott of" Teachers in Transition." And welcome back to another episode of the"Teachers in Transition" Podcast and YouTube channel. Today is Thanksgiving Day. Actually TODAY in real time for me is Tuesday the 26th of November, but by the time this podcast drops on Thursday, it will be Thanksgiving. And so I wanted to talk a little bit about the importance of practicing gratitude EVERY DAY, not just on Thanksgiving day because it is a proven principle. Research supports this. The idea that gratitude practiced on a regular basis, can relieve your stress and improve your life overall. Now, I know this may sound counter-intuitive for some people. There are some who tend to dwell on what's wrong in their life as opposed to looking for all the things that are right in their lives. And it takes a little bit of practice and that's why it's called a"practice of gratitude." But I would encourage you to think in terms of all the various things for which you may have to be grateful today, on Thanksgiving day. As I think about my own life, I am grateful for YOU. Anyone who is listening to this podcast or happens to stumble across my YouTube channel. If you're watching this message, if you're listening to this message, please know that from the bottom of my heart, I am grateful for your participation in this project, for your listening, for your encouragement, because I do get occasional emails, and people comment that they've listened to my podcast, which is always a surprise to me because I feel like I shoot it out into the world of the Internet space and I don't know where it will land. But what I trust is that it will land in the ears and eyes of people who need the message that I have to offer, whether it is about stress and stress management strategies or career transition. In my own life, I have so much for which to be grateful. I still have a family of my sister and my brother thought we've lost both of our parents. So I would say to you, if you have your parents still with you, one or both, be grateful for them. The day will come when they won't be around anymore. In my own circumstance, my dad died in an accident in 1986, and I miss him every single day. My mom passed away. It will be five years next May, and I think of her every, every day. I think of her, especially on days like her anniversary[which] was yesterday. She and my dad got married on November 25th, 1950 I think about her, especially on Thanksgiving because of all the Thanksgiving dinners we had as a family when she was still with us and my dad was gone and you know, then I go back and think about grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins and the extended family that I have and that you have as well. And so I encourage you to be thankful for those individuals, whoever they may happen to be. I also would encourage you to be grateful even for those things that seem to be irritants in your life because they're there for a reason. They're there to encourage you, to nudge you, to push you forward to, to make you uncomfortable so that you are ready to look at other things that may make your better. If you don't enjoy your current job, for example, and it's gotten to the point of,"I've got to find something else to do," be grateful for that job that is not satisfying you because it's encouraging you to look for something better for yourself. So even in your discomfort, there is something to be grateful for. Now, if you love your current job, God bless you. And enjoy every single day. If you enjoy the people that you work with, if you feel supported and validated and appreciated for your efforts and your contributions, good for you. A lot of people don't feel that. And so, whether you feel it or whether you don't feel it, feel the gratitude for the experience because you were either feeling the validation and the appreciation for your contributions for which you should be grateful or you're not feeling it for which you should be grateful because it's going to cause you to seek to make a change in your life. A change that will make your life better. If you don't have as much money in the bank as you would like, be grateful for what you have. If you woke up this morning and you had a roof over your head, and you got up out of a bed, and you were able to fix breakfast, and I head off to work, whether it's a job you love or not, be grateful for all of those things. Be grateful for the air that you breathe. If you're experiencing good health, be grateful for that. If you are not experiencing good health, be grateful for the doctors that you can see for the help that you can seek. Every single thing in our lives, we can choose how we look at them. Our relationships, our current financial circumstances, our health, our jobs...everything is subject to how do you view it? What is your attitude about it? And are you grateful for the things that you do have instead of dwelling on the things that you don't have? There is a principle that indicates that the more for which you are grateful, the more you will receive of that. That your attention goes to the thing that you are paying the most heed to. And that when you focus on a particular thing, you get more of it. You receive more of it. So if you focus on all the things you don't have and all the things that you're unhappy about the cause, that is the target of your focus, that's all you're going to see and that's all you're going to experience. If you choose, though, to see things in a better light and that you're grateful for all the things that you do have, every single thing, every relationship, every dime that you have in the bank, the job that you do have, whether you love it or not. If you practice gratitude about all of those things, then the idea is that you will receive more of things to be grateful for. So, on this Thanksgiving day, be grateful. And every day from this point on. If you haven't developed a practice of gratitude, I encourage you to try it. It certainly has worked in my life. And I know it can work in yours. That's it for today. This is Kitty Boitnott of"Teachers in Transition." Happy Thanksgiving. So there you have it, an episode of"Teachers in Transition." I hope you enjoyed the information and I hope you'll plan to come back. Please subscribe to"Teachers in Transition" so that you can be alerted of future episodes. And let me know if you have any questions or topics that you would like me to specifically cover in a future episode. I'm more than happy to help with individual questions as well. So email me at KittyBoitnott@BoitnottCoaching.com. If you are interested in finding a new career or just enjoying your life more, this is the place to start. Hi, I'm Kitty Boitnott and this is"Teachers in Transition."