Hey Hey Missouri FCCLA,
As everyone is starting their STAR Events, or maybe you’re finishing it up, life can get a little busy. Your time may be spent between sports, clubs, and other organizations on top of all your school work. Something I’ve learned is the busier I am, the more stressed I am. The best thing to do to balance your workload is to ask for help. After asking for help, whether the person helped a lot or simply refilled your water bottle while you were busy, you should always be thankful.
As Thanksgiving is closely approaching, an emotion we are all hearing about is gratitude. Gratitude is a feeling of being thankful and appreciative of the good things in life. Maybe you’re thankful for your family always supporting you, for your adviser pushing you to do your best, or even that you woke up to the first alarm you set this morning rather than the fifth alarm. Everyone has their own reasons to feel thankful, but for those times that you may struggle to show gratitude here are 3 easy steps to help:
- Step one is acknowledging what you’re grateful for in your life.
- Once you realize what you are thankful for, step two will be easy.
- Step two is expressing your gratitude to others.
- Expressing gratitude is easy for some but could be hard for others. The easiest way to show gratitude is to simply say “Thank you.” It’s a small gesture that could mean the world to someone who doesn’t feel appreciated.
- Step three is incorporating gratitude into your everyday life.
- You can do this by showing less judgment, having more compassion, and being appreciative for everything you have in life.
A great way to get started with showing gratitude is to share an experience where you have felt the emotion. For example, a time I have felt gratitude is when I was stressed about a public speaking competition that was quickly approaching and my mom noticed how stressed I was and offered to help me practice. It was a simple act that didn’t take more than 10 minutes of her listening, writing down words that I missed in my manuscript, and then giving me her honest opinion on how I could improve. After she helped me I felt calmer about the competition and realized I was more prepared than I originally thought. I thanked her for her time and continued with my everyday activities. Saying thank you was a small gesture but it told my mom how grateful I was for her help.
Throughout the upcoming holiday seasons, I challenge you all to show gratitude at least 3 times a day. Whether it is thanking someone for letting you borrow a pencil, thanking your teacher for going over a concept one more time to help you understand, or even smiling back at someone who smiled at you first.
Overall, gratitude is an important emotion that everyone should feel and express. Gratitude shows others that you care about everything they do for you and reminds yourself how much you have to be thankful for. As the holiday season is right around the corner, life can get a little busy. Remember to be thankful and show gratitude throughout your day no matter how busy life gets.
As always, please reach out to me if you have any questions. Whether it is about STAR Events, showing gratitude, or life in general; I’m always willing to help!
Thank you,
Damara Hood
Missouri State V.P. of Competitive Events
