Keep Gratitude in Your Pocket
Take Pen to Paper: Edition 131
Hello, Friends!
I hope you are feeling the welcome effects of the changing season.
Spring makes me think of fresh. Everything is fresher or needs to be refreshed.
This brings me to this week’s topic: refreshing an old habit.
In this newsletter:
Default behaviors are invisible.
Carry what you treasure in your pocket.
What’s in your pocket?
Did I Take My Medicine?
Every morning after breakfast, I take my blood pressure medicine.
It’s a habit I had no trouble developing, but I often forget if I did it. (I rarely do.)
The habit is so routine that it’s become a default behavior. I just automatically do it. However, in that automaticity, it becomes invisible, which is why I forget doing it. So many of our behaviors are like that. Where I put my keys in my purse, closing the garage door, and slipping chapstick into my right pocket are all default behaviors for me. I don’t even think about them and only occasionally question myself.
This isn’t necessarily a good thing. If I were more mindful in the moment, I wouldn’t have to question whether I took my medicine or closed the garage door.
Some habits are more beneficial when we are mindful of following through.
A perfect example is gratitude.
Put It In Your Pocket
I attended many in-service trainings during my 41-year career as an educator. Only a few stand out in my memory.
I learned quickly that if you walked out with one action you could immediately employ in your classroom, it was worth the time you spent.
At the elementary level, the most valuable strategy I brought back to my class assisted in maintaining the lesson’s flow and managing the students’ attempts at participation, both relevant and irrelevant.
Most students love to ask questions or tell about their experiences, even if they have no relevance to the lesson. So how do you deal with that? Of course, you want them to participate, but a lesson on fiction and non-fiction may not be the best time to describe your most recent Lego invention that their parents said they can bring to school the following day, if it’s OK with the teacher. As a teacher, how do you keep the class on track?
One effective strategy is to tell the student to put their comment or question “in their pocket” to save for after the lesson. The teacher needs to teach the students about the phrase and that the pocket may be imaginary.
When utilized successfully and as soon as the students raise their hands, the strategy assists the instruction in moving much faster.
The most important part of this strategy is for the teacher to remember to ask the class (or student) after the lesson to pull their comments and questions out of their pockets to be answered.
The teacher presented the lesson. The students feel heard.
What’s in your pocket?
Last week at my volunteer job, I heard one of the office staff say, “Why am I having such a difficult day? I got up this morning. I observed gratitude.” Then, she proceeded to state out loud what she was grateful for.
She pulled her gratitude out of her pocket and reviewed it.
I am guilty of writing morning gratitude and giving it no more thought for the remainder of the day.
Sure, daily gratitude sticks with you. However, some days are more difficult than others. Some days, we need to carry our gratitude in our pocket and pull it out (possibly often).
After all, what good is a gratitude habit if we don’t lean into it when we need it?
Refresh your gratitude habit by carrying it in your “pocket” so it’s there when you need it.
7 Days, 7 Thoughts on Gratitude and Good:
I am grateful for seeing gratitude in action.
Check out this article on the automaticity of our behaviors. 🤖
Here is a brief history of the pocket. 👖
A quote: “Empty pocket teaches you a Million things in Life, But full pocket spoils you in a Million ways....” -Suraj Mhetri.
I believe that all clothing, regardless of gender, should have pockets. There are some items I want when I want them, mainly Chapstick. 💄
Children and adults alike are capable of maintaining a visual image, like a pocket, to help them remember something important.
It’s a good thing to review the habits you have on autopilot and discover where you can be more mindful.
Thank you for reading. This week, think about the habits you may need to refresh.
Until next time,
💚
Susan
When was the last time you caught yourself mindlessly following a routine? Leave a comment and let me know. I would love to hear your thoughts.
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I have a 2nd newsletter about journaling. It’s a great way to learn about journaling, especially if you are new to the habit. If you are interested or know someone who would be, check it out at From The Pen’s Nib: A Commonplace Book About Journaling.