This past weekend I was running errands and, in between my stops, I caught the Ted Radio Hour. Although I did not listen to the entire hour, what I did hear was A.J. Jacob’s Ted Talk, My Journey to Thank all the People Responsible for my Morning Coffee.
A.J. Jacobs is a self-proclaimed focuser on negative feedback. He shares that if he receives one-hundred compliments and a single insult, he focuses on the single insult. I’m sure many of us can relate (I know I can) as Mr. Jacobs explains how the brain is wired to focus on the negative bias. How do you fight negative bias? gratitude. To fight his propensity for the negative he began a family tradition at the dinner table. Before each meal, he would thank the people who made the meal the reality: the farmer who grew the food, the trucker, the cashier, and on and on. One day, his ten-year-old son, wisely pointed out to his Dad that if he really cared he would thank the people in person.
As a writer, A.J. Jacobs took up his son’s challenge and decided to focus on his “simple” morning cup of coffee. What he discovered was that his cup of coffee was the result of a world-wide effort. It took him months to say “thank you,” from the trucker, the people who paved the asphalt, to the farmers. In the end, he ended up thanking a thousand people.
He named his project, “Thanks a Thousand.” Through this project, it reminded him of the “astounding” interconnectedness of the world. A.J. Jacobs synthesized his learning into five points:
1) Look-up. Every time you interact with a person, the person you are interacting with has aspirations, dreams, fears, weaknesses, and strengths. When dealing with people, take the two seconds and look at the person and take a moment of connection;
2) Smell the roses and the dirt. Gratitude is about taking a moment and holding onto it as long as you can. Savor those moments; Find the Hidden Masterpieces all Around You. There are hundreds of masterpieces around us that we take for granted. Enjoy the masterpieces around us;
3) Fake it until you feel it. Not everyone A.J. thanked was that into it, and often, he had to force himself to continue the project. Others, however, were very grateful. Overtime, A.J.’s actions of thanking people changed the way he felt. Actions can change the way we think;
4) Practice six degrees of gratitude. Every place, every stop has new paths of gratitude. What he learned was that it does not take a “village" to create a cup of coffee, rather it takes a “world” ; and,
5) Use gratitude to spark action.
A.J. Jacob ends his Ted Talk by challenging his listeners to use gratitude as a spark to action. Research shows that the more grateful you are, the more likely you will help others and pay it forward.
Why am I sharing this with the community? Over the past nine months, I have been more aware than ever of how interconnected we are to ensure our students receive an excellent education. Who would I have to thank if I were to take one student and thank all of those involved in their education? Educators, parents, cafeteria workers, custodians, bus drivers, town employees, taxpayers, etc. In one large swoop, I’d like to thank all those involved and share my gratitude.
Although by no means have the past three months of the school year been perfect, it has demonstrated again the power of a community working together. Thank you! I also challenge you to share your gratitude. It might be an educator, a bus driver, a teaching assistant, or a custodian. Regardless, taking a moment to acknowledge another’s efforts will have a tremendous impact on another person.
Respectfully,
Gregory L. Martineau
