Head of Secondary School

Gratitude

At the final assembly of last term, I spoke to the students about the importance of the simple act of gratitude – both for themselves and for others. We have so much and so many people for which to be thankful in our lives. However, we often do not take the time to express our heartfelt gratitude to others. I hope the words from my speech below might have encouraged some students to take the time to say thank you to you and other family members over the recent school holidays. (I know a number of teachers were moved by the kind thank you notes they received from some of their students at the end of term.)

“When you were young, I am sure all of you heard your parents reminding you to use your manners and say “please” and “thank you”. But in our fast-paced world, sometimes we do not stop to take the time to show our gratitude towards others, to acknowledge their efforts and simply say thank you.

My father was legendary for the hand-written thank you card to colleagues, friends and family. Growing up, I got to see the joy that these simple expressions of gratitude brought others on a daily or weekly basis. I am sure many of you know the warm feeling when someone has taken the time to thank you for your efforts.

However, the simple act of gratitude also has an extremely positive effect on the person that takes the time to say thank you or who can reflect on the things for which they are grateful. Gratitude is a central tenet of positive psychology and studies have shown that practising gratitude makes us happier, increases our psychological wellbeing and increases our self-esteem. In his book, The Good Life, social researcher Hugh McKay poses the question, what makes a life worth living? What he found is that a “good life” is not the sum of our security, wealth, status or career success. Instead, what he found is the good life is one defined by how well we treat others, the quality of our relationships, our willingness to connect with others in a useful way and our capacity for selflessness.

Recently, I have been proud to see and hear of Redlands students who have illustrated this selflessness, whether it was the over 100 Yr 10 students who braved the cold as part of the Vinnie’s Sleep Out to raise awareness and empathy for the plight of homelessness, or the students who have given up their seat on the bus to a member of the public (who has then contacted us to acknowledge their actions).

So, I challenge all of you, either this afternoon, over these holidays or when you return to school in Term 3, to take the time to stop and say or write a heartfelt thank you to someone who has made a difference in your life. Maybe it’s a sibling, grandparent or parent. Maybe it’s the bus driver, a shop assistant or a friend. Or maybe it’s a teacher, coach or tutor.

Stop to express your gratitude for all they have done for you. Not only will you make them feel better, but you will also feel better, too.”

Mr Sean Corcoran
Head of Secondary School
scorcoran@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9968 9870