Be the Blessing: Practicing Proactive Gratitude in Education

by Tiffany Hall

November is Gratitude Month at The Worthy Educator!

In education, gratitude is often talked about as something we feel when good things come our way, an encouraging note from a parent, a breakthrough moment with a student, or a colleague who steps in at just the right time. But the truth is, we cannot control when blessings arrive. They are not guaranteed, predictable, or within our influence.

What is within our influence is our decision to be the blessing.

This is where Habit 1: Be Proactive from Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People becomes powerful. Being proactive means focusing our time, energy, and emotion on the things we can control: our actions, our attitudes, and the way we show up for others. Covey calls this our Circle of Control.

When we live inside that circle intentionally, we no longer wait for gratitude to happen to us. We create it.

We “carry our own weather;”choosing our outlook, our tone, and our way of interacting with the world regardless of external circumstances. Instead of absorbing the stress of the day, the challenges of the moment, or the negativity around us, we become a source of steadiness, encouragement, and hope. And when we operate from that mindset, we become the blessing we once waited for.

In schools, that mindset matters. A smile at the door may change a child’s day. A calm response can deescalate a heated moment. A word of affirmation might be the only one a colleague hears all week. These small proactive choices ripple outward, shaping culture in ways we often never see.

A Call to Action

As we move through each day, especially during seasons where emotions run high, challenges feel heavy, or gratitude feels distant, let’s commit to one simple practice:

Don’t wait to be blessed. Choose to be the blessing.

Carry your own weather. Choose gratitude on purpose. Live inside your circle of control.

And watch how your proactive actions, small and consistent, shape the environment around you. Because in education, blessings don’t just happen.Often, they are created…one proactive person at a time.

Dr. Tiffany Hall is a Worthy Educator Champion in Education, a proponent of hope through community building, and a living example of how to infuse gratitude into our work and our life. She's a Middle School Principal in Lexington School District Two in West Columbia, South Carolina and an adjunct at Augusta University where she teaches courses in Educational Leadership. You can contact Tiffany via email here.

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