Be thankful for the people who have shaped your life and those who will continue to influence you. Choose to be grateful and you will enrich your heart and expand your appreciation of life’s benefits and blessings.
Danvers High School Graduation Keynote 2019
Gratitude for the Past
How many of you have ever had a conversation that went something like this? Your parent says something, then you say something, then they say something, then you say something and as the conversation continues and gets louder, finally your parent says, “You, need to change - your – attitude!” Can anyone here relate to a conversation like this? In those moments we tend to define attitude in two ways, as either positive or negative. Today, I am going ask to you consider attitude in two different ways.
Today seniors, we have a few things in common. We have both reached a major milestone in our lives; graduation for you, and retirement for me. We have both spent most of our lives here in Danvers in school. Tomorrow, a new chapter begins for us.
As this day has been rapidly approaching, I have had many reflective thoughts. I have thought of all the successes and wonderful opportunities I have had through my career. But most of my thoughts have been of the people I have met along the way. I have found myself being grateful for the students I have taught and mentored, the colleagues I have worked with, the love and support of my family, the mentors I’ve had along the way, and on and on the list goes. I have come to realize in a new way that all of my successes and accomplishments are the not just the result of my hard work, but the result of all the people who have taught me, worked with me, mentored and encouraged me, and all those who have touched my life along the way.
Any success you experience will be undeniably linked to the people who have been influential and integral to your life. Every truly successful person is a grateful person. It is vital that you know how and when to express gratitude TO them, and FOR them. What does it mean to have an attitude of gratitude? It’s a mindset that is positive, deliberate and focused. It’s a way of approaching every day, relating to every person, and dealing with every situation. Every day is a new opportunity. In fact, every moment is an opportunity to be grateful. William Ward wrote, “God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say ‘thank you’?” It is a reminder that gratitude is an intentional act on our part. It’s something we choose to do, consciously and purposefully.
You’ve travelled life’s road for the better part of two decades, and you have untold miles yet to go. How did you get to where you are today? If you stop to think about it, there are very few benefits in your life for which you can take sole credit. In fact, there may not be any benefits in life for which any of us can take all the credit!
What do YOU have to be grateful for? If you were to write a lifetime “thank you” list, what would it include?
Be thankful for the people in your life. From day one, your life has been filled with people. They have given you their time, their instruction, their interest, their love. Your family has enfolded you with care and concern, day after day meeting your needs. Your teachers have given you knowledge and guided you into new worlds of understanding. Your coaches, directors, advisors and mentors have invested themselves in you, believing their efforts will someday pay great dividends as you succeed. Be thankful for the people who have shaped your life and those who will continue to influence you. Choose to be grateful and you will enrich your heart and expand your appreciation of life’s benefits and blessings. An attitude is more than just a feeling; it’s a way of living and thinking. Don’t let a day pass without saying, “thank you “ to at least one person. Live with an attitude of gratitude.
Attitude for the future
How many of you have had something happen in your life that if you had a choice it would not have happened to you? In 2012, the Saturday before Father’s Day I was working on my house. I went up a ladder to get on my roof and as I stepped off the ladder onto the roof, the ladder collapsed and I went crashing down 12 feet to the payment. In a split second, my life changed. I spent the next month in the hospital, the following four months in a wheel chair and four more months using a walker. It was not one of my mountain top moments in life. So, why am I telling you this at graduation?
Good things happen to everyone. We get into the college we applied to; we get the job we interviewed for; we make the team we tried out for. When things are going well and we are successful we handle things really well. But there are times when something will happen that if we had a choice it would not have happened to us. What I have learned is that often these are defining moments in our life.
I remember when I was brought to the rehab hospital; my roommate asked me what happened. I told him my story and I will never forget his reply. He said, “Well Ron, It’s always better to be looking at the blades of the grass than the roots.”
What happens to us is called life and we can’t always choose and control it. How we choose to react to what happens to us is our attitude and we can always control that. I chose to be determined. It wasn’t always easy, and I was not always positive, but I remained determined. And when I had those moments where it was really hard, I would ask my physical therapist, “Do I have to do this today? “They would reply with a word of encouragement something like this. “Only if you want to walk again.” They were determined too.
Our attitude is a very powerful tool. When you face a problem, or deal with a challenging or disappointing situation, determination can make all the difference. When you are filled with determination, it forces out the thoughts of defeat. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was once the Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in World War II, and later served as President of the United States said, “What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog.” Through the years, each week I would share with the band a Parsons’ Point to Ponder. Today’s Parsons’ Point to Ponder is this. “It doesn’t matter how many times you fall down (no pun intended). It matters how many times you get up. If you fall seven times, that’s OK. Just make sure you get up EIGHT times.”
In the 1800s a man named Louis Pasteur perfected a process of purifying milk called pasteurization. It took Pasteur thousands of failed experiments before he finally succeeded. He refused to give up. He wrote to a friend, “Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal: my strength lies solely in my determination.” An attitude of determination is a very powerful tool.
Today, we celebrate our accomplishments achieving this milestone in our lives. Tomorrow we close the chapter of Danvers High School and begin our next chapter with new opportunities and experiences that are ahead. Let’s move forward together with an attitude of gratitude for what we have accomplished and where we have been, and an attitude of determination for what we will accomplish and where we will go.