It’s Thanksgiving month in the States, when we usually stop and think about giving thanks and realize whether or not we’re practicing gratitude as a piano teacher.
Or, maybe you haven’t actually stopped to think about whether or not you have a grateful piano teacher heart.
I know I’ve been guilty of just plodding along in life, teaching my students, and not actually stopping to “give thanks in all things.”
Today, I want to reflect specifically on how thanksgiving can apply to us as piano teachers and how we can cultivate and maintain a grateful piano teacher heart.
Why? Because gratitude is essential to our well-being as piano teachers (I’ll share more on that in a bit).
My personal thoughts on practicing gratitude as a piano teacher
Honestly, I have a pet peeve about celebrating Thanksgiving only in November, as if the other eleven months should be haphazard with gratitude.
I love Thanksgiving Day and intentionally slowing down to reflect and be grateful. But I also believe that intentional gratitude should be an everyday part of my life.
This is not intended to be a spiritual article; however, I am an evangelical Christian so gratitude plays a very important role in who I am as a believer of Jesus Christ.
Personally, I can’t separate gratitude from my beliefs, so they may shine through as I write.
Every day, God showers me with blessings. I just neglect to pause every day and count those blessings, which in turn affects whether or not I’m thankful.
Regardless of what you believe, I hope this will get you to thinking about gratitude and being intentional in maintaining a grateful heart as a piano teacher.
Why focus on gratitude as a piano teacher?
Life gets to us sometimes.
Especially as a piano teacher, where we have to be president, CEO, administrator, public relations person, marketing manager, not to mention the aspect we actually signed on for: teaching piano and solving students’ musical problems.
I know you get overwhelmed, discouraged, burnt out, and frustrated.
There are students who won’t practice, parents who forget to pay, families who want rescheduling even though your policy states you don’t reschedule…
I’m pretty sure you’re making a mental list of the difficulties of being a piano teacher.
It’s real and it’s hard.
And that’s why we should focus on gratitude.
Gratitude doesn’t necessarily change our situation and solve our problems, but it will change our perspective and attitude–and having a mindset shift then enables us to more effectively deal with the daily problems we face.
Gratitude is scientifically proven to aid our overall well-being physiologically, mentally, and spiritually (if you want to read more on this subject, I found these fascinating articles: How Gratitude Changes You and Your Brain and The Neuroscience of Gratitude and Effects on the Brain).
In fact, if you write down what you’re thankful for, it will benefit you far more than writing down all the frustrations you’re facing (see Giving thanks can make you happier by Harvard Health).
I don’t know about you, but if I can emotionally and mentally feel better about my life, it’s worth making an effort to give thanks.
5 Ways to Practice Gratitude as a Piano Teacher
I like practical lists.
There are many “how to be thankful” lists out there.
But here is a list of 5 ways you can give thanks in a way that specifically relates to you as a piano teacher.
1) Write down 7 things you’re thankful for each night
This is my personal lifeline.
Every night before I go to bed, I write down 7-9 things I’m specifically thankful for that day.
Sometimes, it’s easy and I’ve doubled the count.
But sometimes I write down two things and have to stop and think hard to find something to be thankful for.
Sometimes, I’m just grateful for what didn’t happen that day (my car tire didn’t go flat, the internet didn’t glitch on me, etc.).
Your 7 things don’t have to be related to piano teaching (though, music often slips into my gratitude journal).
It’s just anything you’re thankful for.
The big things (like signing on ten new students), the small things (a struggling student who finally remembered a musical concept), and everything in between.
2) Express gratitude to your piano students
When was the last time you told a student you were thankful for them?
That question makes me cringe, because I can’t remember telling my students “I appreciate you” or “I’m grateful for you” (I’m planning to change that soon!).
I just don’t think about expressing my gratitude to my students.
There are many things I can thank a piano student for. Their good attitude, their hard work, their attentiveness, their smile…
Even if it’s a “problem student,” I can be creative and still find a way to be grateful for them.
I can be thankful for the opportunity to make music with someone else (even if they don’t particularly want to be there).
3) Express gratitude to your piano parents
It is easy to communicate with piano parents only when problems arise.
But what about just sending them a genuine, heartfelt note of gratitude?
I know that I couldn’t be a piano teacher without others entrusting the training of their children to me.
I am very grateful for each parent and grandparent who gives me the opportunity to be a piano teacher.
Why not take it a step further and let them know that I’m thankful?
4) Write a thank-you note to those who have influenced your musical life
We are surrounded by those who have influenced our lives, especially in the music world.
Private teachers, college professors, colleagues, parents, children, friends, churches…
Take a moment to pause and write down five people who have impacted your musical life.
Then, plan to write them a thank-you note (or email) and express gratitude.
You never know how they might need that bit of encouragement. It will bless you and them both.
5) Start a gratitude train
Take gratitude a step further and encourage a heart of thankfulness in your piano students.
This month, ask them what they’re thankful for.
If you want to be creative, print out some music notes and have each student write something they’re thankful for and hang them on the wall to make a “gratitude wall” for this month!
Sharing our thankfulness with others only brings encouragement and keeps the spark of gratitude flowing.
Share what you’re thankful for… now!
Are you ready? You probably saw this coming: I’d love to hear what you are thankful for today!
And what I’d really like to hear is how you can be thankful for the challenging students & families in your studio.
Piano teachers are a creative bunch, so I imagine you can make a negative situation shine with thankfulness somehow.
Give it a try because I want to hear!
How are you thankful for a challenging student or family?
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