Just Say Thank You
Weekly Update 11/20/2022 to 11/26/2022 #148
Professor Mason Cooley said, "We are prepared for insults, but compliments leave us baffled." Today, I will try to break down the latter part of this quote, but before I do, let me share some of my recent week as mayor of the best smalltown in America.
Zabrina and I started the week with the Seymour Young Marines and the Indianapolis Colts. We were part of the 300 volunteers that it takes to display the field-sized American flag for the National Anthem. After arriving at 8:45 a.m., you go through three rounds of practice to prepare for the big moment. Going from the empty stadium in practice to walking out to more than 60,000 in attendance is breathtaking. The best part was watching the faces of the young marines across from us as we walked through the tunnel. If you get a chance to help present the flag, I encourage you to do it, and more importantly, if you get a chance to be involved with our Seymour Young Marines, you should. They are a great group of youth improving themselves and our community as well.
In 2015, Dementia Friendly America was launched to ensure communities across the US are equipped to support residents living with dementia and their caregivers. A few months ago, I was at an event in Bedford and learned of their work in the area. At that presentation, I decided that Seymour would invite the trainers over to meet with some of our staff. This past week, 21 of our staff and myself went through the training. As a group, we found several things we did not know and found the training to be very educational and could see how it will help us in the future. Three of our departments are now considered dementia friendly by having 50% of their team complete the training. I look forward to more announcements on this topic in the future.
Congratulations to the Class of 1972 on raising over $60,000 dollars to support Seymour High School and our youth with future scholarships. They got the idea from the Class of 1970 a few years ago when they raised funds during their 50th reunion. This was the third class in a row to raise funds supporting our youth and our school system. No pressure, Class of 73, but can you make it four in a row? It was my honor to proclaim Saturday, November 26 the Class of 1972 Day for their accomplishment and contributions to our community.
This week, while chatting with someone, they complimented my wife's car. Instead of just saying thank you, I quickly replied with the flaws that it has instead. Much the same way when someone compliments my wife on her hard work at the gym, she quickly downplays the compliment by pointing out flaws. My opening today "We are prepared for insults, but compliments leave us baffled" by Mason Cooley is on point. If we are baffled by compliments, we try to get ourselves into what we are prepared for-the insults. Not only are we prepared for the insults, but we have taught ourselves, or been taught, to look for the negatives not only in ourselves, but in our properties and in our community. At Thanksgiving dinner I found myself answering questions about why our downtown was so empty. I shared that the first floors in the downtown areas are around 90% occupied. I went on to share that we had recently completed a similar inventory of the Hwy 50 corridor and that it was around the 83% rate. As we talked, I shared that I can easily name the troubled spots in both areas, but we often overlook the second because we travel past at a higher rate of speed. We need to focus on accepting compliments and not try to downplay them, which downplays our positives along the way.