I really appreciate this quote below by Maya Angelou, because we often beat ourselves up as educators about what we can do better. There are times that we just don't know what we don't know. This is fact.
As we gain more experience with the craft, we are able to make more informed decisions about our craft, our learners, and how to navigate things like standards or grade level expectations. One thing I see all the time with new teachers and new teachers to the PYP, is they put so much pressure to be perfect in everything that they don't have a focus. They burn out by trying to be like all of the other veteran teachers, so they don't look less competent. Please stop. You are doing a wonderful job. You are doing your best. You can't do any more than that. If you do, you may burn yourself right out of the teaching profession. A friendly reminder, it takes 5-10 years to feel like you have some grip on this thing called being a teacher. Don't buy into the myth that anyone can do it. Teaching is a craft that is built over time, so be kind to yourself. When you learn better in the future, be better.
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Something that will stay with me throughout my life is the positivity that exudes from my father. Ever since I can remember, he has always been so jolly and talkative to every clerk in a grocery story. One day, I asked him why he was so happy all the time. He shared, "Every day, I wake up to a new morning. I am alive, so I choose to be happy."
Living with this wisdom reminds me to continuously champion the positivity, even when we don't feel like it. We all have days where it's a struggle to get out of bed and face the world. In those moments, remind yourself that you made it to a new day. You have already conquered half of your battles already. I've had an interesting interactions with this word. In my childhood, it equaled pain, suffering, and punishment. I didn't want to be associated with this word, so I remained quiet and compliant. Yet, there is a flipped side to this word. Sometimes, we make choices and there is a positive reaction beyond our greatest imagination. This is also consequence. Let's make sure we use both the positive and negative sides, so we don't have another generation fearing this word. Something that has transformed my life has been sketching. It's become part of who I am and how I process the things happening in my world. We all have our happy days, moments we are frustrated, and others where we don't want to get out of bed. This has helped me along with exercise to balance out those melancholy days, because I express the immediacy of my needs. Below represents my feelings of the final day of the VeeCon community panel applications. In one week, I'll know if I am on a panel or if I buy a ticket. To be honest, I'm fine with either just so I can attend. My heart would love to speak about my passion about making education a safer place for entrepreneurship. But, I recognize that some dreams are delayed. It's okay. The main point is to put our dreams, fears, hurts, and life onto the page. As a society, we don't journal anymore. This is my way of capturing all of the feelings I have inside and chronicling my life. Isn't it great to find the way that works the best for you? I'm starting my sketch club to help others to find their voice too. We all have those days where we feel like hiding under the covers and eating an entire tub of Bluebell Ice Cream. If you haven't tried it, you need to visit Texas right away! There are other days where we wake up on the weekend full of positive vibes and we want to share it with the world. This is how I felt this morning. After a long battle with a project, I was finally able to crack through it on Friday, which made me feeling positively alive. What moments have made you feel the same way? Everything we create is in response to who we are, how we are feeling at that moment, and what we hope to become. I've always believed in my capability in the workplace, even when surrounded by naysayers. It's something I had instilled in me as a child growing up in an LDS household. Unlike popular myths, I grew up loving myself and continuously reaching for my potential. I've always been slightly overweight and conscious of my physical presence. This can be something that makes us wonder: Am I good enough? Am I pretty or handsome enough? Should I just stay home? Do I have value? In re-reading The Four Agreements, I was reminded that the dream we have in our own minds is not true, so don't take them personally. Be mindful of the reel that is replaying in your mind. Is it helping or hurting you? If it's hurting you, can you find a new tune to replace it? As we venture into our week, remember that you have value just as you are. You don't need to change to attract people that are going to love you. It will happen. You just have to love yourself first so it can happen. To ensure that I live to make this quote come true, I have decreased the people I engage with on a regular basis, the types of films that I watch, and music I listen to on Spotify. All of these messages can attack our sense of value. The greatest addition to my life has been sketching everyday. This has helped me to regulate my feelings, fears, and shortcomings in a positive way, so they don't fester. This is part of growing up. If I were to hang out with any group all day, it would be my fellow Hot Chocolate Design collectors. I'm obsessed with my shoes and they make me feel beautiful. What makes you feel sensational? Every once in a while, we have a moment where we pause and ask ourselves, "Has my vision for my life changed the in the past few years?" The answer is usually "YES!" As we grow into mature humans, our vision of what we want changes. As a young 20 something, I wanted to be married to a man with good hair, a kind soul, and looked like Christian Slater. Now, my dreams are focused on what I can control. I look at the balance between my physical, social, spiritual, and mental health. Am I meeting all my needs? If not, what do I need to change to have them met? Something that added greatly to my life is a vision board. It doesn't have to be fancy. It's just a place to put your dreams, hopes, and desires. By looking at the vision board, you are activating your subconscious mind to change. I can't tell you how many times I've met my goals, because I placed them in front of my daily vision. Now, I use a canvas with printed pictures and post-its. It's not perfect, but it has my hopes and dreams for my future. I've grown so much in the past three years, because of a vision board. I hope you will find the courage to start one too. My undergraduate program was in Organizational Communications, which explains my need to express myself. During one of my degree courses, we were challenged to engage in the power of self-talk. My professor encouraged us to walk around for a period of two weeks and speak of future goals as if they were happening today. I was very committed to the challenge and engaged whole-heartedly. When people asked me how I was doing, I would reply, "Wonderful! Next year, I am going to live in Australia." I did this until the day my mentor professor asked me, "How will you pay for it?" I immediately followed up with the comment, "I don't know, but I know the universe will make it happen." Fast forward a year and I'm a finalist for the Cultural Ambassadorial Scholarship with Rotary International. I was granted one of five spots granted out of 2,000 applicants. It was meant to be. We all have dialogue that runs around in our mind that holds us back.
The messages that we say to ourselves directly impact our achievement. Two years ago, I was offered a position that would add 20% more stress, but not 20% more pay. I knew my power to affect change was limited. I looked at myself in the mirror and asked myself, "Are you brave enough to do this?" The response was a resounding, "Yes, I know I can do this. It may be a little scary, but you will be alright." This is the moment that I envisioned myself as an educational consultant. How are you going to use self-talk to help you move forward? I used to think strength was being aggressive and going for what you want. We see examples everyday of people who are at the top of their game, but they sacrifice their relationships with others to get there. As I've matured, I understand the strength in stillness and humility. It's not always about winning the game, but enduring the long game. Now, my definition of strength has expanded to this... I've encountered some hurtful situations this past year. It's taken all of my strength to forgive and let go. It's not easy by any means, but I think this is the true definition of strength. It's easy to hold a grudge, but it's harder to let it go. I've been contemplating my mental, physical, social, and spiritual health as a result of my frequent travel schedule. I have made numerous goals that never quite materialize and wonder what it will take to change my habits. Only I can make the change. While creating the change, I need to honor both my body and spirit by giving myself some grace. I will make mistakes, because I am human. When moments of weakness occur, I pick myself up and try all over again. I've been reflecting a lot as I've been journaling my thoughts and feelings. Ideas come to me from inspirational cards, podcasts, conversations, and my own thoughts. My hope is that it inspires us all to give ourselves some grace as we living this human experience. I have made so many mistakes in my life that I've lost count. I remember as a young adult that my number #1 goal was to be free of guilt from making mistakes. Little did I know that this would be a life long journey. In re-reading the Four Agreements again, I was captured by these ideas, When you do your best you learn to accept yourself. But you have to be aware and learn from your mistakes. Learning from your mistakes means you practice, look honestly at the results, and keep practicing. This increases your awareness. All we can do is learn from our mistakes and try better next time. Be kind to yourself. I recently engaged in an online chat with Becky Carlzon, which made me think of this quote. We really do need to be mindful when all of the passionate people in our team become quiet. They are no longer talking, because they are carefully plotting their escape plan to find a place that aligns with their mission and vision, because it's not being appreciated in their current place of employment. I remember many times when colleagues asked me to stop shining so brightly, because it was making them look bad. I quietly went into my classroom and continued to do what was right by my learners. Absolutely no regrets. |
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