The Healthy Educator

114. Silver Linings

As with all life circumstances there always seems to be a silver lining.  Stop for a moment and go find yours from this past year.  What can you build upon and draw out of this circumstance that can become the catalyst for your future?  It probably isn’t going to drop in your lap, but if you are willing to go searching it can manifest itself! * Moving forward into this next school year what can you take away from the past year that can become a catalyst for the future? * When I am working with people most have sort of earmarked this past year as an anomaly and are trying so hard to get back to “normal.” * I understand the sentiment but I really struggle with wanting to go back to anything * Our lives are in constant perpetual motion forward, whether we like it or not, so beyond the reflection process and learning from the past as we move forward into the future I don’t love the idea of getting back * In all of the school and family interactions over the past year we have found some great silver linings from the increased time together and seeing how we react to the new situations we have been faced with * One of the best silver linings is helping my family and those around me learn to manage their minds better in the midst of chaos * We have learned so much about ourselves and also about those around us.  Some good things and some not so good things * So take a moment, reflect but look for the silver linings from his past year for you and your family * Use these silver linings to propel your life moving forward and not to return to anywhere. * I know this sounds a bit cliche or “fortune cookie” wisdom sometimes but it really helps us to reframe with this perspective. * If you need help come work with me!

113. Let the cleanup process begin!

Everyone in the world has had their minds worked over this past year in education.  Regardless of why or where you stand on all of the issues it is time that we start the cleanup process of our minds.  This is going to take some time and careful attention but is totally worth it.  Let it begin! * I hope everyone is doing well and your brains are back in gear working towards an awesome school year for your students and your families * One thing we need to address though after the past year and a half in our world is what the wrecking ball of the pandemic has done to everyone’s mind. * I hope you have taken the time to address your brain, but if not then lets chat for a bit about this process. * Regardless of where you stand on any of the issues of the pandemic or political nature our brains have been overwhelmed with fear and negative inputs from pretty much every angle. * We have all probably noticed that this has crept into your mind on some level and your brain is strained to say the least. * This is going to require a bit of a cleanup process for our brain.  We are going to stop and slow down where we stand in our lives without all of the negative input from every other source. * We need to start processing the way we think about what has happened and how it has affected us. * We need to slow down our thoughts to see what is really true for us and what is simply fed to us from sources outside of us. * We need to get rid of the waste products in our brain by increasing the level of our self care through exercise, nutrition, sleep and thought work. * We need to get our negative thought patterns out of our brain by writing or whatever means necessary to get out of the loops that have been driven into our brains the past year. * Now is the time to start the cleanup so you can move on in your life!

112. Bravery is a Choice

Did you know you can just decide that you are going to be brave?  The more we slow down the decision to be brave or not we start to realize that it really is just a state of mind.  Telling ourselves that we are not brave is the intentional choice to not be.  Telling ourselves that we are brave is the first step to intentionally choosing to be!  So what’s your choice? * This topic today is such a fun one and sometimes sounds like a Disney movie! * When I talk to people why they do or do not move forward in their life’s decisions it comes down to whether or not they are willing to be brave. * Really we never know how things are going to turn out in our lives and argue that we just aren’t brave enough to push forward into the unknown takes just as much energy as it does to just decide to be brave. * It is a simple switch for us to understand that bravery is simply a choice, just like it is a simple choice to choose not to be brave. * We need to intentionally choose to make this choice if we really want to analyze what comes with that choice or lack of choice. * We think it is always easier to choose the just not be brave and not put ourselves out there so we don’t have to deal with that discomfort but what we often don’t address is that if we intentionally choose to not be brave we also have to think about what isn’t going to happen. * Stop for a moment and think about the discomfort of staying exactly where you currently are.  What could you be giving up with that choice?  What could you unearth or discover if you choose to actually dive in and be brave? * This doesn’t have to be dramatic and scary, just intentional.  So as you think about your life, what is the choice you find yourself making or needing to make?  Are you ready to be brave?  Come chat with me if you are needing the walk through this one!

111. Trust Issues in Education

There is a polarizing issue of trust being exposed in education.  We must increase our understanding of why this is happening and what we can do about it.  Most of our trust issues are not clear cut character issues.  Our ability to show up, establish clarity, and then follow through with our commitments are paramount in this current climate! * I have seen a significant shift in whether or not we trust those around us in the past few years in education * I am sure this has always been there but more now than ever we are a chip on our shoulder and vary in our ability to trust those around us. * This goes clear from our state and local leaders to those in our own departments that we work with everyday. * Most of us initially think that those around us need to do something to cause a sense of distrust but the more I have seen this the more rare this is. * There are those stories or instances where someone breaches our trust through a clear cut act of dishonesty or character flaw. * Most often though we have started to just not trust those who lead us to provide accurate and truthful information, even if they just don’t know * The more pervasive form of this is a lack of clarity in the information and answers we have been given over the years * Those around us learn that they really can’t “count on us” when they really need answers * Some of these issues are a bit out of our control but there is a large portion of them that we can work at a much higher level to provide accurate and clear information.  Even if this seems annoying to do the extra work to make sure clarity is achieved we owe it to those around us. * We also need to work on honesty when it comes to being willing to answer questions.  Being cagey or refusing to disclose things because we are working on career moves is not something that helps to build trust * One area I have often struggled with in my personal life and causes some serious trust issues is our ability to show up and actually do everything that we actually say we are going to do.  This seems so obvious but I see it all the time.  Sometimes we just over promise to make people like us or to settle down the fire, but if we have committed to something we build trust by actually showing up and doing what we said we would do. * Even the best of intentions that fall flat will deteriorate the trust of the people in our lives.  This means we are going to have to address our time in a more truthful manner and not over promise and neglect certain areas of our lives. * If you have noticed a lack of trust and worked its way into your organization then start working through some of these issues I have described here and come work with me if you are needing help, I’ve got you on this one!

110. Who are you doing this work for?

No matter who you are there are going to be days, weeks, and possibly months that the work you are engaged in is a struggle.  When you find yourself in those moments just stop and connect with who it is you are doing this work for.  When you can define who, the why, how, and what come much more naturally! * I am loving this topic in my life right now because it seems like old school true principles always hold true when the world loses its true north. * The idea of connecting with “who” you are doing the work you do for is taught beautifully by Stephen Covey clear back with the 7 habits. * If you really think about the sheer volume of lifetimes that have been spent doing less than desirable work because of “who” we were doing the work for. * The idea that we can do tough and undesirable work just because we are doing it for our family, students, etc.  is just a surface level though. * One of the coolest things about this principle is that it opens the door in our brains to figure out the why, how, and what so much more naturally. * Really the who and why are most likely connected very closely and once we are connected to those two ideas at the brain level then figuring out the how and what when it comes to our work is just details. * Connecting to who and why we are working will give us the spark of motivation we are really looking for to figure out the rest. * So, let’s stop and think about all the work you are currently doing.  Start to define who you are actually doing the work for.  It will be interesting to see what you come up with. * Especially in the world of education it can be very easy to use the obvious answer of the students or future students.  But we may find that a lot of the work we choose to engage in might be for ourselves. * This really isn’t a problem if the work we are doing is for ourselves but we need to own that and not use someone else as the fake reason we “have” to do anything that is really for us. * If we are able to connect our work to our family this is an easy connection.  If we can then we need to connect some form of our work to the end consumer.  In the case of education this is the students, or maybe their families and communities. * Rarely should the work we are engaged in be something that we are connecting to our boss or supervisor.  Doing work just because our admin tells us to when it is not connected to our students, ourselves, or our families is a recipe for disaster and resentment. * So, who are you really working for?  Figure it out and come work with me if you are struggling!