Blog

Six Powerful Secrets to Thriving in Rough Times

We cannot control whether the times we face are rough or smooth. However, we can always choose how we will respond. We can give in to the challenges and problems we face, or we can choose to focus our efforts on our goals and priorities and not allow what is happening around us to drag us down. Of course, the latter choice is easier to imagine than practice. Nevertheless, there are powerful strategies we can employ to help us rise above the circumstances we face and press through the challenges that confront us. Here are six secrets we can employ to maintain our health and sanity and continue to serve our students well. Don’t expect to be perfect; being human is enough. Many of us aspire to be perfect. We don’t like to make mistakes. We don’t want to be embarrassed. However, setting an expectation that we be perfect also has significant downsides. Taking risks may lead to experiences that are less than flawless. Learning and trying new skills can mean missteps. At the same time, people who expect to be perfect are often reluctant to seek and accept the help of others. In the extreme, perfectionists can become isolated and without a strong support system. Accepting that we are human, we will make mistakes, and sometimes will need the help of others can make us more approachable. People are more willing to step up and lend a hand if we do not present ourselves as perfect. We can still be committed to excellence, strive to provide a high level of service, and model the best practices of our profession. Perfection can be a trap. We can be human and still pursue excellence. Care for yourself; build the energy to care for others. In times of crisis and pressure we may find ourselves prioritizing care for others over caring for ourselves. This is a natural inclination for people who dedicate themselves to serving others. However, there is a fundamental truth worth heeding: If we want to have the energy, strength, and stamina to care for others, we need to care for ourselves. The airline take-off announcement we hear every time we fly applies: Put on your facemask before assisting others. Unless we take care of ourselves, we risk not being able to provide the care and support our students and colleagues need from us. Taking care of ourselves is not selfish. In fact, it can be the crucial success factor in our caring for others. Don’t presume to know every answer; invite students to join the search. As students we may have assumed that our teachers had all the answers. They may have even implied that they did. As a result, we may try to hold ourselves to the same impossible standard. The fact is that there is no way to know everything in any discipline, and certainly not in the wider information universe. Even if we have command of everything our students need and want to know, there are good reasons not to behave as though we do. Some of the richest learning we can offer to our students will be found in the search for answers, especially if we are a partner in the search. When we enlist students in the search for answers, we can share in the pursuit, we can offer students a model for searching and learning, and we can share in the delight of finding answers to important questions. On the other hand, if we readily provide answers to every student question, we deprive them of the experience and risk their missing the learning value and skills gained through the hunt. Give your attention freely; don’t force students to demand it. Even though it is free, attention is a precious resource. Where we choose to direct our attention conveys a message. It indicates who and what we deem to be important and worthy. When attention is withdrawn, the impact can be profound. Of course, when we choose to withhold attention from students, many will demand it. The demand may be in the form of misbehavior, acting out, or withdrawing to the point where we are forced to intervene. The more attention we can give, the more value and respect students feel. Of course, there are times when we may choose to limit the attention we give to certain students, but even those occasions need to be temporary. Our attention is precious, but it does not have to be rationed. Celebrate small victories; build momentum for greater triumphs. During difficult times, victories may seem exceptionally small and rare. Yet, our commitment to celebrate progress, smart strategies, and even thoughtful attempts can build momentum for future success. But, our focus needs to remain on what can be accomplished, how what is happening now prepares for what can come later, and how the skills and habits developed will lead to greater accomplishments. Meaningless recognition and unfocused applause can undermine effort and commitment but seeing and celebrating small victories on the road to success can build the momentum that will lead to future triumph. Expect genius; it will emerge. It is a fact of life that we tend to see and find what we expect and look for. If we expect disappointment, we are often disappointed. If we expect respect, we tend to see more of it. If we believe and look for genius in the thinking and learning of our students, we are more likely to see it. Equally important, when we notice, call out, and reinforce creative ideas, insightful thinking, and curious questions, we are likely to see more of that behavior. Every child has a gift. If we are committed to uncovering and nurturing their gifts and talents, we will see more genius – guaranteed! There may be times when we do not feel powerful or confident. Yet, we always have options. How we choose to respond and the actions we take as a result can spell the difference between feeling “dragged under,” or swimming onward.

January 31, 2022

Four Habits Can Build Success and Satisfaction

Even in stable, relatively predictable years, the winter months can be challenging to our mood and outlook. Reaching the goals that we set at the beginning of the year may still feel a long way off. Frustrations can be more difficult to ignore or shake off. Unanticipated challenges and setbacks can have a greater impact on our confidence than they have in the past. In short, we can find ourselves in a funk. We can choose to “wait it out,” hope that our mood lightens, and life improves on its own, or we can change our focus, improve our outlook, and choose a better path. Importantly, we do not have to change our entire lives to make a difference. One of the most effective ways to make such a change is to adopt a few key behaviors that, over time, become habits. Here are four impactful behaviors that can become habits and shape our path to success and satisfaction, even now. We can start by focusing on our strengths. Research has repeatedly shown that when we pay attention to, build on, and rely on our strengths we are more successful than over-emphasizing and focusing on fixing faults or shortcomings we may have. When we focus on our strengths we gain confidence, experience more success, and are generally happier. Of course, there may be skills for us to strengthen, areas of our practice to shore up, and new practices to adopt. However, when we approach these challenges from the perspective of our strengths, we are almost always more successful. For example, using our relationship building skills to enlist the experience and talents of a team will usually be more successful than trying to solve a problem by ourselves, especially if we don’t do well working alone. We can spend our attention and energy on what we can control. It’s a fact that much of what we face in life is beyond our control. Other people may make decisions that have an impact on us. Circumstances within which we find ourselves may have origins in areas well beyond our span of control. A major source of stress in life comes from trying to manage and manipulate items and events over which we have no power. On the other hand, when we focus on those things we can control, we can achieve greater success and derive greater satisfaction. Interestingly, when we focus on what we can control, we often find that the elements and areas of life beyond our control consume less of our energy and we can often find ways to cope and respond that lessen their impact. For example, we might prefer to avoid a mandated professional learning activity, but we can choose to find value in and learn from the experience rather than spend our time resenting having to be there. We can pay attention to and appreciate what is good. Even when we live through a bad experience, there still may be elements that are good and worth appreciating. One of the truths of life is that we tend to find what we look for. If we pay attention to everything that is wrong, we can miss many important things that are right and worth celebrating. On the other hand, if we commit to look for what is good and worthy of appreciation, we tend to find those things, too. Remarkably, an attitude of appreciation can be contagious. As we find and note good elements and aspects of life, others notice them too. Consequently, we have more positive topics and experiences to share about and more to appreciate. We can also choose to lift others up. This behavior may seem counterintuitive. Yet, the act of doing something good for others is a great way to feel good about ourselves. When we notice and compliment good work, share the work of others as examples to emulate, and adopt good practices we learn from others, we feel better and we do better. This habit is not only effective among adults. When we compliment students to their parents, especially when students are within hearing distance, the benefits can be significant. Parents feel good about their children. Students love to “overhear” good things about them and their work. We can also benefit from the learning confidence and effort students will give in response. Changing the emotional path on which we find ourselves does not mean having to change everything. In fact, trying to change everything can be counterproductive. Rather, focusing on a few key shifts that become habits can make a lasting difference in the success we experience and the satisfaction we feel from it.

January 24, 2022

Three Tools for Improving Our Emotional and Mental Health

This is a time of year when we can find it challenging to stay positive, energized, and engaged. The holiday season is behind us. The daylight hours are still short. Spring is still many weeks off. Meanwhile, we need to be at our emotional and mental best for our students, our families, and ourselves. This is a time of year when many of us could use a boost. Fortunately, there are useful tools that can shift our thinking, improve our mood, and put us on a track to feeling better. These mental tools are available to each of us without cost or training. In fact, we already possess them. They involve tapping our creativity, unleashing our imagination, and opening ourselves to inspiration. Let’s examine these mental tools, how we can employ them, and the benefits they can offer. The first, creativity, is original thinking. We may not think of ourselves as being creative. Yet, each of us have within us the ability to create. Think of creativity as seeking a new perspective, developing a new approach, or finding a unique twist. Creativity can be a different way of thinking about a situation, topic, or object. Even small ideas can be enough to make something common uncommon, or something unremarkable remarkable. Creativity does not have to involve a major breakthrough or world changing idea. The power is in creating. Any recognition by and appreciation of others is a bonus. The second, imagination, is unrestrained thinking. Imagination opens our thinking in ways that are limitless in potential scope and not constrained by reality. Imagination invites us to consider what could be. We can conjure a narrative, an image, or a place beyond reality. Imagination is permission to dream about what could be without being constrained by social convention, resources, or even the laws of nature. The third, inspiration, is motivated thinking. Inspiration is awakened energy. Inspiration can give us the drive to create and create the urge to imagine. Inspiration can come from within us as we reflect on an important purpose, a compelling need, or possible contribution. Inspiration can also be stimulated externally through reading about, listening to, or observing inspirational thoughts and actions. When we open ourselves to inspiration, we invite purpose and ready our emotions for engagement. Inspiration can come from a new idea or a compelling purpose and lead us to set a worthy goal. Inspiration can give us a new awareness of possibilities. While each of these thinking tools are unique, they share some powerful, common benefits. All three can improve our mental and emotional health. They can decrease stress. Creativity, imagination, and inspiration can improve our mood and build psychological resilience. They offer a sense of contribution, control, and ownership. They build neurons in our brain that can keep our nervous system healthy and our memory sharp. Creativity, imagination, and inspiration have also been shown to prevent dementia later in life. When we share our creativity, imagination, and inspiration with others, they can improve our social life. They can help us to build self-confidence, self-esteem, and self-efficacy. They can make us more curious and leave us feeling more optimistic. The benefits of creativity, imagination, and inspiration are not necessarily dependent on direct engagement. We can access much of their power vicariously. Attending a concert, visiting an art museum, or reading a story can still give us access to many of these benefits. What is important is that we give ourselves permission to engage in creative thinking and tasks, use our imagination, and be inspired. Only when we interrupt old patterns and open ourselves to possibilities can we break out of unhelpful cycles of thought and create new paths. Of course, there is no better time to start than now.

January 17, 2022

Improving Learning Requires Unlearning

What we think we know has a powerful impact on what we believe, how we behave, and what we see. Our beliefs and perceptions often grow out of early experiences in formal education, what our parents and other adults told us, and the culture in which we grew up. Yet, what we believe and how we see the world are not always accurate. In fact, some of the things we believe and many of our perceptions may be in error. Still, we cling to them because they are familiar. In many cases, they have worked well enough for us in the past to leave their value unquestioned. At the same time, just because some practices and processes have been in place for a long time does not make them perfect, or even highly successful. But they can be difficult to change because they are what we learned they are supposed to be. Meanwhile, we are faced with changing and growing expectations for outcomes, especially in education. In response, we can be tempted to double down on what we know and how schools have traditionally operated. In the short term this strategy may seem marginally successful as we tinker and adjust existing practices. Unfortunately, this approach typically holds little promise for significant, widespread, sustainable improvement. If it did, the efforts of the past 30 years to improve schools would have paid off by now. Maybe it’s time to try “unlearning” some old beliefs and assumptions and try “relearning” by suspending traditions and exploring new ways of thinking. At first, this suggestion may seem naïve. Yet, there are some obvious places we could start that hold significant potential to generate different, more compelling outcomes than we are likely to experience by relying on how things have traditionally been done. Here are five places where unlearning and relearning hold promise:

What if we let go of the idea that schools should be driven by teaching and replace it with the idea that schools should be driven by learning? If we did, the questions of what students are ready to learn and how to support their learning would replace standardized lesson plans, remediation, and students who fall behind.
What if we let go of the idea that students who misbehave should be punished and concentrate on helping these students develop better conflict resolution skills, more alternatives to deal with frustration and anger, and build stronger relationships with peers and adults? We know that punishment accomplishes little beyond some immediate compliance. If we focus on developing the capacity of students to be successful in a social environment, we are likely to see changes that are positive and lasting.
What if we grouped students by readiness to learn rather than age? The average American classroom includes students whose readiness to learn spans 3 ½ years. Yet, we ask teachers to meet the needs of all of these students with a curriculum developed on the assumption that all students are ready to learn at grade level.
What if we focused on the quality of student learning, not just its speed? We typically give special status and attention to students who learn quickly, even though much of the progress we see may be the result of strong short-term memory skills, or an ability to “read” the expectations of teachers. Meanwhile, some of the deepest, longest lasting learning comes as the result of struggle and time-consuming focus.
What if we assigned grades and developed “progress reports” based on what students learn, not just what they know? The traditional grading system gives significant advantage to students who enter classes already knowing much of what will be taught. Meanwhile, students with little background knowledge may learn a great deal, but still fall short of meeting every expectation in the time allocated for the class. The danger is that students who receive the highest grades may be students who learned the least from the experience.

To be clear, making the shifts in processes and practices suggested by this list is not a small challenge. They counter many of the assumptions and beliefs most adults hold about how school should operate. They also ask us to unlearn much of what we have been taught and has been expected of us throughout our careers. Relearning means committing to suspend what has been learned in favor of asking ourselves and each other what could and should be the experiences we offer to our students.

December 22, 2021

Be the Light That Pushes Darkness Away

The change of seasons at this time of the year means the days grow shorter and darkness comes earlier. We become more aware of the importance of light to our activities and routines. We adjust lights in our living space to counter the increasing hours of darkness. Lights also play a key role in our celebration of winter holidays. When darkness grows, we appreciate the presence of light even more. Interestingly, when the darkness is deepest, lights seem brighter and even travels longer distances. On a dark, moonless night lights that may be far away are clearly visible. The same light shining in the midday sun does not stand out and may not even be visible. Light shines brightest when it encounters the greatest darkness. Still, light is not necessarily the opposite of darkness. Darkness is the absence of light. The brighter the light, the less darkness we experience. When light is present, darkness retreats. When a light is extinguished, the darkness reasserts itself. So, what does a discussion of the relationship between darkness and light have to do with our work and role in life? In many ways there is a parallel. We often talk about “dark days” as we describe difficult times when our hope and optimism are challenged. Negativity, doubt, and cynicism may seem to be everywhere. Our energy and enthusiasm can begin to wane. We can also become easily discouraged. Ironically, these are time when we can have the greatest impact on the lives and spirits of those around us. When we push back against the “darkness” we offer hope and optimism and “light” a different path. Like physical light in a dark space, we push back the shadows and illuminate possibilities. We can choose to tolerate the darkness or we can choose to be the light that pushes against it. The choice is ours. It is a significant decision. We can choose to see possibilities rather than problems. When we do, we bring light to the challenges we face. We can seek solutions rather than focus on barriers. In life, we are most likely to find what we look for. Seeking and seeing possibilities is the equivalent of light pushing back darkness and hopelessness. We can choose an attitude of optimism and openness. Attitude is a choice. A positive attitude can encourage those around us to see goodness in relationships and possibility in circumstances. A positive attitude does not mean that we ignore the difficulties we face. Rather it means that we choose to spend our time and energy in ways that value goodness and prioritize potential. We can choose to offer our support and share our wisdom. Each of us have experiences, insights, and learned lessons that hold the potential to help others. During trying times our support for each other can be a powerful way to push back the darkness and build the confidence and competence needed to overcome the difficulties and challenges we face. We can choose engagement. Turning inward in the face of criticism and doubt may feel like we are protecting ourselves, but choosing to engage can lead to better understanding and build trust. Assumptions left unexamined and unchallenged become beliefs. Assumptions can be dispelled. Beliefs are difficult to change. We can choose to take a long-term view. Like the change of seasons, the times we are experiencing will pass. The days will lengthen, and we will experience more light in the days ahead. Knowing that there are better days ahead can give us the courage to press on and be today’s light while we wait for better days to come. We can allow ourselves to become discouraged and wonder if we make a difference. Or we can be the light that shines brightest and is seen from the farthest distance. We may not be able to choose the circumstances we face, but we can choose how we will respond. In that choice lies the opportunity to make a crucial difference in our lives and the lives of all around us.

November 29, 2021

Forgiveness Is Not Just for Others

We understand that people in our lives may misstep occasionally. They may misspeak in ways that cause hurt, and they may misinterpret our words and intentions in ways that cause us pain. Yet, we understand that they are human and humans make mistakes. We can choose to hold grudges and nurture resentment for what others have done or not done to or for us. Or we can choose to forgive and move forward focusing on the future and the importance of our relationship. When people who have hurt or offended us are close friends, colleagues, and family members, forgiveness is particularly important. Failing to forgive those who are significant parts of our lives forces us to regularly re-experience past grievances and prevents us from being fully present for them. Holding on to past grievances also can have serious life consequences for us. We can experience bouts of anxiety, periods of depression, bursts of anger, frequent insomnia, and other unpleasant emotional and physical reactions. Our failure to forgive can make the other person uncomfortable, but it can hurt our emotional and physical health. As difficult as it can be to forgive others, forgiving ourselves can be even more difficult. Yet it is at least as important. We understand that others may have faults and behave in ways that disappoint us. However, we are often much harder on ourselves and even less forgiving when we misstep, misspeak, and misinterpret with our words and actions. When we fail to live up to expectations we have for ourselves, we can become both the grievant and the aggrieved. On its face it seems that it should be easier to forgive in these circumstances since no one else is involved. Yet, we are often harder on ourselves and less willing to forgive when we stumble and fall short. We can find it easier to accept that others might not be perfect while expecting perfection in ourselves. In fact, others may already have forgiven us for some experience, while we continue to blame and shame ourselves. The past year has demanded more from us than we ever might have imagined. We have been asked to deal with circumstances for which we could not have been prepared and for which we had neither the tools nor the experience to address. It was predictable that we would make mistakes and fail to notice and respond effectively to some circumstances and challenges that confronted us. We also operated under significant and sustained pressure and stress. Missteps, misspoken words, and misinterpretations were unavoidable. Now is the time to stop blaming and shaming ourselves for what we may or may not have done in the past, whether associated with the pandemic or not. This is a time when our students and colleagues need us to be fully present and ready for what the future holds. They need the best we can offer. Forgiveness can be easier if we shift our perspective from our shortcomings and setbacks and think about how we would respond if a friend were in a similar situation. We need to grant ourselves the same understanding and grace we would offer to a friend, colleague, or family member. We need to give ourselves the same level of encouragement, support, and confidence we would offer to a close friend or valued colleague whom we know has great talent, excellent skills, and yet untapped future potential. We need to accept that forgiving ourselves is no less important or powerful an act as forgiving others. With forgiveness, we are free to focus on the future and become all that life has to offer us.

November 08, 2021

Share Your Tips & Stories

Share your story and the tips you have for getting through this challenging time. It can remind a fellow school leader of something they forgot, or your example can make a difficult task much easier and allow them to get more done in less time. We may publish your comments.

Send Us An Email

Timely Advice From Einstein About Curiosity, Imagination, and Learning

During his early years, Albert Einstein was not considered particularly bright. In fact, he was a late reader. As a young student his teachers saw little in him that previewed his brilliant future. Yet, he grew into one of the most important scientific thinkers of his time, or any time. We encounter students every day that might not be demonstrating special talent or intellectual potential. Yet, within them may reside the potential to make a difference for mankind. They may invent life changing cures for diseases, discover the secret to reversing climate change, or create a business that transforms trash into building materials and reduces our dependence on limited natural resources. We cannot know or predict what the future holds for our learners. Our challenge is to protect a full range of life options for our students and design opportunities for them to discover what their future could be. The crucial question for us is how to help today’s students build a path to their best future. Interestingly, Albert Einstein may have left for us a “blueprint” we can use to help meet this challenge. The answer resides in three Einstein quotes about himself and learning:

“I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.”
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”
“Study is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think.”

The first quote addresses a common perception of Albert Einstein that he did not share. We think of Einstein as a brilliant man with amazing talents. Yet, that is not how he saw himself. He believed that what set him apart was his curiosity and passion and persistence to understand, not his intellect. We know that curiosity is a powerful force for learning. In fact, without it, little important and lasting learning is likely to occur. If we hope to preserve a limitless future for our students, we need to do all that we can to stimulate, nurture, and preserve their curiosity. The second quote expands on the idea of curiosity by placing it in action. The more curious we are, the more we feed the potential of our imagination. The more we explore and engage the world around us, the more we can imagine what might be possible and how we might make our lives and the world different and better. Equally important, this idea embraces the limitless possibilities of the imagination. We may find that our learners are limited by what we know right now, but they do not have to be limited in what they think, hope, and create. After all, curiosity and imagination can be the fuel that drives the pursuit of knowledge to make what is imagined real. We may think that imagination is frivolous and even a waste of time, but most of the greatest inventions and advancements in our society originated in someone’s imagination. The third quote invites us to think about how we ask students to engage in the process of learning. The idea that study should be in pursuit of learning how to think counters much of traditional instructional practice. We used to think that education was the transfer of knowledge from adults to the minds of young people. Einstein reminds us that teaching students to think opens the door to tapping their curiosity and imagination as sources of thought, reflection, and insight. Einstein urges us to think about our work as lighting a fire in the minds of students, rather than attempting to fill an empty vessel. He suggests that we choose to be curiosity igniters, talent scouts and imagination developers. Imagine how these ideas as daily drivers of our attention and efforts can transform the experience of students and provide energy and satisfaction to our work. They can transform our relationships with learners and make learning irresistibly interesting and purposeful.

September 20, 2021

Words and Phrases That Can Limit Thinking or Unleash Creativity

Words matter. Yet, their influence on us is often so subtle that we don’t even realize how they may be guiding and limiting our thinking. Without our being conscious of or intentional, the words we choose and the patterns of speech we habitually use can be holding us back, even when we are trying to tap into our spontaneity and creativity. Equally important, if we are unaware of the power of words and their influence on our thought and behavior patterns, they can be inflicting harm and creating barriers to our becoming our best selves and doing our best work. Of course, there are times and situations in which we need to limit the scope of our thinking and focus on a narrow set of elements and options. However, even at these times it is important that we are aware of the choices we are making and how our words can help us to frame situations and experiences to help us accomplish our goals. The key is to be intentional about the actions we can take and frame the situation we face with words and phrases that will align our thinking with the outcomes we seek. Let’s explore some examples of when our words can influence our thinking and the actions we take. Consider the implications of asking “why” versus “why not.” When we ask “why,” we are seeking reasons, rationale, and arguments. When we ask “why not,” we are exploring possibilities, challenging barriers, and questioning common assumptions. Asking “why” assumes a position of inaction while asking “why not” assumes a position of action. John F. Kennedy famously presented this dichotomy in his inaugural speech, claiming the “why not” position for himself and his generation. The so called “greatest generation,” of which Kennedy was a member, leveraged the idea of “why not” to achieve unprecedented progress and success for our nation. Certainly, there are times when asking “why” is appropriate and necessary, but real creativity and smart risk-taking grows out of asking “why not?” Next, consider the power of focusing on “what could be” rather than “what should be.” When we give our attention to what we should be, or what we should do, we tap into set expectations, we pay attention to established processes and parameters, and we defer to judgements about what is appropriate. Conversely, when we ask “what could be,” we open the doors to a wide range of possibilities, we ignite our imagination, we activate our creativity, and we free ourselves to attempt what may never have been done before. When we are preoccupied with what should be, we are responding to what others think, acting out of fear of not measuring up, and limiting ourselves to what is conventional. There are times when we need to consider and respond to what should be in deference to the situation and how others may be affected. However, real growth, new ideas, creative breakthroughs, and life changing experiences come from asking “what could be?” Further, consider the difference between describing a situation as a problem versus seeing the situation as an opportunity. Problems exist to be solved and prevented from reoccurring. Opportunities, on the other hand, represent occasions for exploration, inventing, leveraging, and moving forward. Interestingly, the same set of circumstance might be described as either a problem or an opportunity. Yet, the words we choose to define the situation can have a dramatic impact on our thinking, the actions we take, and the outcomes that result from our efforts. These examples of the power of words and their relationship to our thinking represent crucial insights to how we choose to engage in and respond to our life experiences. In our professional lives, choosing to ask “why not,” exploring “what could be,” and interpreting challenges as opportunities will define the path our careers will take. Teaching and coaching our students to think “why not,” “what could be,” and focusing on opportunities can build lifelong skills and habits that will be transformational. Of course, each of these examples of word and thinking choices can also have important impacts on our personal lives and relationships. What choices will you make?

September 13, 2021

We Can Choose and Create Our Own New Normal

There is little argument that the pandemic has been disruptive to our lives. We have been challenged in ways that we might never have imagined. The changes came with little warning and little opportunity to prepare. And the pandemic has lasted longer than anyone seemed to imagine or predict. The result for most of us is that we have changed. We may not be aware of just how we have changed, but there is a feeling that we are different now. Traumatic experiences, especially when they extend over long periods, can have an impact on how we think, how we live, how we work, and with whom we engage. Yet, the fact that we have changed matters less than how we will be different. Fortunately, the ways in which we have changed and continue to change are not predetermined. Nor are they beyond our control. We can allow our post-pandemic lives to play out without making conscious choices and creating a new direction, or we can use the disruption to reimagine and reprioritize our lives from this time forward. If gaining control, determining our post pandemic life path, and creating our own new normal is what we want, there are at least five components to which we can give attention. First, we can open ourselves to new perspectives. We can explore how others view issues beyond what we assume. We can commit to listening, exploring, and seeking to understand. Committing to see life and the world through the eyes of others is a great step toward gaining new perspectives. We can also try new experiences. Changing routines, going new places, and meeting new people can create new understanding and insights, as long as we remain open and curious. Second, we can develop a new sense of purpose. With new perspectives come new questions, new options, and new ways to approach life. We may discover that new priorities emerge for how we want to live. We may see opportunities to serve and make a difference that previously escaped us. We may also find that we rediscover a sense of purpose that had waned in our pre-pandemic lives. A new sense of direction, renewed commitment, and clarity about what is important to us can energize our lives, lift our attitudes, and create a new sense of hope. Third, we can develop new habits. To sustain new perspectives and live with a renewed sense of purpose, we may need to shift old habits and create new ones. Habits are intentions in action. Unless we change the ways in which we choose to live each day, we will soon find ourselves back into routines that are more consistent with the “old normal” than the new normal we are working to create. Our new habits may help us to be healthier, engage in life more fully, or improve the lives of others. Regardless, unless our habits and routines reflect the commitment we have made to change, little progress can be expected. Fourth, we can engage in new learning. New perspectives and new purpose almost always lead to the need for new learning. As we begin to discover elements and aspects of life we have ignored or have been unaware of in the past, we will inevitably find that there is more to know, understand, and appreciate. Our learning may be formal and structured, or it may be more organic and opportunistic. The choice is ours. What is most important is that we open ourselves to continuing to grow and discover. Fifth, we can form new relationships. Often our journey to discover new ways of seeing life and our world brings us into contact with people who may be on the same journey and can help us to discover what we need to continue our journey. Similarly, when we discover new purpose in life, we are likely to encounter others who share our purpose and can help us to live more fully. These relationships can energize our personal new normal and bring a fresh dimension to life. We just need to stay alert for opportunities and be willing to reach out when new relationships are possible. Disruption is usually uncomfortable and disorienting. However, disruption also creates opportunities for change, innovation, and discovery. The pandemic is no exception. The question is, what we will choose to do now?

May 03, 2021

Now Is the Time to Discover Opportunities

The complexity and unpredictability of our lives today might have seemed unimaginable as recently as a year ago. Yet, the circumstances we face do not have to control or define us. We do not have to minimize or ignore the reality we face to find new opportunities, discover new insights, and build new skills and capabilities. At first, such a statement may feel disconnected to reality. Still, it taps an important truth. Despite the challenges we face, we still have choices regarding how we interpret our experiences, decide how we will respond, and what we will learn from the experience. We can default to disappointment, defeatism, and self-pity, or we can resist knee-jerk reactions and commit to finding opportunities, developing new strategies, and strengthening our resilience. The choice is ours. We only forfeit our ability to choose when we give in and accept our circumstances as unalterable reality. We can choose to see potential and possibilities or succumb to disappointment and despair. We can do better than “making do” or getting by. We can commit to creating energy and momentum, focus, and purpose for ourselves. We can ask ourselves, “How can I take this experience or challenge and use it to learn, improve, adapt, imagine, or create?” “How can I make this into something positive and productive?” Consider some common scenarios and how adopting an attitude of opportunity might make a difference:

Rather than bemoaning that I cannot control the behavior of students remotely, how can I develop relationships and influence that make dependence on compliance, threats, and consequences less necessary?
Rather than complaining about how students are overly dependent on my instructions and direction, how might I nurture in them the skills and habits necessary to become more independent learners?
Rather than pressing to cover academic content at a pace that students cannot manage, how might I focus on depth of understanding and building skills that give students the ability to catch up on less crucial content later?
Rather than struggling to find ways to entertain and engage students, how can I tap their internal drive, interests, curiosity, and values to build learning momentum instead of being completely dependent on my energy and drive?
Rather than struggling to conjure and present artificial learning challenges and experiences, how can I tap natural and authentic opportunities to stimulate learning and build understanding in the lives, homes, and surroundings of students?
Rather than setting goals and building paths for the learning of my students, how might I enlist their ideas and position them to participate in setting learning goals? Might it be easier and more productive to enlist their input and commitment rather than trying to drive momentum on their behalf?

Obviously, these are only some of the options and opportunities we can identify and leverage to broaden our skills and build learning success. We can choose to grow and adjust despite the circumstances that have intruded on our routines, disrupted our plans, and challenged long-standing practices. It is up to us.

February 08, 2021

The Master Teacher Blog