Accepting Change?

11/13/17 

I struggle with change. As a natural revolutionary, I am prone equally to seeking change, to resisting the authority that wants to make a change, to desiring to set up an alternate structure, and in reflexively wanting to fight to protect the change I had fought for originally- even if it that fix has run its course. So, yeah, cognitive dissonance is a regular bedfellow of mine. Thankfully, though, my professional maturation has led me to temper most of my revolutionary tendencies- leaving me more processing capacity to roll with changes and problem-solve real-time.

Many of us will complain/vent about a new change- even while another part of our brain is working to accept it and move on. All of those responses can be positive… as long as we do accept the change and respond appropriately. Having a person to vent to is really important, as is having that same, trusted person respond with, “So, what are you going to do about it?”

Often, such a question causes us to change gears mentally. We are thrust into a solution-oriented mode. With that mode comes the necessity to balance many considerations like our values, strategies, political and resources costs, relationship impacts, etc. The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave us some insight by suggesting that “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.” Our hope is realized in our positive response to change. 

… In Doing Good

10/16/17 … In Doing Good

It’s easy to grow tired as we struggle to carry around all of our various life-burdens: psychological, physical and physiological. It’s easy to work primarily for the weekends when we experience ongoing difficulty in our work. Those difficulties can come with the stuff of life outside work, tough customers, leadership decisions that bother you, instability within your company, and much more. Tiredness can lead to weariness- especially if we lose sight of goal.

Shakespeare’s Hamlet struggled with some of these things. May be you can identify with his perspective during his “To be or not to be” soliloquy regarding the situations that make a “weary life.” Probably, we all are affected by the “whips and scorns of time,… the law’s delay and the insolence of office,” and we might feel like it’s just not worth it to keep putting up with all of it. But, we are “doing good.” That is- the work we do every day makes a difference and helps people- it is good that we are doing for our customers- for the world- the universe.

The Apostle Paul, in one of his letters to his supporters in a (messed up) church in Galatia, suggested that his people “not grow weary in doing good for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” This is our challenge: Despite any pressures, we must keep a focus on the fact that what we are doing is to the GOOD. Get some rest to take care of your tiredness, but do not grow weary. Please do not give up.   

Celebrating Your Labor

9/1/17 Celebrating Your Labor

Toil. The Grind. Making a living. Working like a dog. We have so many idioms surrounding work because it’s a huge part of our lives. You come to work every day and spend 8 to 10 hours doing what you do in your chosen profession. Maybe that profession is your “calling,” and maybe it’s just how you pay the bills every month. Either way, I know you put your best into it. You try to be creative in solving problems and use integrity in your decisions. You labor.

You are a laborer. Whether you work with your hands or sit at a desk, you are producing and processing and helping all that goes into making our economy work and making our nation better. When you give it your all, you are making a difference. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once wrote that, “All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.” We certainly uplift in our work. We strive for those who need our support to get to a different plane. Education is the single greatest factor in upward social mobility. We labor for good. 

Cultivating Success

7/13/15 Cultivating Success

As I drive my hands into the sun-warmed garden soil to till or sow and squish my bare toes into the cooling leaf mulch while pruning, fertilizing and watering lush plants that will yield fruits to nourish my family, I can’t help but have my soul filled, my spirit energized and my body satisfied. I know that I am making the world a better place by adding beauty and nutrients to our lives. Throughout my labor, I keep drawing analogies between the process of sowing and growing things with the work of an educator. As Liberty Hyde Bailey writes, “A garden requires patient labor and attention. Plants do not grow merely to satisfy ambitions or to fulfill good intentions. They thrive because someone expended effort on them.” 

Can we avoid comparing gardening with our work as educators? Replace the word garden with “student success” and plants with “students.” Even as we think about the “difficult” students we deal with, consider Emerson’s thoughts on that, “What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have never been discovered.”  Thus: What is an unsuccessful student? A student whose virtues have never been discovered. 

We are cultivating our students’ ambitions, critical thinking, and- really- their future. We are improving our cultural landscape by providing the necessary fertile soil of creativity and ingenuity. We are making the present and future better by growing healthier and more conscientious citizens. Grow a student today. When he blossoms, you will know you have done something amazing for the world.

A Total Eclipse of Our Attention?

8/21/17 Eclipsed?

Has the Solar Eclipse eclipsed our attention to anything else? It seems to be all we want to talk about. Will this ever end? Short answer? Yes.

Often, we will say that one person or situation eclipsed another; meaning the new person or situation overtook the other. In my head, though, as I compare this phrase to the actual eclipse we will experience, I am reminded that the moon only eclipses the sun for a very short time. So, as whatever current concern “eclipse” all other issues in our work, we need to remember that these other needs will reemerge as the currently exigent situation passes. Because… it WILL pass- just as the moon passes the sun.

Also, there is danger in the eclipse in that it cannot take all of our focus. We can’t stare at it. Likewise, there is danger in allowing ALL of our focus to fall on whatever our current emergency is. Why? Because there will ALWAYS be a current emergency eclipsing other plans. If we only ever jump from one emergent need to the next emergent need, cosmic or otherwise, we will fail to be prepared. We will only ever be reacting. We must be much more strategic. We must not allow the current situation the Universe dropped on our laps to eclipse our long term strategy. Why? Because the universe is still in constant motion. And, because the world still turns. And, especially because the sun will come out tomorrow… uh… and today… again. 

A Key Aspect of a Great Team

7/10/17 A Key Aspect of a Great Team

Among so many, I’d like to highlight one key aspect of this team that make this such a great place to work. I’ve observed that we are best when we start with the assumption that each of our actions and utterings come from a place of helping and student/customer focus… that is- positivity. 

We are an inherently positive group who seeks the best for our customers and colleagues. We seem to live the following quote and to reap the reward of which Indra Nooyi, the CEO of PepsiCo writes. She says, “Whatever anybody says or does, assume positive intent. You will be amazed at how your whole approach to a person or problem becomes very different.” Many have commented on how affirming, forward thinking, action oriented, and helpful this office is. 

I credit this natural ethos of assuming positive intent.

Putting on Our Best Selves

5/24/17 Putting on Our Best Selves

Every day, we don a set of clothes of our choosing. People close to us notice. Are our clothes nice? Are they well put together? Do they match the season, and are they appropriate for the social context?  Our outward appearance is a form of our non-verbal communication. What are we projecting- communicating- with our outfit? What do our clothes say about us? 

But... Is our attitude a part of that outfit? Do we “put-on” a certain emotional outlook in the same way we put on clothes? Are we that intentional about our attitude? Should we be more so?

Certainly, there are times when an uncontrolled reaction to a significant event are equally warranted and appropriate (fire, attack, injustice). Most times, though, the world turns more smoothly when we control our reactions and maintain a positive attitude. Because, who benefits when we have a dramatic or unprofessional reaction to an event- especially in the workplace? 

This has been one of my professional growth challenges- to remain professional even if a situation is bad- maybe especially when it is so. Sometimes our coworkers and students find themselves out of control emotionally. Our controlled and solution-oriented response that starts with listening to and assessing a situation may be the first step in reducing the impact of an exigent circumstance. Even if we are feeling out of control, practicing “fake it ‘til you make it” may be the most prudent response.

This is me putting the clothes, face and attitude of my best self.