2018 Top Takeaways
With 2018 coming to a close, here are the top four takeaways that have significantly changed my life:
1. Be your authentic self
Don't "fake it til you make it." You'll just get really good at faking it. Sure, it's the easier way... canned lesson plans, just waiting for an administrator to walk in to see how wonderful you are... you get a great write-up, but it comes at a costly price... losing yourself. You tell yourself you'll step out on a ledge more once you've secured tenure. But, by that time, you've gotten comfortable with playing it safe. Why change now?
Being yourself is risky. It's scary to put it all out on the line. If you fail, there's nowhere to point the finger. You can't blame the "system" for not letting you do it your way. But the reward is great. Even the smallest accomplishments seem like epic victories. With each one, your confidence grows. You are more willing to step out on the ledge. Your students are more engaged because you are more engaged. Your administrators admire that you are willing to take risks, even if you fail. Most importantly, you learn just as much as your students do everyday.
2. Have unbounded empathy for others
It doesn't matter the situation. Whatever it is, put yourself in the other person's shoes. That little 7-year-old that didn't do their homework last night? Mom worked until 3:00 PM so she could get her kids off of the bus. As soon as they put their backpacks down, they are out the door for three different after-school activities. They get home at 7:00 PM to scarf down a store-bought roasted chicken because no one has the time to cook anymore. Dad won't get home until the kids are already in bed. It's a crazy life, but they wouldn't change it for the world. Dad considers himself the luckiest man to find the woman of his dreams. He'll work as much as he has to in order to make ends meet. Mom would drive to the moon and back to see the joyful smiles on her kids' faces.
Oh yeah, that homework. Well, since it wasn't done last night, those fifteen problems have to be done tonight, along with fifteen other problems that are being assigned tonight. That'll teach you! The only thing it teaches a kid is to hate school. Instead, have a little empathy. We'll quickly see the insignificance of our wants and see that we have the opportunity to give someone else what they need.
3. 95% of limitations are self-imposed
The other five percent is given to those pesky natural laws, like gravity. Unfortunately, those are constraints we have to live with and learn to work around. For the most part, though, our limitations are in our heads. That's because we like to live in comfortable fear. Yes, our fears keep us safe. But, they also prevent us from going out on a limb where the best fruit hangs. We tell ourselves that there are a million things stopping us from going after our deepest desires. Those desires are within our reach, they lie just outside of our comfort zone. We are our biggest obstacles. Those desires are attainable if we can only learn to step out of our own way.
4. Take extreme ownership
The toughest thing to do is to look in the mirror and stare the root of our obstacles/problems in the eye. It is much easier to shift blame elsewhere, to be victims of circumstance. However, those circumstances are a direct result of our action/inaction. When we take extreme ownership, we take control over circumstances. We choose how to act/react. It may not help with the current circumstance that we are in, but it will certainly help moving forward. If you find yourself in a hole you don't want to be in, stop digging! Realize how it is that you got there and start working on a way out.
As we enter 2019, realize that each and every one of us has the potential to create change for the betterment of our world. I hope 2019 is the year that we unshackle that potential. Do not be afraid to show your true self. Have unbounded empathy towards your fellow humans. Realize that most of the limitations we perceive are holding us back are in our own heads. Finally, take extreme ownership of the biggest and smallest problems. If we each take action for ourselves, we will find the change we seek. As Gandhi said, "Be the change you wish to see in the world."
Go forth.
1. Be your authentic self
Don't "fake it til you make it." You'll just get really good at faking it. Sure, it's the easier way... canned lesson plans, just waiting for an administrator to walk in to see how wonderful you are... you get a great write-up, but it comes at a costly price... losing yourself. You tell yourself you'll step out on a ledge more once you've secured tenure. But, by that time, you've gotten comfortable with playing it safe. Why change now?
Being yourself is risky. It's scary to put it all out on the line. If you fail, there's nowhere to point the finger. You can't blame the "system" for not letting you do it your way. But the reward is great. Even the smallest accomplishments seem like epic victories. With each one, your confidence grows. You are more willing to step out on the ledge. Your students are more engaged because you are more engaged. Your administrators admire that you are willing to take risks, even if you fail. Most importantly, you learn just as much as your students do everyday.
2. Have unbounded empathy for others
It doesn't matter the situation. Whatever it is, put yourself in the other person's shoes. That little 7-year-old that didn't do their homework last night? Mom worked until 3:00 PM so she could get her kids off of the bus. As soon as they put their backpacks down, they are out the door for three different after-school activities. They get home at 7:00 PM to scarf down a store-bought roasted chicken because no one has the time to cook anymore. Dad won't get home until the kids are already in bed. It's a crazy life, but they wouldn't change it for the world. Dad considers himself the luckiest man to find the woman of his dreams. He'll work as much as he has to in order to make ends meet. Mom would drive to the moon and back to see the joyful smiles on her kids' faces.
Oh yeah, that homework. Well, since it wasn't done last night, those fifteen problems have to be done tonight, along with fifteen other problems that are being assigned tonight. That'll teach you! The only thing it teaches a kid is to hate school. Instead, have a little empathy. We'll quickly see the insignificance of our wants and see that we have the opportunity to give someone else what they need.
3. 95% of limitations are self-imposed
The other five percent is given to those pesky natural laws, like gravity. Unfortunately, those are constraints we have to live with and learn to work around. For the most part, though, our limitations are in our heads. That's because we like to live in comfortable fear. Yes, our fears keep us safe. But, they also prevent us from going out on a limb where the best fruit hangs. We tell ourselves that there are a million things stopping us from going after our deepest desires. Those desires are within our reach, they lie just outside of our comfort zone. We are our biggest obstacles. Those desires are attainable if we can only learn to step out of our own way.
4. Take extreme ownership
The toughest thing to do is to look in the mirror and stare the root of our obstacles/problems in the eye. It is much easier to shift blame elsewhere, to be victims of circumstance. However, those circumstances are a direct result of our action/inaction. When we take extreme ownership, we take control over circumstances. We choose how to act/react. It may not help with the current circumstance that we are in, but it will certainly help moving forward. If you find yourself in a hole you don't want to be in, stop digging! Realize how it is that you got there and start working on a way out.
As we enter 2019, realize that each and every one of us has the potential to create change for the betterment of our world. I hope 2019 is the year that we unshackle that potential. Do not be afraid to show your true self. Have unbounded empathy towards your fellow humans. Realize that most of the limitations we perceive are holding us back are in our own heads. Finally, take extreme ownership of the biggest and smallest problems. If we each take action for ourselves, we will find the change we seek. As Gandhi said, "Be the change you wish to see in the world."
Go forth.
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