One Family Word

My Family has decided to come up with a Word for us.  We settled on Contagious.  As in-- our mood can rub off to each other in a positive happy-making manner or in a negative grumpy sour type of way.  We are going to make a group effort to be mindful of how our attitude/mood/frame of mind can impact other family members.  Wish us luck and I'll keep you posted.

How about you-- does your family have a word?

I Will Strive

Someone once told me that Persistence and Perseverance are omnipotent.  With that in mind, I have decided what to Strive for in 2012.

I will strive to help Educators get actively engaged with Twitter.  In the short time I have been with TwitterNation it has altered my perception in a Good and Profound way.  And, it is the best source of Professional Growth and Development there is to offer. 

I will charge forward with a full head of Motivation to pursue my return to running.  I've been away from it for many years and am finding that I genuinely enjoy this form of exercise.  Besides, it is excellent for maintaining positive well-being.

I  vow to BE THERE in each moment with mindful awareness for my family.  When I caught myself spacing-out over stuff at work as I was saying prayers and tucking my kids into bed I knew the jig was up. 

That is my list.  I am not going to ponder it.  Nor am I going to talk about it.  I am just going to Strive to Do it.  Any Encouragement you can offer will be appreciated!  Please check in with me from time to time.

Here is to a Healthy, Abundant New Year.

Think Big, Start Small

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by a situation?   Maybe with a project?  Or perhaps a goal?

This is the time when educators select a professional development goal for the year.  If you are like me, then perhaps you have been really excited about something you wanted to do.  You felt a burst of creative energy and were motivated to take action.  Maybe that is what pure inspiration is.  Then for whatever reason that inspiration was never fully realized.

So why does this  occur?  There could be a variety of reasons.  Not enough Time is a big factor for why things do not happen.  Other things take Precedent and crowd it out.  It could be that Support is needed from others and that is missing.  I suppose there could be many circumstances for why something does not reach fruition.

On second thought, maybe this could be perceived differently.  Perhaps we should be more interested in the discovery of why things do happen, rather than why things do not happen.

I remember a time when I had what I thought was a really good idea; a plan for the future that would help at-risk students be better prepared to achieve their potential.  I pitched the idea to my supervisors.  They liked it and even wanted me to pursue it.  Then my bubble was burst with these words:  Think big, start small.  I was crestfallen.  I wanted to do it all immediately.  Right now!  There is no time to waste.  Just let me do it.

I am not sure why that was my initial reaction.  Looking back upon it now I understand this perspective.  They had the big picture in mind.  It was the right decision.  Not only that, but the Think Big, Start Small approach enabled me (and all those involved) to work towards observable and measurable goals in a focused, organized, and accountable manner.  An approach such as this allowed us to measure our progress and make adaptations or corrections as we worked toward making this idea into a reality.

Upon reflection what I have discovered about myself over the years is this–  having Support, Encouragement, and Guidance is a necessary compliment to my own personal Commitment,  Passion, and Motivation.  It is a nice counterbalance.  It is what I need in order to make things happen.  I understand that now.

What do you need from others to help you manifest a goal?  If you are an educator, please consider sharing your professional development goal.