It has been a rough several weeks in our household. I sincerely do not believe that we have had one day since December 1st where every child and adult in the house has been at school and/or work. While this has been annoying, tiresome, and frustrating, it is not lost on me how much more fortunate we are than many families right now.
I share the bumps in the road that my family has had with you because I have allowed those bumps to deter me from what I had set out as personal commitments.. To be clear, I have been doing my job. I have been parenting. But, I set other goals for myself in terms of health, fitness, writing, marketing, etc. that have all fallen by the wayside. One of which – this newsletter/blog has not been released in several weeks.
See, the issue is that I have a ‘good’ excuse. But, as I pondered this, I realized that I could probably find pretty high quality excuses to not move forward at almost any time in my adult life. In this light, I think I am no different from you. The bottom line is that life is pretty darn hard at times. But, when we allow it to dictate the fight instead of bringing the fight to it, we lose sight of the commitments we made to ourselves. In these instances, life does us instead of us doing life.
When this happens, we slowly watch our goals turn into mere hopes and dreams which we are not working toward. We allow potential action, which may lead to success OR may lead to failure, to simply turn into the regret of not having tried.
In almost every situation we have options. We have agency. It is just a matter of whether or not we are willing to accept the excuses we are selling ourselves as to why we cannot do what we have personally committed to or whether we are willing to push through.
This is the reminder I needed a few weeks ago to get back to what I committed to and somehow forgot to give myself. So, as much as this is for each of you – it is also for me.
REFLECTIVE QUESTIONS TO GUIDE SOME THINKING
- How long will you put off what you are capable of doing just to continue what you are comfortable doing?
- When will you put action behind your dreams to turn them into goals instead of wishes?
- Do you allow yourself to accept excuses you would not allow your loved ones, colleagues, or students to use to explain their inaction?
- Is the fear of failure enough to prevent you from even trying?
- How many times can you remember powering past your personal excuses and then regretting that decision? (Most likely that answer is never.)
THE BEST THING I READ/WATCHED THIS WEEK
Illinois Educator Shortage Crisis – IARSS
So . . . this is NOT good news. But I found this to be informative and something that as educators, leaders, heck, simply members of a productive society we should be sharing far and wide. This has dramatic implications for the future of education and that is something everyone should be concerned about.
SOMEONE YOU SHOULD KNOW
Dariusz Warzocha
“D” is a former student turned videographer, web manager, and marketing specialist. He is amazing at what he does and someone whose work ethic actually matches their ambition. Check out the recent video he produced for our district.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND ME
ON DEMAND – Manage Your Time or Time Will Manage You Book Study
ON DEMAND – Communications – MicroCredential Certification through Illinois Principals Association
SPEAKING-CONSULTING-CONFERENCES
January 21 – National Louis University Reading Conference – Intervention Investigation
January 27 – Illinois Principals Association – Leadership Coaching Roundtable
February 3 – Manage Your Time or Time Will Manage You – Online Administrator Academy
MORE OF MY MUSINGS
Pushing Boundaries Podcast Episode 78 – We Spray to All Fields on This One
Interesting Interview in which we spray to all fields – Personal, Leadership, Education.
Thruue – The Great Re-Negotiation
Honored to be a small part of the research on the future of work alongside giants in leadership such as General McChrystal and others.
Writing
Teach Better Team – So, You Want to Write a Book
A longer blog detailing what prospective authors should be considering as they enter into a prolific, but seldom discussed industry.
Illinois ASCD Quarterly Journal – Hard Stop on Learning Loss
I fear that districts and schools may be rushing into solving a problem that we are not entirely sure exists at this point.
This is why I am so bothered by the term “learning loss”. First, an examination of the data shows that it is factually inaccurate. Very few students regressed during the COVID-19 Pandemic. This means that learning did occur. Now, to be transparent, learning may not have occurred at the levels we are accustomed to seeing—but learning was not lost. If anything, perhaps it was delayed.
Edutopia – How School Leaders Can Build Realistic Optimism This Year
As part of cleaning off my plate, I forced myself to make a list of the five things that bring me the most joy in my job. The list included one-to-one meetings with my direct reports, proudly representing the district in different capacities, data talks, coaching my leadership team through difficult situations, and spending time investing in my board of education.
Then I intentionally rerouted my calendar for two weeks to dump as much joy—those five activities—into my day as possible. It worked.
What happened by default was that I spent less time on the distractions that were not only a time sink but also an emotional drain. It turns out the very loud minority of people who were making my job very difficult didn’t deserve the attention and cognitive space I was giving them.
Thanks for taking the time to read this newsletter.
It would mean the world to me if you could share it with one person each week. We all get one chance to live a life of passion and purpose. Help me maximize my one at-bat.