Have you ever felt as though career-wise you’re just going around in a circle? Perhaps now you may feel as if you have hit a brick wall and not making any progress. Deep down you sense a need for change but you’re not sure what that change should be. 
Desiring a change is a good thing, but sometimes the options seem so few and the possible changes seem like a giant step out of our comfort zones. Trust me I know the exact feeling!
Okay, let’s be honest with ourselves. How many of us have already faltered on one, if not all of our New Year’s resolutions? Come on, confession is good for the soul.
Well, I’ll be the first to say that on my pursuit towards my fitness goal I have already detoured quite a bit. I won’t talk about my goal to read through the bible in a year. Oh boy!
The truth is, at the beginning of the New Year, we are bursting with excitement and new ideas until reality hits. The grading starts piling up, bulletin boards require changing, and students aren’t as cooperative as we would hope. At this point, the goals we had set are but a distant memory.
Can you believe it? The Seattle SeaHawks seemed to have “given up” their Super Bowl title to the New England Patriots when they were only one yard away from victory. If I didn’t see it for myself, I probably would not have believed it. It all came down to the call made for the last play.
Instead of driving the ball into the end zone, the QB decided to throw it, and …………. ZAP! Just like that, a rookie defense player intercepted the ball and made the game-changing play that gave his team the championship title.
Isn’t that just like life, sometimes? It appears as if things are going so well and nothing could go wrong, then out of the blue, the decision you make goes awry. If this hasn’t happened to you, then just keep living.
Children’s lunch packed? Check. √
Breakfast prepared? Check. √
Work bag packed? Check. √
Coffee in hand? Check. √ Okay, so we are ready to go.
Well, that’s what I thought as I pulled out the yard, focused on delivering two of my children quickly and safely to school.
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I was looking forward to getting the day started with my high-priority activities to maximize my productivity. I pulled up to my work destination, gingerly turned off the motor, and instinctively leaned over to gather my things.
“What??? Where is my laptop bag? Don’t tell me……nooooo! Okay, calm down Sharmane. Maybe your husband put it in the back seat when he was seeing you off. Nope, it’s not there either. Grrr!”
“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” _Martin Luther King Jr.
The third Monday of every January is observed as a US federal holiday commemorating the birth of MLK. Although many may take this day to relax, the opening quote advocates the need to keep moving. Yes, rest is important, but here, King is admonishing everyone to be purposeful about making progress no matter what.
Have you ever had something disappointing happen to you that you kept replaying repeatedly in your mind? If you’re human, I am sure you have. It’s only natural to relive circumstances that evoke great emotional responses, especially those negative ones. Unfortunately, though, this unhealthy practice limits our ability to move forward.
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In James Allen’s classic book, As a Man Thinketh, the mind is described as a garden. Whether cultivated or neglected it will most certainly yield a harvest: useful fruit or useless weeds. Our choice of thoughts creates our circumstances and even our character.
It’s the beginning of a brand new year! Can you believe it? Before you know it, 365 days will pass again and we’ll be right back to this point. Hopefully though, we won’t be the same. I mean, what good would life be if we don’t grow and change, right? We expect it of students but what about for ourselves?
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A student topples your favorite coffee mug, causing the handle to break off. A colleague reverses into your parked car, putting a dent in the passenger door. Your principal verbally chastises you for a matter in front of several other colleagues. Wherever we might be, situations always seem ripe for an offense……that’s if we let them.
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“Count your blessings. Name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done.” These words of a chorus I’ve heard as a child ring in my ear as I reflect on this season of thanksgiving. But is counting really necessary? What benefit does it hold?
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With every language and major religion emphasizing the importance of grateful expressions, there must be some truth to participating in this act.
But before we go there, let me first empathize with you. Maybe right now you are bogged down with backlog assignments to mark, parents to contact, bulletin boards to change, behavior contracts to devise, lessons to evaluate, or reports to produce. Should I go on? Trust me, I’ve been there many times and it’s not a good feeling.
