Running.....Into Another Perspective
Usually by midweek the stress has hit me and I become a bundle of knots. The truth is, I decided to go out for a walk to see if I could work off and alleviate some of it that I felt in my shoulders and had hoped to get work off my mind. Never did I think this adventure would turn into a blog entry.
I'm not sure what you do, but when I go for a walk, I usually take the same path, walk on the same side of the street, and look at the same houses and landscapes. Today, I decided to cross the street and walk on the other side. Truthfully, this happened because there were two other people walking against me and I didn't want to deal with the awkwardness of having to walk on the road. What I hadn't realized was all that I was missing staying on that one side of the street. I have walked/run that path close to 100 times now, but today it was different. I got to see things that I had never seen before. Beautiful hosta gardens that I couldn't appreciate because I couldn't see them from the other side of the street. What had been brought to my attention was the concept of "routines". We all have them. We all live by them, and when they get disrupted we get thrown off balance and sometimes uncomfortable. Educators are all about routines. Students like routines. But aren't we doing a disservice to both ourselves and our students by exercising these all of the time? Are we missing saying hello and smiling to students that need a smile because we take the same path to the office everyday?
We need to both encourage ourselves and our students to walk on the other side of the street. We need to challenge both ourselves and our students to take a step our of our "box" and discover new things. We need to encourage our students take a different approach and sometimes to view things from another perspective. How can we innovate and challenge our students, if we're doing the same thing day after day? No one likes to step out of their routine, but it is the times in which we are least comfortable, that we grow.
My second adventure was the fact that this walk, turned into a run. I was comfortable with walking tonight. I wasn't dressed to run and I wasn't prepared for it. It wasn't until I came across a guy running on the other side of the street that I was pushed right out of my comfort zone. I was challenged to run at a pace that I have never run before. Unfortunately, he and I parted ways in opposite directions when we reached University St. and I didn't get a chance to say thank you. We all need people in our lives to push us out of our comfort zone and to challenge us to take risks. Those are the people we call our +1's (Inspired by my friend @mrbarry628). Tonight, the guy running on the other side of the road, who I don't know by name, was my +1. Our students need exactly the same thing from us. They need encouragement and they need to be challenged and pushed outside of their comfort zone.
I am fortunate to have people like this in my life EVERY single day! Some people that I refer to as my +1 are around in person each day, while others I have never met. It is truly these people that push me to succeed and to step out of my comfort zone. They help me to grow on a daily basis both personally and professionally. They are my life preservers when I feel like I cannot tread water any longer.
I challenge you to find your +1 in life and to recognize them for their efforts in a way that you feel is appropriate.
I'm not sure what you do, but when I go for a walk, I usually take the same path, walk on the same side of the street, and look at the same houses and landscapes. Today, I decided to cross the street and walk on the other side. Truthfully, this happened because there were two other people walking against me and I didn't want to deal with the awkwardness of having to walk on the road. What I hadn't realized was all that I was missing staying on that one side of the street. I have walked/run that path close to 100 times now, but today it was different. I got to see things that I had never seen before. Beautiful hosta gardens that I couldn't appreciate because I couldn't see them from the other side of the street. What had been brought to my attention was the concept of "routines". We all have them. We all live by them, and when they get disrupted we get thrown off balance and sometimes uncomfortable. Educators are all about routines. Students like routines. But aren't we doing a disservice to both ourselves and our students by exercising these all of the time? Are we missing saying hello and smiling to students that need a smile because we take the same path to the office everyday?
We need to both encourage ourselves and our students to walk on the other side of the street. We need to challenge both ourselves and our students to take a step our of our "box" and discover new things. We need to encourage our students take a different approach and sometimes to view things from another perspective. How can we innovate and challenge our students, if we're doing the same thing day after day? No one likes to step out of their routine, but it is the times in which we are least comfortable, that we grow.
My second adventure was the fact that this walk, turned into a run. I was comfortable with walking tonight. I wasn't dressed to run and I wasn't prepared for it. It wasn't until I came across a guy running on the other side of the street that I was pushed right out of my comfort zone. I was challenged to run at a pace that I have never run before. Unfortunately, he and I parted ways in opposite directions when we reached University St. and I didn't get a chance to say thank you. We all need people in our lives to push us out of our comfort zone and to challenge us to take risks. Those are the people we call our +1's (Inspired by my friend @mrbarry628). Tonight, the guy running on the other side of the road, who I don't know by name, was my +1. Our students need exactly the same thing from us. They need encouragement and they need to be challenged and pushed outside of their comfort zone.
I am fortunate to have people like this in my life EVERY single day! Some people that I refer to as my +1 are around in person each day, while others I have never met. It is truly these people that push me to succeed and to step out of my comfort zone. They help me to grow on a daily basis both personally and professionally. They are my life preservers when I feel like I cannot tread water any longer.
I challenge you to find your +1 in life and to recognize them for their efforts in a way that you feel is appropriate.
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