Changing behavior is hard.
One of the behaviors that is "below the line" is being on autopilot. This week my husband was annoyed that my daughter was wearing Crocs to go outside on a snowy day. She was just walking to the car because she was going to put her basketball shoes on when she got to practice. He said (in a loud voice), "Seriously! Put on different shoes. You can't wear Crocs in the snow!" I overheard this from the kitchen and immediately opened the door and said, "She can wear Crocs! Jeez! Stop yelling." Then I grabbed my keys and took her to practice. Later, Justin and I talked about this. He felt like I "over parented". And, I felt like he needed to press pause and speak to her without yelling. In fact, I told him that if he had just said, "Rosa, remember the last time you wore your Crocs to practice in the snow? Your socks got all wet and you were miserable! Can you wear different shoes?" I wouldn't have felt the need to interject. I thought I was being REALLY helpful telling him about this! But, Justin pointed out a few important things to me. He shared that sometimes I react in a similar way with our kids. He gave me several examples of times I have yelled and being instead of calmly explaining things to the kids, like I'd asked him to do. Darn it, he was right! So, I sucked up my pride and I said, "You know what, you're right! I do the same thing. I'm going to work on that." In reflecting I realized that I fall into autopilot frequently. And, even thought I say this all the time, I wasn't living it---I can only only control MY RESPONSE to events. What situations have happened to you lately in which you've fallen into autopilot? How could pressing pause have helped you change your outcome? Remember, we are all a work in progress. For me, it was very liberating to admit that I was wrong. In fact, admitting it was actually easier than attempting to defend myself. Who knew?!?!
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I'm waving the white flag. I have nothing inspirational to say today! I don't have any funny stories and I haven't learned anything this week.
Guess what?!?! It's okay! I'm letting myself just embrace this week as what it is! After being out all last week, I GOT to go to a PD at Central Office on Monday morning. Needless to say I was really, really stressed about having to go to a meeting on a MONDAY on my first day back from being sick! I got to the meeting and settled into my seat with all of my stuff. I decided to have a great mindset and just focus. It did help that the meeting was run by my favorite 95 Core Phonics instructor, Judie! As we got started, Judie acknowledged the crazy times were are in. I typically write down everything thing Judie says! Luckily, I captured this special nugget of truth from her: GIVE YOURSELF PERMISSION TO LIVE IN THE WORLD WE ARE IN! As soon as I wrote this quote in my notebook, I knew it was something I needed to pass on to you! So, please read Judie's advice one more time-GIVE YOURSELF PERMISSION TO LIVE IN THE WORLD WE ARE IN!
I love words and phrases and quotes. I have always believed in the power of words. When I was in the classroom I would plan out the exact language I wanted to use with my students. I wanted to be clear and explicit. The words we read, the images we look at and the media we expose ourselves to all become part of who we are. If you've looked around my office, hopefully you've noticed that I am surrounded by words, phrases and quotes that I have intentionally selected to inspire me and hopefully to inspire others too. It's like the equivalent of "you are what you eat". That's why choosing a ONE WORD each calendar year has been something I've been doing for a long time.
I've had a really rough start to this year and I need those words, phrases and quotes now more than ever. As I was laying in bed, sick with COVID at midnight on January 1st, I couldn't help but think, "what's my ONE WORD?" And, my next thought was, "I can't do this, I can't pick a word this year." Thankfully, after a few days the word came to me though, it's like I just couldn't escape it. My word for 2022 is HEALTH. I want to focus on all aspects of health this year: Healthy relationships Mental health Healthy eating Exercise Healthy work/life balance I am not doing so well with this ONE WORD right now, I'm so glad I have the rest of the year to work on it. (I did just order over $100 of vitamins though!) I hope you have had time to reflect as the calendar turns from 2021 to 2022. I hope you give yourself the time to find the right word for you! And be sure to share it with others. Remember, words are powerful and can take on a life of their own. Give your ONE WORD power by putting it out into the universe. |
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