My Pet Peeves… Drives Me Crazy…

06 Friday Nov 2020

Posted by The Book Chamber in Attitude, Balance, Choice, Emotion, Family, Importance, Intentions, Leader, Leadership, Pet Peeves, Reflection, Relationships

≈ 5 Comments

Ok… showing our age now…

How many of you remember the song “She Drives Me Crazy” by Fine Young Cannibals? Sorry if that song is stuck in your head now…

“…She drives me crazy
And I can’t help myself…”

Well, consider everything that is going on around us and the differences of many opinions we each have; instead of opening the phrase with “she,” open it up with “whatever” drives me/you crazy…

I have a lot of pet peeves. I have so many; I have a zoo. The bad thing is, I feed every one of those peeves; messy little critters, they are. Just like any other pets, I love on them, play fetch, rub their belly, scratch their ears… You get the idea. Also, those peeves rub me the wrong way, make me cringe, get under my skin, pull what little hair I have out, wake me up at night, and shut down my breathing sometimes (my mom and dad should get a laugh out of that one).

But… what I have come to realize, while those peeves are always going to be there, it is ME that drives myself crazy. I have a choice as to if I feed them and welcome them into my life… or not. Also, I choose what I want to think about, and for some part, how I feel about them. I know it is hard to get “stuff” out of your mind, and for some reason, “things” will always linger around, triggered by something or someone to make you start thinking again.

I do acknowledge that there are real problems in people’s lives. I am not dismissing or diminishing that fact. What I am talking about is trying NOT driving yourself crazy with all those peeves.

Things that I have to sometimes tell myself…
Go to sleep and don’t wake up at midnight about something you saw on social media.
Quit keeping up with what all you have done wrong lately. Laugh at your trivial mistakes.
Set some reasonable, attainable goals. Get things done early; that way, you can have accomplishments.
Hang out with like-minded, kindred-spirited people. This is huge…
Most of all, be thankful for the love of family and your real pets (not those peeves).

As we approach Thanksgiving, start thinking about your “thankfulness” and quit feeding the pet peeves. They don’t taste very well anyway, and they are tough to chew.

Yes, some things drive me crazy, and maybe, I can help myself…

Go be a great educator and leader today… Our future needs it…

Remember… Think Leadership and Be For Others…

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What are your thoughts of what a leader should be?

30 Friday Oct 2020

Posted by The Book Chamber in Attitude, Leader, Leadership

≈ 2 Comments

Have you ever made this statement, “We need better leadership?”

Yes, I have. More often than not, here lately. We need better leadership in many areas. You can just start a running list…

The older I get, the more I am amazed at leadership in general, and these are my opinions only… I see both strong and weak leadership everywhere. I see people who need to be in leadership and are not. I see people who are in leadership and should not be. I see people in positions of leadership and wonder how they got there (I have many thoughts on that, but that is a different blog post…). Nonetheless, what constitutes better leadership, regardless of who is leading or the area of leadership?

If you look up the definition of leadership, you will get a general definition. Here is the Google answer: “The action of leading a group of people or an organization.” But what actually makes the person a leader by definition? Is it more than influencing others and just leading? Yes, because the leading could actually be bad. Good, great, quality leadership is what we are after.

A few quick thoughts on what I think a “leader” needs to have…

Mindset – What you have to be.
Knowledge – What you need to know.
Performance – What you need to do.
Growth – What you need to develop yourself.
Wisdom – What you need to lead others.
Service – What you do to help grow others.

The list above goes against much of where we are in society. We live in a time where the “me first” mentality gets what they want without any notion of how others are affected. Somewhere between yesterday and tomorrow, we have a one-day chance to help change leadership for the better, and it seems every day, we are missing the opportunity to do so.

Yes, we need better leadership, but it starts with each one of us wanting to be a better leader. It is much more than a “title” and a “following.” What will you do today to help make it happen?

Go be a great educator and leader today… Our future needs it…

Remember… Think Leadership and Be For Others…

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Expectations and plans that go astray?

02 Friday Oct 2020

Posted by The Book Chamber in Appreciation, Attitude, Circumstances, coronavirus, COVID-19, Decisions, Expectations, Understanding

≈ 4 Comments

Have you ever experienced disappointment when you had to change plans or when plans were changed for you?

As creatures of habit, we have carefully arranged the details of our lives and the things we are involved in. We all have expectations that we look forward to accomplishing, but the results are not always what we envisioned.

Somewhere, in all of life, circumstances show up. Sometimes they get in the way; other times, they open up another lane to possibilities we would have never thought. It is the “what do we do with” these circumstances that matter.

Frustration and celebration are the hallmarks results of circumstances; hopes are dashed, and parties are thrown. Looking back, which result has been the most in your life? For some reason, I would want to say, “The one where my hopes were dashed.”

Why do we tend to focus on the “stuff” that does not go our way? I can start naming plenty. But then, to convince myself I am not being negative-minded, I switch to the times as I look back, and realize I am glad that some of the expectations I had, did go a different direction… now, but definitely not then.

History is full of people who thought setbacks were just that, setbacks. You have had a few, I have had a few, we all have had a few… Here is the funny thing about expectations and plans that go astray… everyone is equal opportunity. We all face, at one time or another, the disruption of our expectations.

What would happen if we changed our mindset on the front end when plans change? Is that even possible? Easy to say, hard to do. However, it does go back to what I stated above; it is the “what do we do with” these circumstances that matter. It is easy to say, “Look for the silver lining.”

As I was thinking about what to write this week, I had one of my “memory moments” and thought back to a situation when I was “young and dumb,” that did not go as I wanted or had planned. Looking back to this and other times, I cannot say that I am glad they happened. However, I can say that I am glad plans do change sometimes. With changes, we never know who the people are we might meet, the things we can learn differently or new, or how our character might be shaped to help us down the road with another circumstance that comes our way. In many cases, I am a better person because my plans were changed.

For the times we do not know the why, the how, or even understand the timing of the disruptions of our lives, change is the constant. For the times that do not go as I have wanted them to go, I learn and create a reference point for the future, and for those that have worked out for the better, I am thankful.

In each case, to quote Robert Frost… “And that has made all the difference.”

Go be a great educator and leader today… Our future needs it…

Remember… Think Leadership and Be For Others…

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Why you need to be an idealist educator right now…

21 Friday Aug 2020

Posted by The Book Chamber in Actions, Attitude, Change, coronavirus, covid19, Education, Educational Leadership, Effective, Idealist, Leader, Leadership, Purpose, Relationships, Teachers, Whole

≈ 3 Comments

Regardless of how long you have been in education, I believe you fall into one of three categories… Idealist, Contented, or Disheartened (I will discuss the last two at a later date).

If there was ever a time for a need of quality education and educators, it is now (really all the time for that matter). You ask, why do I say that? Well, for starters, look at where we are with teaching and all that is going on with the current pandemic. Learning is in the form of… Zoom, virtual, digital, distance, hybrid, traditional, non-traditional, etc…

So, why idealist?

An idealist teacher is going to focus on the student while at the same time threading the curriculum into the lesson. Students are in a class for a brief period of time, and we really do not know where their mind wanders off to or even where it has been. But to engage a student in an environment that is inviting, where they enjoy the setting, creates an opportunity for success for both the teacher and the student.

Idealist teachers have vision. They see what is on the side, and they help pull a student’s imagination to reality. Classroom instruction becomes an invitation to students instead of a demand. Students have the opportunity to be part of “something” and possibly experience a deeper understanding of not only the material being taught but, more importantly, themselves.

I also believe that idealist teaching enables a student to become an idealist learner. Where lessons can educate the whole child instead of “just learn this now” mentality. Idealist teachers teach growth of a student’s mind instead of force-feeding them information. Straight methods of lecture should not be the norm of teaching. Allow students to think out loud and draw from different perspectives.

Now, to those who say idealist teaching doesn’t work… You might possibly hear that idealist teachers are young and have little classroom experience. They try too hard to be “friends” of students. They allow things to go undisciplined. They are not concerned about the curriculum. They…

Well, my answer to that is… I know many educators who are not young and have many years of teaching experience who have the same “so-called” characteristics I stated above as why an idealist teaching does not work. Great teachers can exhibit mutual respect from relationships formed in the classroom. When it comes to being a quality educator, no one really cares about your age or your years of experience. Ultimately, the one concept that matters is can you, as a teacher, provide an education for a student that helps them succeed. Be that change agent for them.

Think on it this way… Are you the type of teacher that you would want your child to have as a teacher? Hello, maybe someone might have just had the OMG moment…

So, are you already an idealist teacher? If not, can you become one? Better yet, do you want to be one?

Go be a great educator and leader today… Our future needs it…

Remember… Think Leadership and Be For Others…

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