The article, “The Most Important Way To Measure Your Day” by Tim Denning, focuses on two simple questions as a way to measure a successful day: 1. Did I learn…
Connected Principals Posts
The article, “The Most Important Way To Measure Your Day” by Tim Denning, focuses on two simple questions as a focus of a way to measure a successful day: 1. Did I learn one new thing today? 2. Did I help or inspire one person? These are two questions I hope I can answer daily … [Read more…]
I was taught as a kid that the things that you put into your mind would have an influence on who you are and who you are becoming. Garbage in, garbage out. How you fill your cup will determine what spills over in your life.
Actually, at the time, I remember thinking some of this was just to keep me from listening to the “wrong” type of music in my teen years.
I think my understanding of the concept was over simplified and more focused on what I should not do. But it has just as much to do with what we should do.
The Bible puts it this way…
Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it.
Keep your mouth free of perversity;
keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
Let your eyes look straight ahead;
fix your gaze directly before you.
Give careful thought to the paths for your feet
and be steadfast in all your ways.
Do not turn to the right or the left;
keep your foot from evil.
Proverbs 4:23-27
Now I understand more clearly the truth of this. We really do become what we think about about. The things that we focus on become more visible to us, more evident, in every area of life. It becomes our lens. And that influences our behavior.
When our family bought a Chevy Malibu a few years ago, all of the sudden I noticed how many Chevy Malibus were on the road. I had never noticed before, but these cars were everywhere.
When a student or parent says to me, “There’s so much drama in high school” I find it interesting because I know others who haven’t experienced all of that drama. They see social conflict everywhere because it’s the paradigm they engage with. Others mostly avoid the drama, because they focus their attention on other things.
Tony Robbins has described it this way, “Where your focus goes, energy flows.” You move in the direction of the things you focus on. Your energy goes toward those things.
When you practice gratitude, it’s amazing how you will notice more things to be grateful for. I believe you actually start to have more things to be grateful for. Good things come to people who believe the best and expect the best.
Les Brown said it simply, “What you think about, you bring about.”
Below are 8 things that will influence your growth and who you are becoming. We often think this is the type of advice our students need, and for sure they need to hear this message. But I think we all need to reflect on these things. Everyone needs this message.
How are we spending our time? What are we putting into our minds, rehearsing in our minds, and how can we ensure that it is leading us where we want to go? The patterns of our mind are powerful. They can empower us or defeat us.
The things we think about influence our effectiveness in every area of life. If you want to be a more effective educator, friend, spouse, or neighbor, think about how you are being intentional with these things.
8 Things That Influence Who You’re Becoming
1. What you watch
2. What you listen to
3. What you read
4. What you believe
5. How you spend your time
6. Who you spend your time with
7. The things you say to yourself
8. The thoughts you choose to accept
What would you add to this list? What stands out to you on this list? Leave a comment below or respond on Twitter or Facebook. I’d love to hear what you think.
My friend and an educator that I have incredible admiration for, Bill Ferriter, recently wrote a post titled, “The Best Innovation Ever” where he discusses the importance of relationships in…
Jenny is a returning student at her high school. She has a part-time job which keeps her up late most nights. When she arrives late to school, she has already missed breakfast and she’s tardy. She stands in a long line at the counseling office until she is given her class schedule. She reads it […]
This tweet: This tweet is enough for an entire blog…It is a good reminder for working not only with students but adults as well. But also this tweet. That’s the…
This tweet: This tweet is enough for an entire blog…It is a good reminder for working not only with students but adults as well. But also this tweet. That’s the entire post. A reminder so much can be said in a tweet. June 23, 2019 Starting from Where the Learner ThrivesMay 7, 2019 Defining Your … [Read more…]
Elisabeth Bostwick, author of “Take the LEAP; Ignite a Culture of Innovation,” recently shared this post on “behavior charts.” She opens her post with the following: Early on in my…
Read More Knowing Your Students As Individuals to Help Them Grow Forward
Elisabeth Bostwick, author of “Take the LEAP; Ignite a Culture of Innovation,” recently shared this post on “behavior charts.” She opens her post with the following: Early on in my career, I didn’t realize that spending an abundant amount of time creating behavior charts was unnecessary. I also didn’t realize that it was a waste of … [Read more…]
Read More Knowing Your Students As Individuals to Help Them Grow Forward
From Wikipedia: Derek Anthony Redmond (born 3 September 1965) is a retired British athlete. During his career, he held the British record for the 400 metres sprint, and won gold…
From Wikipedia: Derek Anthony Redmond (born 3 September 1965) is a retired British athlete. During his career, he held the British record for the 400 metres sprint, and won gold medals in the 4×400 metres relay at the World Championships and European Championships.[1] I don’t know what brought me back to the story of Derek … [Read more…]
During the summer months, my word is relatively calm and quiet. The halls and classrooms and halls are silent. Luckily last week my former (sigh.) counselor came by to see me. I am always actually smarter after she leaves me, which is a rare gift. This time we had a great conversation about the people […]
The post Leading as yourself…why do it any other way? #leadership appeared first on Technically Yours Teamann.
Read More Leading as yourself…why do it any other way? #leadership
During the summer months, my word is relatively calm and quiet. The halls and classrooms and halls are silent. Luckily last week my former (sigh.) counselor came by to see me. I am always actually smarter after she leaves me, which is a rare gift. This time we had a great conversation about the people […]
The post Leading as yourself…why do it any other way? #leadership appeared first on Technically Yours Teamann.
Read More Leading as yourself…why do it any other way? #leadership
When my family recently visited the Rocky Mountain National Park, we enjoyed drives through snow-peaked mountains. But my 13-year old son, Jack, was most excited about hiking and climbing. One morning, we gathered the family by Shadow Mountain Lake, and began a hike along the lake that eventually led to a 3-mile ascent to a […]
From the article, “4 Harsh Truths That Will Make You a Better Person”, Eric Barker shares some humbling ideas that make you think about how you approach life. He summarizes…
In the leadership blog, “Lead Change,” the article “Addicted to Change” starts by discussing exactly what the title suggests; leadership is often addicted to continuous change. As indicated by the…
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