10-27-2017

Mary’s Minute

“If you want to conquer fear, don't sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.”

                                                                                       ~ Dale Carnegie

Taking time to just be and to even mediate is important in order to be reflective.  I also think there is a great value in staying busy.  Quiet times are great for reflection and also sometimes we just need to rest.  People work really hard at their jobs – I understand that working with children is physically and mentally exhausting.  Being tired and needing to rest is a natural by-product of the great work you do. 

I have found personally that sometimes the best recipe for my malaise is to get busy.  I realize that we cannot simply “will” ourselves to feel better, but the right kind of busy can be just what the doctor ordered when our sluggishness is caused by lack of motivation.  The key is to get busy with a purpose.  That kind of busy, which might even be classified as good stress, can leave us with more energy than sitting on our couch relaxing. 

I think we need to remind ourselves that being busy and work are not bad things.  The key is to find work that can spark passion.

It is not always easy to know what things will excite us, so we need to stay open. 

I want PC people to take care of themselves, but I also want you to not afraid to be busy.  The happiest people I know are busy and passionate about what they do.  Being busy allows us to conquer our fears!

                                                     Have a great week!

                                                                                          Mary

10-20-2017

Mary’s Minute

“In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.”

                                                                          ~Theodore Roosevelt

Teddy Roosevelt obviously had a growth mindset.  He understood that it is okay to do the “wrong thing” because mistakes lead to growth.  Decision making can be really tough. 

I believe our life is shaped by small daily decisions that just happen without us even realize we are making them. In other words, our lives are shaped by the kind of lives we lead and relationships we build.

Other times, we truly are faced with decisions that can change the direction of our life.  When we are faced with a crossroads, we make lists of pros and cons, we gain advice from trusted people, we gather data, and sometimes we follow our instinct.  Roosevelt suggests that the most important thing to do is to decide.  Taking the big leap to make a decision is important.  It takes courage. 

What do we do if the decision is the wrong one?  Well, Roosevelt’s quote does not give us specific advice on this, but I think he infers that the key is that we learn from our decisions.  If our life is changed for the better from a decision, that is great!  If it is not, then we can learn from it and make the next life-altering decision. 

We cannot undo a bad decision, but learning from it and making the next better decision is much better than a redo!  The important thing is to have the courage to decide and then to be prepared to make corrections if the decision was not the right one.

                               

                                                    Have a great week!

                                                                                   Mary

10-6-2017

Mary’s Minute

“There are two kinds of pride, both good and bad. ‘Good pride' represents our dignity and self-respect. ‘Bad pride' is the deadly sin of superiority that reeks of conceit and arrogance.”

                                                                                                         ~ John C. Maxwell

Maxwell articulates so well my feelings about pride.  I have long grappled with the balance between pride and humility.  

This week the Indiana Department of Education released school letter grades.  Perry Central Elementary was an A again (and has been for many years in a row).  The high school was a B (and has been an A or B for many years).  The corporation grade was an A (and has been an A or B for many years).  I want to celebrate the accomplishments of our teachers, students, and community, but I want it to be in a way that represents dignity and self-respect, never conceit or arrogance.  

We are proud of our work, but we cannot let our feeling of satisfaction change who we are!  We are humble, knowing that we can always be better.  We have respect for ourselves, and we use that as a vehicle to compete against ourselves, not others.  Perry Central students, teachers, and community have much to celebrate, and I think that even more celebratory than letter grades assigned by a state agency, we celebrate our humility and attitude of continual improvement!

                                                     Have a great Fall Break!

                                                                                   Mary