Friday, March 29, 2019

3-29-2019


Mary’s Minute

“If you can’t change your mind, why have one?”
                                                                          ~ Edward de Bono

It is pretty neat that as humans we have the capacity to think for ourselves in a fluid way.  My son, Bill, recently shared a story that really made me think.  He was in a discussion about finding sources to support a thesis.  Someone posed the question, “What do you do if you can’t find data to support your thesis?”  Bill replied, “Change your mind.”  He said that his response was received with some blank stares.  Changing our mindset is not always easy, and as much as we are created as thinking beings, we are also creatures of habit.  It isn’t easy to change a long-held belief or practice. 

We are learning a lot about brain research, and how our actions as adults affect children.  We know that adverse conditions that we often refer to as trauma, physically change the wiring of children’s brains.  We also know through research that these changes can be reversed.  This all sounds great, and makes perfect sense, but the challenge comes when the strategies to help kids go against practices that we have long held.  We can think and learn, but at the end of the day we are still creatures of habit and tend to do things the way we always have. 

For Bill it is a simple matter of evidence.  He thinks scientifically, so if the evidence supports a belief change, he can change his mind.  Some of us are not as analytical in how we handle our lives, but I still think we can learn from him. The key is that we think after all, why have a mind if we can’t change it?

                                                                              Have a great week!
                                                                                               Mary                                    

Friday, March 15, 2019

3-15-2019


Mary’s Minute

“Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing.”
                                                         ~ Laurie Buchanan

Change is exciting, but it can also be difficult.  Having choices usually seems like a positive thing, and choice and change go together.  In order to make change in our lives, we typically make a conscious choice.  What we sometimes forget is that not making any choice, is also making a decision.  Not making a choice to create change is making a choice to continue with the status quo. 

Not making an appointment for a check-up is making a decision to put your health on the back burner.  Not picking up the phone to call a friend or loved one is making a choice to not nurture relationships.  Not trying techniques on the job is making a decision to not improve our craft. 

Our choices matter.  We talk to our children all the time about “making good choices,” but we can’t forget to tell ourselves that taking no action – making no choice, is in fact, making a huge choice. 

Change requires action, so I urge all of us to make a choice for positive change, rather than making a choice for complacency.  Not taking a chance on a choice is a decision to not change.

Would you rather your choice be a conscious one or a subconscious one made by default?  Take a chance, make a choice, and make a change!
              
                                                          Have a great week!
                                                                                Mary                                    

Friday, March 1, 2019

3-1-2019


Mary’s Minute

“It is not the load that breaks you down.  It is the way you carry it.”
                                                                                                 ~ Lou Holtz

We all have stress in our lives.  Last week I was traveling to a conference and arrived at a hotel for check-in after a three hour drive.  I was tired from a day of work and the drive and ready for a quick check-in.  I quickly found that I did not have a reservation.  After researching my dilemma, it was discovered that my reservation was for five days before, and that I had been charged for a “no show.”  I remained somewhat calm and did my best to be kind to the clerk, knowing it was not her fault, but I was a mess.  I was so frustrated at the mess and the possibility of losing the money from the no-show charge. 

It wasn’t until the next morning that I shook off the stress from the night before.  I started thinking about the fact that in the grand scheme of things, losing one night’s hotel stay was insignificant.  I thought about how lucky I was that the hotel had a room for me without a reservation.  I thought about the kindness of the clerk.  I then met with the account manager who without hesitation credited my credit card for the no-show charge.  In other words, I allowed myself to be stressed about something that didn’t even happen!  How silly was that?
I know that we all have stress in our lives – perhaps most of all those who work with children.  What is thrown at us is mostly out of our control.  What is within our control is how we handle it.  One thing I learned is that it is foolish to be stressed about something that may not even occur.  When we feel stressed we need to stop and think whether it is stress about what is or what might be.  Stressing over a possibility is a recipe for disaster. 
        
                                                                         Have a great week!
                                                                                                   Mary