Make it a great day or not, the choice is mine!
Every Friday, to end our school assembly, our principals say, “Make it a great day or not,” and the students answer “the choice is mine!” This is a statement I have heard every Friday since I started my amazing journey at Cannon Elementary. I love this statement because it reminds the students that they have a choice to make, and that they take charge of their day. For some reason I could not stop thinking about this statement this week.
The last couple of weeks have been a little challenging, especially this last week. I found myself in situations that I could not control, frustrated and wanting to be able to do more. By the end of the day I was just so frustrated and exhausted! Something would happen first thing in the morning, and it seemed to impact the rest of the day! There are so many situations that are out of our control — things that dictate what we need to do and when. What am I supposed to do in these moments?
This year I have been surrounded by resources to help me dive into this concept, and I just now realized that! I feel like at the beginning of the school year I was really in tune with choosing to be positive and in control of how my day ended, until recently. It is so easy to lose sight of the power that we have over our own lives. I wanted to share a few things that I have learned, and a couple of resources that have helped me along the way.
This week, our counselor came into our first-grade classrooms. She brought play dough and rocks with her. Each student received one of each, and they learned about things that they can control (play dough) and things that they cannot control (rocks). They can mold the play dough into anything they want but rocks are too hard to mold. This is such an important concept! I was so happy when Mrs. Couburn taught them that! Being able to differentiate situations that are under your control and those that are not can help you decide where you want to spend your energy.
I am part of a group called Valor. Valor is a group of teachers that meets throughout the year to collaborate about ways that will advance student achievement. One of the things that we did recently was read The Energy Bus by Jon Gordon.
This book tells the story of George, and how his life starts to change because he had to take the bus to work. It talks about approaching life with a positive outlook and taking control of your “bus.” It gives 10 rules for taking responsibility for your life.
“Remember, you have only one ride through life so give it all you got and enjoy the ride.” - The Energy Bus
“If you're not the driver you’ll always be at the whim of everyone else’s travel plans.”- The Energy Bus
I started my year reading Fighting back with Joy by Margaret Feinberg. It is an amazing book and I am looking forward to finishing it!
The author is an inspiration to me! She wrote this book to share her own struggles, writing while she was battling cancer and how she chose to battle cancer with joy! I highly recommend this book!
You can choose how situations will affect your day. You must choose joy in every situation in every day. It does not mean that it is easy or that you will be successful every day, but growing that mindset in your life will influence your outlook and how you live day to day as well as into the future! I am definitely not an expert at this; I have to constantly remind myself to choose joy, do my best, and love with all my heart!
“More than whimsy, joy is a weapon we use to fight life’s battles.” - Margaret Feinberg
“The journey to joy begins with acceptance.”- Margaret Feinberg