I I saw this video again this week, and it reminded me a great deal of this school year. In the video, I think we can take some important life lessons from these two bears. Watch it for yourself first. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhjBXnEFKQs Here are three (of many potential) lessons I believe we can learn from these … Continue reading

I want to start by acknowledging that personal growth is not an easy or comfortable process. I love the simple graphic below showing the difference between your comfort zone and where the magic happens. The “magic” referred to in the graphic above is of personal growth and improvement; it is the place where you get … Continue reading Improvement

Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude. - Thomas Jefferson Every day, many things happen to us that are out of our control; still, the one thing we can always control is our attitude. One of … Continue reading Stay Positive

What is a challenge you face on a daily basis that most everyone has no idea about? The past few weeks have unfortunately reminded me that everyone has an answer to this question. We all struggle. Some of our struggles are big; some are small. Some of our struggles are real; some exist only in … Continue reading The Struggle is Real

There are only four ways to create change. To generate growth in our lives, we must: Do more of something.Do less than something.Start something.Stop something. It seems pretty simple, doesn’t it? These four processes are the only way to form new habits and create change in our lives. The challenge that comes with the process … Continue reading Change

I finished Adam Grant's book Think Again this summer. Adam makes the point in the book that traditional intelligence is the ability to think and learn. Adam makes the argument that real intelligence is the ability to RETHINK and UNLEARN. We can get so steeped in our beliefs that we rarely take the time to rethink what … Continue reading Rethink and Unlearn

A new school year presents opportunities for various beginnings – a new school, new classes, new faces, sometimes new courses, and often new materials.  Summer and vacation can be an excellent time for rest and renewal.  As we approach the opening day, I hope the end-of-year pressures of May seem trivial as you anticipate the … Continue reading Hope and Opportunity

Adversity -- no one wants it, but we all get it. Last week, I talked about adversity testing our strength. And, this year tested our strength more than any other. The vital characteristic that needs to be coupled with adversity is resiliency. We have no control over how long the trials and tribulations of this … Continue reading Resiliency

Adversity -- no one wants it, but we all get it. This year has been really great at teaching us lessons in dealing with adversity. The year has been difficult from the start, and as soon as we start to feel a little comfort in what we are doing and how things are going, change … Continue reading Adversity

I watched this: Adam Grant TEDTalk this week and saw a version of the image below. (I like the wording in the image below a little better than the image Adam shared.) Adam Grant states in the video that “self-doubt is paralyzing, it causes you to freeze.” He goes on to tell us, “The key … Continue reading The Process