Two Practices to Keep You Grounded in 2019!

In education, it feels like we have the benefit of having two new years every year- the start of a new school year, and the start of a new calendar year. We are so fortunate!

In preparation for 2019, I have been doing a lot of celebrating, reflecting and goal-setting! I am excited and inspired to continue my work as an educational leader in 2019.  There are two practices that have helped me stay grounded in my work and I am sharing them below in an effort to support YOU as you prepare for 2019!

Practice 1: Start with WHY-  Acquaint or reacquaint yourself with Simon Sinek's work on WHY. Here is a recent blog post about his work for your reference. This year I have tried to encourage educators to find their professional WHY and also to support students in identifying their WHY, too.  The graphic below was created to keep this thinking at the forefront of our minds and is now being added to professional development slides, communications to staff, guiding questions for lesson planning and more.

How have you/will you use WHY in your work with students and teachers? Click here to share!

Practice 2: Identify your #oneword2019-   Four years ago I learned about the one-word initiative Jon Gordon wrote about in his book, "One Word that will Change Your Life" that encourages people to identify one word that will be their driving force for the year (instead of a list of resolutions that are often hard to accomplish/attain).

Interested in a little history?

Link to #believe (my one word for 2016)

Link to #wonder (my one word for 2017)

My one word for 2018 is trust (for just a few more days). I chose this word because I believe that trust is the foundation for all positive relationships, both with others and with myself. I have kept this word in mind every day as a reminder to trust myself, my dreams and my heart. I have kept this word in my mind every day in my work with staff, students and families, with the goal that I am a trusted leader, educator, colleague and someone in whom people can place their confidence. I have looked for examples of trust in different settings and situations in all areas of my life. I have let trust be my focus in 2018.

The video below is a brief 4-minute overview from Jon Gordon that provides the background for "One Word that will Change Your Life."

Over the next few days, I encourage all of you to take some time over the next few days to determine your one word for 2019.

In addition, I suggest looking at this #oneword365 website to connect with people around the globe and to get a list of suggested words!

Lastly, as you pick your one word for 2019, please take a risk and share it on this flipgrid and post your word on Twitter with the hashtag #oneword2019!

Wishing all of my educator colleagues a Happy and Healthy 2019!