“We all need someone to inspire us to do better than we know how”***Fun Fact Alert*** right out the gate today! I taught Kindergarten for 4 years of my life. Kindergarten will change you! You will have some of the craziest stories to share with others even after one day surrounded by 27 kindergarten students. I’ve had kids get their head stuck in chairs, pee outside on the playground, and tell every other kid in the class that Santa isn’t real while they watch how quickly I try to change the subject.You will also have days where you wonder if anyone even heard a single word you said. But when you think they are not paying attention, listening, or watching….they are! My kindergarten students would constantly remind me of the responsibility I am gifted with each day to be a positive mentor to those I serve. They were like sponges that devoured the world being presented around them and then using this information to live out their lives. Our kids, friends, family, and coworkers are watching. How are we mentoring? I was recently given a book called, “Unselfie”. I did what all good bloggers do, I flipped to a random page, looked for inspiration, then will claim to be an expert. The heading on page 100 of the book states, “Parents Behaving Badly”. The first line says, “the most effective way for kids to learn self-regulation is by watching others, and it appears their parents aren’t the best models.” I think you could change that last sentence to “and it appears adults aren’t the best models”. I am so blessed to have so many positive mentors. My mom has had a poem hanging in the house I grew up in for as long as I can remember and she gave me a copy of it to put in my house. It sums up beautifully what we should all focus and aspire to achieve. So where I am going with all this? Think of how others see you interacting with those around you. Think of how you parent, teach, love, listen, speak. When people say your name, what do they think? Be a positive mentor to someone in your life.
P.S. - Special shout out to Mom and all the countless people that have poured into my life. I love you all!
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“Don’t wait for crisis before change."I was poisoned...by myself. From Taco Bell to McDonald’s to Yabo’s Tacos To Arby’s I ate whatever my heart desired this week. I coupled these decisions with the decision to not work out once in the mornings as I usually do. Last night we went to Rooster’s after a week of eating garbage to keep the streak going. I downed mac and cheese bites with sour cream and 10 Carolina Gold wings with ranch. When we arrived home I was in a food coma and passed out on the couch around 9. Around 2 in the morning I woke up in crisis mode. My body started to shake with chills, my head felt hot, and my stomach was turning upside down. After throwing up the Rooster’s, I think two things stand out… 1.) Why do Rooster’s wings have those extra little legs to them? They have no meat and are pointless. 2.) The crisis started earlier in the week with decisions to eat fast food daily not at 2 am.
Time for the reset button. Reflect this week on what area of your life you may need to change before crisis occurs. Is it your work/life balance? Is it your diet? Is it your Biology grade? The easy way out would be for me to call food poisoning by Rooster’s when in reality I was poisoning myself all week. Change within before trying to change systems or others around you. |