Sunday, May 1, 2016

Frustration: One of Life's "Gifts"

Update for May 2-6



We all get the opportunity to experience "one of those weeks" -- The kind where there seems to be limit to the things that frustrate you, aggravate you, and cause your head to hurt endlessly.

 Last week was my opportunity.

 I found myself saying "serenity now" a lot.

 What happened wasn't anything that I haven't had to deal with before.  The things just seemed to never end.  On top of that, I made a few mistakes that caused more headaches for me and others.

 The worst was having to cancel on a kid on Friday.  He had asked me on Monday if he could eat lunch with me with some friends in my office.  I said, "Of course!", and each day after that when he would see me he'd say, "It's almost Friday!".

 The look on his face when I said I had to cancel is one that I will never forget.  It's the worse look anyone could give me - The look of disappointment.

 I went down to his classroom later that day to apologize.  And here's what he said that crushed me:

 "That's alright.  My dad does that to me, too.  Last week he said he would be home on Friday and he didn't get home until Sunday and it was too late because I had to go to my mom's."

 Great.  I get to be another adult in his life who doesn't do what he says he will.

 I had had it by Friday night.  I finally got to be home with my family and I was irritable, grumpy, and snappy -- How lucky was my family!

However, I was really bothered by my inability to get out of my funk. Usually I can pack up the mess and leave it at school so that I can be present with my family.  But this week it just seemed harder for me to do that for myself.

 What helped was talking with my wife about the week.  While I was airing my grievances, mistakes and problems, I started feeling a little better.  

What made me feel great was my wife reminding me of all of the the great things that had happened last week.

 She sent me a text later that night after heading to bed before me:
"You should end your day focusing on the positive...that's something to be proud of! Don't let the little stuff get you down. And it is little stuff. Love you."

 We get trapped so easily by the things that don't matter, that steal our energy, and put our focus on the wrong things.  We've all had that happen to us before, it's life.

 But we get to choose how we respond to these events.  We get to focus on what is meaningful.  We get to keep the main thing the main thing.

Shifting our focus to what should be taking our energy is a skill that has to be built and then work on repeatedly, just like a runner who wants to maintain or improve their performance level.

 This week I am committing myself to building this skill each day consistently for 30 days -- To keep my focus on the positive and learning quickly from mistakes.

 What is a skill you are willing to work on?  How will you challenge yourself this week and beyond?  I'd love to hear about it!

 Have a GREAT week!

 --Herb

 Tweets Worth Checking Out --









Upcoming Dates -- 
 
May 2 -- ADE PTO Meeting, 7PM
May 3 — BIT Meeting, 8AM
May 4 — ADE Staff Meeting, 8AM -  R6: "Build Skill"
May 5 -- Herb Mtg AM
May 5 — Flower Sale Pick-Up, 4-7PM
May 6 — BAC Meeting, 8AM
May 2-6 -- Teacher Appreciation Week
May 11 — Spec Ed Team meeting
May 14 -- AD/DC Warrior Dash, 6PM
May 18 — ADDC Staff Meeting, ADE Media Center, 3:45
May 19 — Herb Mtg AM
May 26 — Grow Together Thursday
May 30 -- Holiday, NO SCHOOL
May 31 -- ADE PTO Family Luau

Jun 3 -- Last Day of School (Students)

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