Mindful Monday: Feeding Your Peace

Valentine's Day tends to consume the month of February with a particular focus on loving others. Here's the thing, in education, we give a lot of ourselves to others. It's time we shift the focus to self love. 

This month, I challenge you to focus on 'starving your fears and feeding your peace'. It's easy to focus on the future and get trapped in the what ifs, the what might be's, and the hope nots. The next thing we know we are trying to control it all, plan it all out, and avoid potentially negative scenarios. The thing is, we aren't in control of it all. And when we feed our fears, we feel even more stressed. 

Instead, feed your peace. Focus on what you can control. Focus on what brings you joy. Focus on what brings you peace. Most of us are being pulled in multiple directions daily. It's not indulgent, it's not selfish, and it's certainly not a luxury to do what's best for YOU. I get it's easy and often necessary to focus on others, our children, our spouses, other obligations we have; however, not to the detriment of our own peace and wellbeing. 

This week, as you find yourself being pulled in multiple directions and the stress rises, ask yourself, "How can I starve my fears right now and feed my peace?"  

Mindful Monday: Shining a Light

Teaching in 2020 caused many of us in education to be reflective and think about why we are here. ​Upon much reflection, my 'why' ​was boiled down ​t​o this one sentence. “I am here to shine the light on the greatness that lies within you.” This is my life‘s purpose for my students and colleagues that I have the pleasure of working alongside ​​to shine light on the brilliance within them. It is my hope that I live out these words​, and that through my actions, you feel seen and validated because what each of you do every day is beyond amazing!

Mindful Monday: Inspire

The word inspire comes from the Latin word spirare, meaning "to breathe". When combined with the prefix in-, it literally means "to breathe into". This is what you do each and every day when you inspire our students. You are quite literally breathing life into them. When you inspire others, you are opening doors they may have never once tried. You are showing them paths they never knew existed. When you inspire those around you, you are providing the wind that helps them soar. I know it to be true because I see it first hand everyday. 

The dedication, the passion, the resilience, the creativity, the enthusiasm, the pure love shown each and every day inside these walls inspires me. After doing this for 19 years, I have yet to meet someone that didn't bring something needed to the table. Each of you has an amazing gift of your very own that we need, that our students need. It is your gift of patience, or perhaps your kind smile; maybe your gift is giving second chances, either way, everytime you share your gift, you are inspiring others. 

Thank you for breathing life into those around you! 

Mindful Monday: Life's Truths

January has a funny effect on me. It tends to make me re-evaluate where I've been and where I'm heading. And well, it led me down an introspective rabbit hole. Bear with me. :) 

Life. It’s a funny thing. It's ever so complex, and yet it can be boiled down to a few truths that are universal to all of us.

• ​Things always change.
• Loss is unavoidable.
• Nobody knows what they’re doing.
• And hindsight is always 20/20.

These four statements are true, no matter your age, your background, what part of the world you live in, or what generation you are from. However, we rarely accept these truths.

Things are always changing, and yet we try our darndest to control it all. I think it’s one of the biggest illusions we tell ourselves is that we’re in control. When in reality, trying to control it all leads to stress and anxiety. It's such a catch-22. Not being able to control life's circumstances leaves us feeling stressed. And on the other side of that coin, trying our best to control it all also leaves us stressed. And while easier said than done, the serenity prayer says it best. "Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference." It's being able to know the difference of what is or isn't in our control that will save our sanity.

Coupled with things are always changing, nothing lasts forever. We lose jobs. Friends come and go from our lives. Our money seems to disappear faster than we make it. Our health fades. And unfortunately, our loved ones don’t live forever. Even though we know loss is inevitable, we don’t ​tend to handle it well. Loss of any kind creates an awful void​.​ Unfortunately, many adults have learned how to compartmentalize and not deal with it. Instead, I would encourage you to sit with the loss. Feel your feelings. Be upset. Be mad. Because at the end of the day, if you don't acknowledge what you are feeling, it has a way of showing up when you least expect it and usually in unwanted ways. 

And here’s the thing, nobody, I repeat, nobody knows what they’re doing. We’re all making it up as we go, doing our best putting one foot in front of the other and that’s OK. Not Oprah, Dr Phil, Brené Brown​ or anyone else, for that matter, knows what they are doing. I assure you, they are not "in" on life's secrets. Instead, we must walk alongside each other. We must support and lean on one another. Lend a hand when we can, and be brave enough to ask for help when needed. 

The philosopher Søren Kierkegaard ​once wrote, "That life must be understood backwards. But with this, one forgets the second proposition, that it must be lived forwards." While yes, I would absolutely agree to the value of being retrospective, we can't live in the shoulda, woulda, couldas. I get, all too well, that hindsight is 20/20. But we can't beat ourselves up by second guessing our decisions. 

All this to say, give yourself grace. Life is hard. Change is hard. Loss is hard. We are all doing our best, trying to make the most of this journey we are on.  

Mindful Monday: Ultimate Weight Loss

Happy 2026! 

People often start a new year with goals, typically focusing around health and fitness. The most common goal being to lose weight. 

But did you know that the ultimate weight loss is forgiveness? 🤯 (read that again) 

While we ask our students and even our personal children to forgive their classmates or siblings, as adults, we are not always quick to do so. Maybe our life experience has led us to be weary of others. Maybe the same person in our life has done us wrong multiple times. Perhaps the wounds are still fresh. 

But at the end of the day, how much are you holding on to? How many others are living 'rent free" in your head? How much is disrupting your inner peace? It's time to forgive. It's time to move on. It's time to lose that heaviness. There is no better time to shed that extra weight than now. 

Here's the takeaway, when you forgive someone, it's NOT for them, it's for YOU. 

So as we start another calendar year, consider losing what’s no longer serving you. Here's to us all letting go of the extra baggage we've gotten so used to carrying around. Try forgiveness- not for them, but for you.

Mindful Monday: It's Not a Period

I ran across this quote last week...

​As the end of another year approaches, it doesn’t have to be a period. 

Let's face it...life doesn’t happen in nice neat chapters. There always seem to be loose endings, unfinished business, and unexplored storylines. The ending of a calendar year doesn’t mean it’s the end of opportunities. 

Several weeks ago, I wrote that any time is a good time to start. Start in the middle of the week. Start at the end of the year. Start at the end of a day. There’s no right time, which means, there’s certainly no wrong time to live your best life. 

Who knows what’s in store for each of us in 2026, and that’s the exciting part about next chapters, the story has yet to be finished. December 31st is merely a comma in the story of our lives. Don’t close the book. Don’t put away the pen. There’s still so much more to be written.

Wishing you all a great last week of the semester, a restful break, a joyous holiday, and most importantly, a new year filled with endless possibilities! 

Mindful Monday: Choosing Joy for Yourself

There is so much magic this time of year! 

But it’s easy to get sucked into the hustle and bustle of it all. It’s easy to get jaded between the dreary days, ​the long to-do lists, and the crowds everywhere you go​; it’s not all just twinkle lights and jingle bells. Which is even more of a reason to choose joy for oursel​v​es. 

I challenge​ you​, this month especially, to schedule​ joy into your calendar. ​This time of year, we find ourselves pulled in many directions, making magic happen for others, and often stretching ourselves quite thin. ​However, even though this old adage may seem worn out, it still holds true- we must take the time to fill our own cup before we can begin to pour into others. Don't wait until the new year​ to fill your cup, you deserve joy now. 

Consider set​ting your alarm 10 minutes earlier so you can enjoy ​y​our favorite morning beverage ​i​n peace and quiet. ​Or maybe make a fun playlist​ of all your guilty pleasure songs for you to ​e​njoy on your way ​t​o work. Take the scenic route home and look at some Christmas lights​. ​Plan to meet up for dinner with your favorite people. Make time for the little things​. ​Make time for the things that are important to you. ​Make time for joy in your life​. ​