Here is this week’s flush…I see stories like this one often
now because of the way the internet can circulate them, but every time it still
gets me. I am proud that tomorrow’s generation has so many bright spots
because of the values and ethics that kids do have. We don’t hear about
them as much because the negative stories get national attention, but they are
there. Kids have good hearts, and a desire to make a positive impact on
the world around them. It never hurts to be reminded of that.
So many people in that video should be given credit for
doing the right thing, but I think the other team’s player summed it up best
when he said, “I was raised to treat others how you want to be treated, I just
thought Mitchell deserved his chance, deserved his opportunity."
We all make decisions every day that don’t seem that big of
a deal, but we make ripples… We do change people, we do instill values,
we do teach morals, and we do offer an example to others. Thank you for
doing that daily. Thank you for choosing the mission of education.
Happy Friday.
Kayla told me about this object lesson from a workshop that
she was at recently. I like the concept so much, I did some “googling” –
They say it much better than I ever could, but I hope this is an uncarbonated
week for us at Huggins….I will strive to be more like a water bottle this week
for sure. Thank, Kayla, for sharing the concept.
Happy Monday everyone!
5 reasons to develop an uncarbonated personality.
by Brock Henry
We’ve all done it. It’s one of those amusing experiments every child wants
to try.
You know, the one where you take a bottle of Coke, shake it up, and then
give it to someone else to open.
Well, I’ve got a new one for you:
Take a bottle of
water and shake it up as hard as you can. Do it
for an hour or two and then quickly open it up.
Guess what will happen…
Nothing…absolutely
nothing.
I guarantee it’ll be the most anti-climactic experiment you’ve ever done.
It doesn’t matter how hard or how long you shake that bottle of water…
you
are more likely to explode than it is. Water will never react to stress the
same way Coke will.
Interestingly, people are a lot like Coke and water. Some are carbonated and
some are uncarbonated.
Carbonated people are the ones whose knee-jerk reaction to stress is a
personal implosion. Add a little tension to their lives and a meltdown is right
around the corner.
Uncarbonated people, on the other hand, are the ones who take it all in stride.
Rock their boat as hard as you want, and they’re not gonna fall out.
So what’s the difference between the two?
Though both types of people encounter stressful situations throughout their
lives, only the carbonated people internalize that stress. They take it and try
it on for themselves. Conversely, uncarbonated people respond to external
stressors with a profound sense of inner peace and calmness.
The Case for Uncarbonation
1. Being uncarbonated can greatly reduce, or even eliminate, the
stress in your life. Before you tell me this is impossible, consider
the following:
●
Stress-free is not the same as care-free. I am not advocating
sliding your way through life without any goals, ambitions, or work ethic. In
fact, I’m suggesting quite the opposite: Care deeply, plan constantly, and work
relentlessly. Never stop caring. Simply stop stressing.
●
“Some personalities naturally stress more than others.” Believe
me, I know. I used to be the poster child for Type A Personality. If you find
yourself in the same boat, use your natural inclination toward over-stressing
as a challenge, not an obstacle. Don’t make excuses. Just change. Embrace the
advantages of being Type A and ditch the rest. Stress needs to go out the door.
● “
Tragedies happen, and stress is only natural in those situations.”
But it’s not healthy. Bad things happen. Sometimes, horrible things happen.
When they do, there are much healthier ways to deal with them than stress.
●
Excuses don’t help. Some of the more common ones include:
“But I perform better under stress.”
Good try. I’ve used that one many times myself. In years past, I essentially
adopted this as my personal mantra. The truth is, though, that “better
performance under stress” is a learned behavior. So, un-teach yourself. I don’t
care how well you perform under stress, you can perform better when your mind
is calm.
“I don’t have any clue how to stop
stressing out.” Again, stress is often a learned behavior, and, thus, it
can be unlearned. For now, don’t worry about how. Just drill it into your head
that you need to move in that direction. Why? Because it’s unnecessary to
worry about how to do something until you’re convinced you need to do it.
2. Being uncarbonated can actually improve your health. In
1999, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health “…declared
stress a hazard in the workplace. It is linked to a myriad of health disorders,
such as diseases of the cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, immune, and
neurologic systems, as well as depression, chronic alcoholism and drug abuse,
eating disorders, accidents, and suicide.” **
Why not do something as simple as eliminating stress if it can reduce your
health risks in so many ways?
3. Being uncarbonated promotes better relationships with other
people. If your list of pet peeves is a mile long, people are going to
stress you out constantly. If you’re constantly stressed out, your focus on
productivity will disappear. Once that happens, your level of performance will
fall off the cliff as well.
Learn to embrace people and their idiosyncrasies, and your life will
drastically smooth out.
4. Being uncarbonated promotes seeing the glass half full.
Sure, it’s trite…but it’s true. Much of our stress is due to anticipating the
worst-case scenario. Instead of just letting things play out and then
responding as needed, we assume an outcome and respond in advance. If you take
this approach very much, you’ll train your mind to automatically see things not
as they can be, but rather as you hope they won’t be.
Uncarbonate your life and watch how much easier it becomes to ignore what
you don’t have the time, energy, resources, or skill to do. Then use that extra
energy to focus on what you
can do.
5. Becoming uncarbonated reduces impulsiveness. Carbonated
people jump ship at the first sign of gray in the sky. As soon as that cloud
hits the horizon, it’s time to turn around and head back to land. Continue
toward the destination? No way.
Uncarbonated people, on the other hand, reach a lot more goals. Why? Because
they simply anticipate setbacks as part of the journey. Instead of using them
as excuses to quit, uncarbonated people use setbacks as motivation to try a new
route.
~~~
In the end, uncarbonating your life equates to invigorating your level of
productivity.
