Friday Flush -- what are you proud of?

What are you proud of?

That seems like a pretty simple question, but have you ever REALLY thought about it.  I was challenged recently to get out a piece of paper and think of one area of my life.  Like being a dad…my job….or friendship.  Then, take a piece of paper and write down 3 things that I am proud  of about that aspect of my life.  It causes focus and appreciation for some things going well.  It shows strengths that I can build upon, and it shows me areas that I may be an example for others.  It gives me gratitude for some of the things that are going well.  But deeper than that, think about why.  Are the things you are proud of things that happened by chance?  If not, what did you intentionally do to make them happen?  How could you replicate that in other areas?  What caused you to be intentional for that particular goal?  If we can see what we did to get a result we are proud of, we can focus on recreating that much easier.

There is a flipside as well.  In that same area of your life ask yourself “what am I not proud of?”  Sometimes this list flows easier and sometimes harder.  For me, It is usually hard to limit just 3.  But whittle the list down to 3.  What are you not proud of and why?  Is there anything you can do to “fix” a situation or event, if you haven’t already?  Is there a skill/training that you need to make you feel more confident?  Is there a way to try to limit those actions and feelings to make you more proud.  Can you replace any action/attitude/event with something that you identified above to now make you more proud.

We all have aspects in life that we are good at…we have aspects where we need to grow.  Often times, we try to look for the good in ourselves and point out the faults we see in others.  This is dangerous for countless reasons, but I truly think we do it to hide things that we aren’t proud of.  So, I encourage you to not sweep those under the rug…look into what you can learn from them.  Don’t bring someone else down to try to make yourself more “proud.”  It doesn’t really work. 

You are an amazing bunch of educators, and you work so hard every day.  I look forward to all the successes you will accomplish this year…and for what it is worth, I am proud of you!

Happy Friday!