Love

Love is the antidote to fear, stress, busyness I feel. You are enough.

Purpose

Our purpose is greater than our challenges. You are enough.

Positive

Staying positive makes me better and everyone around me better. You are enough.

I Will

When faced with adversity, I will find strength.
When I experience a setback I will be resilient.
Never give up. You are enough.

Talk to self

If I just listen to myself, I hear all the negative thoughts. I have to mentally fight off the thoughts because I believe them to be accurate. When I talk to myself, I can actually feed myself with words of encouragement. That is something to believe in. You are enough.

Mantra

I expect great things to happen today.
I trust in God’s plan for my life.
I accept all of the love, joy, abundance and success in my life.
I accept all the people who want to work with me and benefit from my gifts of love.
Every day I am getting stronger, healthier and better.
- Gordon

Believe

Life and success are about what you choose to believe. It's easy to believe things will be great when everything is going well, but the true test of your faith is what you believe when you are facing seemingly insurmountable challenges. You are enough.

Glimmer

Sometimes I struggle to see the brighter side of each new day, thank you for glimmers of light that have come my way. You are enough.

Look

Don’t look at your challenges; look up and look out into the future. You are enough.

New Beginnings

I am grateful for the start of a new school year. It is an opportunity to reflect on the past year and look forward to new opportunities. May you have a wonderful school year. You make a difference. You are enough.

Victory

Always remember your biggest battle comes before your greatest victory. You are enough.

Good

When you see the good and expect the good, you find the good. Then, the good finds you. You are enough.

Rest

May you find time in the next 48 hours to rest and connect with those close to you. Even though there will be a tug to work in your classroom, set a timer. There will always be more to do. Make sure to pace yourself. We need you. Your kids need you. You are enough.

Support

Preparing and starting a school year is exciting, fun, emotional, and hard work. Also, caring for a loved one who is experiencing health problems at the same time is tough. Please know we are here to support you however we can. You are enough.

Likes

In light of social media likes and dislikes, it can be easy to get caught up in that. Placing our value and worth in every 👍🏻 Or 👎 is a tough way to live. It is a roller coaster of emotions. Just be you. You’re enough.

Do the work

In life we have to show up. Try new things. Fail. Improve. Do the work. There may be times you want to quit, but you don’t. The business of life must continue. You are enough.

Waiting

Waiting for a bad situation to resolve itself rather than handling it right away always results in more pain.  Often, I just hope the discomfort will go away without having to take caring action. On the flip side, I can sometimes make a bad situation worse by not thinking through before acting. Prayerfully consider how to positively navigate a bad situation. You are enough.

Re-break

A fractured team, family, relationship is painful. It is similar to a broken arm or leg. Fixing it is always painful, and sometimes you have to re-break it to make it heal correctly. The re-break can hurt more, because it has to be done on purpose. Through this process, the arm or leg becomes stronger. Just like your team, family and relationship. You are enough.

Flower

This is a beautiful flower that grows in our backyard. In talking to the resident flower expert (my wife), this flower only blooms for 24 hours. She shared it has a 'beautiful, but short life'. If you analyze the flower, it is stretching its petals as wide as possible. Putting forth its best effort, knowing it has a 'beautiful, but short life.' That is a good reminder for each of us. We're guaranteed today, and that is it. Put forth your best effort, and be a light to all. You are enough.

Health

In order to create your masterpiece, please remember to take care of you. Your health is vital to your purpose. Take care of you. You are enough.

Intuition

Trust your intuition. This means listening to your inner voice. Even if it may feel uncomfortable. Trust yourself. You are enough.

Design

We talk about innovative design in schools. Designing innovative lessons. Innovative buildings. Innovative furniture. Nothing is left to chance. If I can take that same level of care with my life, nothing is left to chance. I am able to help design the masterpiece god intended for me. You are enough.

Yes, and...

"Yeah, but" has a way of sabotaging my thoughts. In my younger days, I'd say, "I had a pretty good game today." And then my mind would chime in, "Yeah, but you let that one ground ball go right through your legs." Shifting my thinking to "Yes, and..." changes the nature of the thought. The phrase acknowledges what occurred, but gives credit to what happened next. See if you're able to shift your thinking to "Yes, and..." today. You are enough.

Love

Love is an action word. In terms of a garden, if I don't actively water the flowers, they wilt. If I catch it soon enough, I may have a chance to water the flowers and get them back to health. In terms of my relationships, if I don't tend to what is most important, the relationship can wilt. Tend to what is most important. Actively love all. You are enough.

Chaos

I create chaos sometimes. Sometimes the chaos feels like it is happening all around me. Finding your center is important in unsettling times. Faith. Spirituality. Meditation. Exercise. Family. Friendships. Finding healthy ways to navigate the chaos will help you stay buoyant. As I have learned, like with all things, the chaos is temporary. You are enough.

Control

I have spent a lot of time in my life trying to control what I am not, instead of accepting who I am. Trying to control outcomes of situations. Relationships. School. Home. My kids. You name it. What I have learned is it adds a layer of suffering when so much time is spent trying to control what can't be controlled. When I accept things for what they are. When I accept people for who they are. When I accept decisions for what they are. I am much more at ease. I like to get in a tug of war with GOD. I give it away. I take it back. I like to do this a lot. When I can relinquish my attempt to control, I am in a much better place. May you learn to relinquish control. You are enough.

Fear

Fear is an emotion that can be a good thing. If I'm in the woods, and a grizzly bear is coming at me, fear can motivate me to run like the wind and get out of there. Fear, in another sense, can also cripple me if I allow it to rule my everyday life. Fear based loving. Fear based parenting. Fear based teaching. Fear based leading. These all lead to outcomes that are less than desirable. I could write a chapter about myself on each of these topics. Fear robs us of who we truly are, if we allow it. Reflect today on how fear shares a seat at the table of your life. You are enough.

Leadership

So the point is not to become a leader. The point is to become yourself, to use yourself completely-all
your skills, gifts, and energies- in order to make your vision manifest.  You must, in sum, become the
person you started out to be, and enjoy the process of becoming. (Bennis, 106)

Enjoy the journey. You are enough.

Stories

We have many stories that play in our minds. Some call it their music playlist. The lyrics go like this: “I hope they like me.” “Why did I say that?” “I am not good enough.” I had a friend share we spend so much time in our heads, we should make it a beautiful place. The next time the story plays in your head, “park” the thought. Get up. Move. Walk. Run. You have beautiful things to think about. Because you’re enough.

Your Tribe

As we embark on another fantastic school year, number 23 for me, I hope you have your Tribe, ready. Your tribe. Your team. Your people. Those who are there to support you when teaching and life gets hard. I have tried the "go it alone approach", and that is least effective and not recommended. Having someone in your corner is important support to have. Make a point to connect with someone and let them know you need them this year for support. Chances are, it will be of benefit to them as well. Please know you make a positive difference in the lives of the children you serve.

The 180 day Journey

There is nothing more difficult than teaching. Actually, for me, parenting is at the top, followed by teaching. Over the course of 180 days, we learn so much about our students and families. We learn so much about ourselves. May you take time to reflect on why you decided to become an educator. What you do on a daily basis impacts the lives of our future leaders. You matter. May you reflect on the joy of teaching and reaching all students, and may you have a wonderful start to your school year.