Each day offers its own gift. – Sarah Ban Breathnach, Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy
I’m attending a conference in Macon this week for Literacy Leaders in schools across my state of Georgia. As I made the hour-long drive yesterday morning, I prayed (this year’s word – pray) and reflected on last year’s word, which I haven’t abandoned – listen. I often reminded myself last year that somewhere in the day, if I listened closely enough, there would be a golden nugget of wisdom coming my way, and all I had to do was to be ready to catch it.
True to form, it came. We were in a session where similar-sized districts were sharing ideas, and one leader shared the need for a program to address some gaps they were observing in their data, and shared further particulars of the structure of her school system. I’d partly tuned out, replying to a couple of emails, when another voice chimed in during a brief lull.
“Programs are not your fix.”
A pause, and another voice: “That’s right. This will take a mindset shift.”
I’d arrived a few minutes late, so my Back Pew Baptist self was stuck on the front row of the room, and when I peered back over my shoulder to see the reaction, I saw a sea of faces in a moment of wonder. That “aha” moment where a deep truth resonates so powerfully that it can’t stay bottled up inside.
Programs aren’t our fix. We need a mindset shift.
This wasn’t only about education – it was about life. That’s why my Optavia program was successful. It wasn’t entirely the program. It was the mindset, the adoption of an autopilot approach without emotion and excuse. It was Nike’s Just Do It mentality, combined with a program that worked for my busy schedule and that appealed to my forever-needy sweet tooth.
I wondered: how many other things in my life need a mindset shift – – not a program or a package or a set of instructions bottled up like essential oils dropped into a diffuser and plugged in, hoping they’ll work magic? How many things need my heart, mind, and grit as a commitment and not just a sprinkling of fairy dust that I want to believe will make change?
These thoughts are what I’m taking through the day with me as I listen for the next golden nugget of wisdom. These are the places where I find answers to some of my deepest questions ~ in the unexpected moments, from small voices in the back of a room, when I never even asked a question but an answer to one yet unasked finds its way to me. It holds tight to my thoughts, ready for when I need it most.
Come on over to www.ethicalela.com and join us for our 5-Day January Open Write starting tomorrow! Our hosts this month are Glenda Funk of Idaho and Barb Edler of Iowa. They're teaming up on some inspirational writing prompts for us, so I hope to see you there!
Common Threads 