Be Kind To Yourself

I was recently reminded that during any given day in education there are plenty of reasons for each of us to beat ourselves up, and there are plenty of reasons for each of us to celebrate ourselves.  The message…be kind to yourself.   As a new administrator, I’m understanding more each day how incredibly important this message is.  Every member of the educational community is challenged every single day.  We would all be well served to remember that kindness fosters kindness.  Better yet, it feels good, and it helps us keep a positive outlook, even during challenging times.  The best part is that if you generate it from within, kindness is available to you all the time.

It’s easy to dwell on the negative instead of celebrating the positive.  It’s not as easy to reflect critically on the negative for the purpose of growth, but it is important.  The more I work that kind of reflection into my paradigm, the more I understand how incredibly worthwhile it is.  Be kind to yourself.  Be kind to those around you.  Make every moment worthwhile by working hard to understand the learning that it’s accompanied by.  Absorb that learning and allow yourself to grow.  Find joy, even in the most difficult times.  Most importantly, when you fail…be especially kind to yourself.  We all fail.  I fail quite a bit.  Keep moving forward.  Every next moment is another opportunity.  Embrace every failure as a powerful message, and when you can’t, when you’re too tired, or frustrated, or disappointed, be aware of how that feels.  Take as much time as you need, step away, embrace it, and realize your ability to dissolve even the most powerful hurt with kindness.  It’s possible.

Give yourself permission to matter to yourself.  Give yourself permission to make mistakes.  Be human.  Be joyful.  Educators have lots of responsibilities to lots of people.  Don’t neglect the responsibilities you have to yourself.  Your wellbeing is essential to your ability to positively impact those you serve.

IMG_0564

Dream Big.  Work Hard.  Be Well.

4 comments

  1. Joanne Rowe

    This post definitely reflects your calm, generous spirit!
    Thanks for inspiring others to find the joy in every day…it definitely helps keep our environment a positive place!

    • bergseye

      Thanks Joanne…it’s great to hear from you! I appreciate the positive feedback. You’ve always been kind and thoughtful in our work together – something I believe helped our productivity, achievement, and enjoyment as a team. I hope that you’re having wonderful year! Say hello to the BPS crew for me:)! Be well.

  2. Eric Nodge

    A great reminder about something that makes a big difference! Down here in New Mexico, we talk about failing forward… educators need space to make mistakes so we know where to make improvements. Thanks for sharing your perspective, Seth!

    • bergseye

      Great to hear from you Eric! I hope that all is well down south, and that you’re enjoying some nice weather…it’s getting a bit cool up here:). I couldn’t agree with you more. That ‘space to make mistakes’ is essential to our effectiveness as educators. There are so many forces that can sometimes make it feel like that space doesn’t exist…it’s awesome that educators like you embrace the space! Thanks for reading and contributing. Touch base whenever you can. Be well!

Post a comment

You may use the following HTML:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>