I recently discovered/rediscovered a new take on New Year's Resolutions. I follow the https://twowritingteachers.wordpress.com/ blog and instead of making resolutions, they write about their OLW, or One Little Word for the year. This word can represent so much and I love that it covers much more than a resolution I'll probably forget about within a week.
So I decided that my OLW for 2016 is going to be EMBRACE.
2015 was a challenging year for me job-wise. I took on a new role as a literacy coach in 2014 and spent much of 2015 trying to find my way around that new role. I can say I grew so much from the first year to this second year. And I am continuing to learn more about myself as a person and as a professional. I miss working with kids, but I get to work with a lot more kids in all different grades. I also have had the opportunity to meet and learn from a whole other staff, being split between two schools. But while I was learning and navigating, I encountered lots of bumps.
Hence the reason for my OLW. This year, in 2016, I want to embrace.
Embrace challenges
We all know it, say it, preach it even -- embrace challenges, it's how you learn from them! But sometimes we say we are embracing when really all we are doing is complaining and looking for a way out. So this year I want to truly embrace the challenges as learning opportunities. I want to take time to reflect on challenging situations and see what good can come out of them. And I want to complain about them less.
Embrace 2 and 3
My little munchkin is 2 and a half. And this has been challenging. She is a strong-willed, smart, precocious child who is giving us a run for our money. And she's amazing. Every day she says and does things that has us in stitches. Our most common saying these days is, "Where did that come from??" So I have been told that it's possible 3 might contain even more challenges. As stated above, with challenges come learning, so I want to embrace all that we are experiencing this year. Time is flying and she is growing so fast. We won't get this time back, even the bad times. So even though she is not a hugger, I'll be embracing her. :)
Embrace Ideas
I have definitely seen a shift in a lot of my ideas. I have learned so much about working with adults and how important it is to value the ideas of others, even if they are in contradiction with my own. God wants us not to judge others, but love them. It's not my job to critique and judge. It is my job to work with others and learn from each other. This goes for my job as a coach, a mother and wife, and a friend and colleague.
