Recently, I spent an entire Sunday pouting. It’s a skill I developed early in life, as I’m sure my parents will attest, and have spent over half a century perfecting it. Perhaps you can relate a similar experience from your own life where the expectations you had failed to align with what actually occurred; therefore, …
Category: Habits
Stepped-On Toes
Have you ever experienced the pain of having your toes stepped on? It’s not like stepping on a Lego block or stubbing your toe on a piece of furniture, but the experience does have a tendency to bring a bit of pain with it that is preferable to avoid. And then there is the added …
Flourishing Five
Alarmed by the statistics related to the overall health and well-being in our country, specifically with regards to mental and physical well-being, it’s a natural process for me to begin pondering the issue and wondering what preventative strategies I can implement in my own life to avoid the journey down an unhealthy path. Attempting to …
Flourishing Mindset
Tomorrow, in a first-year English class, I will pose a question to the class, asking them to compose their personal definition for a flourishing life; and I excitedly anticipate how they will choose to answer this query from the perspective of an Emerging Adult. What I anticipate hearing will be concepts related to personal accomplishments, …
Changing the Metrics
Stubborn streaks can arise within me, especially when it comes to certain tasks and topics where our culture is more comfortable accepting the status quo, doing what has always been done, rather than asking hard questions. Wrestling with these difficult queries, embracing the challenges that they generate, and allowing the process to unfold is an …
Roots Before Fruit
Not being blessed with the gift of a green thumb, there are currently no live plants in my home; and those outdoor plants not planted firmly in the ground, those potted on my front and back porch, are barely hanging onto survival. Even with the best of intentions to nourish those potted plants so that …
50 Yards
For the readers who enjoy the game of American football, there is excitement in the air as I compose today’s blog post. It is the first week in September and college football has kicked off its season to the delight of many sports’ fans around me. And as I pore over the numerous articles detailing …
Words Matter
Having always been intrigued by law enforcement procedural shows, it should come as no surprise, especially in these days with the ability to binge-watch a series, that I noticed myself viewing a docu-drama surrounding the Unabomber case from the 90s. For several consecutive hours, I became engrossed in details that had not previously held my …
Dead People
Sitting in a theater in Jackson, Tennessee, back in a past millennia, I encountered a very rare experience—the feeling of “I didn’t see that coming!” at the conclusion of a film. Other than an elusive thought that one of the main characters was still wearing the same shirt, the ending escaped my typical plot-uncovering skills. …
Enjoy the Process
As your eyes examine this post, another year will be coming to a close, and a time when many choose to Enjoy the Process of reflecting and evaluating the last 365 days; however, for most educators, I believe this contemplation occurs more often in August, in what Christina Bieber Lake coins “the month that shall …