Learning to Thrive

"The adventure you're ready for is the one that you get." ~ Jeff Probst

 So, I'm a huge Survivor fan.  I absolutely love watching every season, every episode.  As I was watching recently, I began to realize some of the parallels between the show, Survivor, and what educators are experiencing right now...the elements are rough, the challenges are difficult, and every day brings a new set of circumstances.

As I watch, I can't help but realize that there are two types of people that play the game.  Some come into the experience with the intention to thrive and some come simply to survive.  Let me explain.

The definition of survive is to manage to keep going in difficult circumstances.  But, what if we could do more than just keep going?  What if we could go actually grow as a result of these unprecedented circumstances?  The definition of thrive is to grow or develop well.  However, in order to grow and develop well, we have to be intentional about our perspective.

I never want to suggest that this year will be easy or predictable.  In fact, just the opposite is true.  The reality is that this year will be difficult and uncertain.  Things will happen that are out of our control and there will be challenges that seem almost impossible to overcome.  But, if our perspective is to grow through the difficult circumstances and develop as we overcome challenges, everything changes.  As Jeff Probst said, "The adventure you're ready for is the one that you get."

Here are three suggestions for moving beyond simply surviving and into thriving throughout  the 2020-2021 school year...

Read More