Lately, I have found myself saying a particular word, over and over again. This word seems to come up in a lot of my conversations. It has been paired with a few different words, but it is always there...always present within me. That word is FORWARD. This week, something registered with me. As I was explaining my bracelet (that has this one word on it), I remembered that my #ondeword2017 is FORWARD. Ha! Without me consciously doing so, I have continued to live it and try to help others live it as well. Why is forward so important? Because we CAN NOT afford to be stagnant. We CAN NOT afford to live in the past. We deserve to continue forward movement for ourselves and those around us. Here are some the "forward phrases" I have been using lately. I believe there is a definite order to these, there is a process to help us to move forward: Risk Forward: (@SteveWyborney)- When I read this phrase in The Writing On The Classroom Walls I fell in love with it! I am a huge proponent of taking risks. In order to start that forward movement, we need to start with risk. We need to not let fear be the driver in our lives, we must take that wheel and just DO. What is something that you have wanted to do...that you need to do...that you just haven't done? What is holding you back? What would happen if you just went for it? You will never know unless you just DO. You could fail or you could fly...in either instance, it's a win in my book because you took that first step to #riskforward. Stretch Forward: (@SteveWyborney)- My heart fluttered this week when I heard one of my colleagues say that she wanted to do something to stretch herself. It was music to my ears. She wanted to take that risk, to move out of her comfort zone, to go beyond. This is so important if we want to keep that forward momentum going. Take that rubber band of yours and stretch, go farther than you think you are willing to go. You don't need to stretch so far that it snaps, just far enough to create some tension, some dissonance. It won't be easy, it will no doubt be pretty uncomfortable, but I'm going to challenge you to get comfortable with the uncomfortable. Lean into that discomfort because that is where the growth happens. That #stretchforward is worth it! Fail Forward: One of my favorites! I have written and talked about this one for about a year now. This is not the notion that it's plainly ok to fail. That is not the goal of this one. There is a fail forward process.
Learn Forward/Grow Forward: I believe these two go hand and hand. If we are not learning, we are not growing. If we are not growing, we are not living. The world still needs us...our students still need us, so we are too young to die. Try to find the learning in every situation...whether it is a positive instance or a negative one, there is ALWAYS something to learn. With that learning, make sure to use it to grow yourself. Is it learning, if there is no growth afterwards? I'm unsure. Continue to feed your mind and your soul as you #learnforward and #growforward. Keep stretching to become someone, you never thought you could be, that best version of you.
Share Forward: (@PintoBeanz11): I absolutely believe that we are all better together. Why would we not share? Since I am a constant learner, I learn new things from everywhere and everyone. I am so excited when someone shares their learning, their growth, their story with me. It feeds me to risk, stretch, learn, grow, which then leads me to #shareforward and continue the cycle. Let's not hoard the great, let's pass it on so that others can move forward in their journey. Go Forward: This one encompasses all the rest. At the end of the day...just keep moving. Let's make sure that movement is forward. I wholeheartedly believe that it is important to look back, to #reflectback. But we CAN NOT live there. It is not healthy. We instead, should use those experiences as a springboard to jump forward. As hard as it is, look straight ahead. Our paths will all look different, our destinations as well, but that journey should always be a journey forward. #goforward This is one of two posts about "forward". What does it take to do the above? It is within all of us, we just need to discover and foster it: FOWARD...
4 Comments
4/22/2017 06:53:41 pm
I am keeping this on my bookmarks list to review on a regular basis. This was a refreshing read and helped me to iterate a lot of what I believe about what I do as an educator in ways I couldn't quite put my finger on before. I would definitely have to say that "Risk Forward" most resonates with me this year with all that I have learned and the uncharted waters I've found myself in with my instructional practices. Thank you for sharing your insights!
Reply
Cori
4/22/2017 10:10:05 pm
Bret,
Reply
Liz Hoppe
4/22/2017 08:35:35 pm
Forward, backward (in reflection), side to side (in collaboration)-- they all have a purpose and none can be neglected, but forward is direction that has the most negative consequence if you aren't willing to go that way!
Reply
Cori
4/22/2017 10:13:11 pm
Liz,
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Mother, Teacher, Administrator, Presenter, GCE Level 1 & 2, Encourager of others.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Archives
February 2023
|