Anyone that knows me, knows that I have a quote issue. I LOVE quotes!! What I do with said quotes, is I repeat them...again...and again...and again...until they become my "catch phrases". These are phrases that I annoyingly repeat in hopes to help myself and/or others in their path of growth. That is at the heart of everything I do. Last school year, one of my catch phrases was: #takerisks. I said it all the time, I wrote about it often. I created plaques with the saying on it that I gave out to educators in our district to celebrate their risk taking. But most of all, it forced me to take risks. One of this school year's catch prases is: #failforward. I say it sometimes, wrote about it a bit and hear others say it from time to time. We now have stickers and t-shirts with the phrase #failforward. I often get tagged in tweets that refer to failing. I love it! Cori = failure. But, hey I will take it if it is helping others to take a leap. Currently I am reading my new favorite book: The Writing On the Classroom Wall (#TWOTCW) by: Steve Wynborney. I have fallen in love with everything he is saying. So many of his "Big Ideas" resonated with me. In writing about his "Big Idea 14 : Expect Much of Yourself" he brought up the phrase: risk forward! OH MY GOSH...the words jumped out at me. He just put my two catchphrases together: #riskforward. He and his words have inspired this post, today.
I have heard people speak from their hearts, knowing what they want and should do, but their heads get in the way. They are scared to just take that ONE step. Afraid of the outcome, of failing, of not being good enough, of not being perfect, of what others may think...say. But it is that one step, that is a step toward growth, it could be that one step towards amazing. I encourage people all the time to just #riskforward. Just do it...go for it. Don't be afraid to push buttons, push boundaries, push out of that comfort zone. Let's see what happens. It could go great or it could fail miserably...either way...you are moving., Anyone that knows me also knows that I am BIG on integrity. To me this is: actions = talk and talk = actions. So I am forced to "walk the talk". I can not in good faith, encourage people to #takrisks or #failforward, if I am not willing to do so myself. Knowing this, has helped me in my journey of growth. When MY head is trying to hold me back, I remember to just go for it. I have done a lot of this lately. Does it always end up great...nope. In fact, it usually doesn't. BUT that is where the learning and growth occurs. We do not grow when things come easy, why would we need to? It is during the struggle, where we become who we were meant to be. In #TWOTCW Steve writes: You need to be "paying attention to your growth and watching what happens to your strengths as you permit yourself to question, to struggle, to succeed, to fail and to reflect. With every experience we can all grow as learners, especially if we are hungry to recognize the impact of those experiences." Growth isn't easy...there are growing pains...but if we can push through that pain and reflect and look for the learning, we grow forward. For me, some of my #riskforward moments have been rough, even heart breaking at times. There have been many tough conversations and truths uncovered. But I always try to say "What could I have done differently, I want to learn and grow." So even through tears, I speak those words, out loud and I am being completely honest. How can one grow, if they don't understand? It's in these raw moments, I feel, we are most open for change. BUT we have to put our necks out there and risk...in order to move forward. We need to #riskforward not only for ourselves but for those that are in our circle of influence, whom ever they may be. We need to show them the best versions of ourselves AND encourage/model risking forward for them. So my call to action is for not only myself, but for everyone reading. When you are at a crossroads, take that leap...try that "other road" and #riskforward.
1 Comment
4/12/2017 05:38:12 am
Cori,
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