How are you holding up? No really?

While the news talks about the peaks of COVID-19, I continue to reflect on the different peaks of emotions of stakeholders. Peaks of emotions for our graduating seniors, peaks for teachers, peaks for parents, and peaks for our administrators.

Along with these peaks comes triggers, it might be a meeting, or an email, some times triggers can’t be controlled, but other times they can.

We can’t control what other people say, we can control how we respond.

Lead with Grace

When it comes to social media it can be an amazing tool for collaboration, innovation, ideas and support. But when we don’t use it in this way Social Media can become a trigger for jealousy, frustration, guilt, FOMO (fear of missing out), and senses of not being enough. When looking through your feed consider these three tips:

1. Competition or Collaboration? When you see a post of another school doing a parade, or a teacher sharing a new tech tool they are using in class-instead of criticizing yourself for not doing that, or worse yet criticizing them, celebrate! Take the time to make a comment, send a private message or share with others to enhance collaboration and sharing positive celebrations.
2. Are you grazing or growing? Do you log in and get lost for hours and realize you didn’t do anything or are you surfing for specific ideas? Set a timer and put a post it note by your computer. For example this week I was really interested in ideas for end of the year material pick up. I put a timer on, started with specific hashtags I follow, websites for National Organizations, and Facebook pages that regularly post on the topic. I gave myself 30 minutes and then when the timer went off I walked away with some practical tips (and didn’t buy anything from those random pop-up ads.).
3. Jealous or Joyful. Friend to Friend. Stop it. Don’t worry about someone else’s hair, outfits, or how ‘perfect’ they are…spoiler alert..they aren’t. If you are having jealous feelings every time you see a certain person’s posts, stop and really think why? If you have a valid reason (a real-life run in with that person that has left you hurt or vulnerable) take a time-out and unfollow for a while. If there isn’t a reason, reframe. Instead of being jealous-be joyful. Write a comment cheering them on!

When you create a daily habit of looking for the good and articulating it to others, your outlook will change and it will shape a culture of positive interactions and affirmations. Jessica Cabeen

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Readers, take care of yourself. This has been a long and unprecedented season, and you are doing and amazing job. You are enough, and if you are doubting what I just said, you are doing more than enough.

Jessica