Rolling with It

 

Tonight I’m at another Bahia match, this time against a team from São Paulo that’s lower in the standings. Hopefully things go our way. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t, and how you handle the unexpected is what really matters.

A couple of weeks ago, I had one of those days where everything seemed to go wrong. I was putting a glass door back on its track at work when it shattered over my head. It was nothing serious, just a few cuts and a big mess. Later that day, my dog and I got stuck in the elevator. I had to figure out how to call for help and describe the problem in Portuguese over the elevator phone. All that on top of a tough workday.

The next week? Completely different story. Three incredible days of strategic planning that left me inspired, and an invitation to play in a local tennis tournament after a relaxed evening hitting balls with new friends. (I’m not good, but I said yes anyway.)

It reminded me of that Jim Carrey movie where he just says “yes” to everything. There’s something to that. Being open to new experiences, laughing at the absurd, and keeping perspective when things go sideways.

Watching the match tonight, I can’t help smiling as some of the players dramatically roll on the grass after a small bump. I think we all do that sometimes.

Life doesn’t stop the clock. So keep saying yes, keep learning, and keep moving forward , even if you have to roll around a bit first.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Global Competence in K-12 Education: Preparing Students for an Interconnected World

Image
  I read  The World is Flat by  Thomas Friedman sometime in the mid-2000s. While I had an appreciation for different cultures and a vague understanding of the world’s interconnectedness—I didn’t contemplate it much. I recall Friedman’s book stretching my thinking, detailing the rapid changes brought about by technology, global trade, and interconnected economies. Since then, we have witnessed an accelerated “flattening” fueled by advancements in communication and the rise of social media. What involvement should schools play in fostering global competence? Education is about preparing students for the future, which is undeniably global. By fostering global competence in K-12 classrooms, we guide the next generation in meeting the challenges of an interconnected world with confidence, creativity, and compassion.  By embedding global themes into the curriculum, students develop critical thinking skills to analyze issues from multiple viewpoints. Language learning enhan...
Read more

Reframing Organizations: A Personal Journey Through a Timeless Leadership Framework

Image
  I discovered Bolman and Deal's "Reframing Organizations" during my Master of Public Administration program in the early 2000s. At the time, the book was required reading, and I approached it with the typical student mindset—another book to get through for a grade. Little did I know that this framework would become a cornerstone of my leadership approach, particularly as a school leader and, eventually, a district superintendent. I was struck by the clarity and depth of the four-frame model: Structural, Human Resource, Political, and Symbolic. Each frame offered a unique perspective on organizational challenges, and together, they provided a comprehensive toolkit for understanding and managing complex environments. This was particularly eye-opening as I navigated the multifaceted world of educational leadership. In my early years as a school leader, the Structural frame proved invaluable. It helped me design efficient processes and clarify roles and responsibilities with...
Read more

The Paper Advantage: Why Physical Books Outperform Screens for Deep Learning

Image
I recently saw on LinkedIn a repost by Tony Zeikle of Lightspeed of organizational psychologist and author Adam Grant : "We learn more from reading on paper than on screens. 54 studies, 171k people: we process print more deeply than digital content as long as it's informational rather than purely narrative. The paper advantage holds across ages and has grown over time. Long live physical books." This statement resonated with me, as I've always preferred the tactile experience of physical books. This preference might be generational, stemming from my upbringing with printed materials. However, scientific research supports that reading on paper enhances comprehension and retention, especially for informational content. The Science Behind Reading Mediums A 2019 meta-analysis by Virginia Clinton reviewed 33 studies involving 2,799 participants and found that reading from screens hurt reading performance relative to paper, particularly with expository texts. Another me...
Read more