I told a class this week that if they were thinking of a question or comment, chances are that at least two other people were thinking something similar, so they should speak up. In that same spirit, in case you have sneaky moments that untether you from any stronghold you’ve been able to anchor yourself to, here you go.
I figure if I was thinking it, at least one other person out there is too.
Comparison is the thief of joy, so goes the saying, and yet…
We are in a pandemic where I feel I need to give so much grace to my students and yet…
I want someone to pull me aside and tell me it’s all okay, that everything will be okay, and yet…
(Not that I would even listen to or believe them because the evidence feels overwhelming that nothing is okay.)
Sometimes you have to remind yourself to find the wins and remember that they are, in fact, wins.
Sometimes you have to wear metaphorical horse blinders, you just cannot look around at what others are doing, how you perceive others are succeeding while you feel you are failing, and instead ask yourself, “is today just incrementally better than yesterday?”
Sometimes you have to write the advice you’d give if someone came to you distraught, despondent, discouraged, and remind them–and yourself:
You’re doing the best you can.
Perception is rarely reality
The people who matter are on your side.
It’s all okay, everything will be okay.
