Perspective

Many years ago, my husband installed a Sirius radio in my car for my birthday. This was well before satellite radio came preloaded in your car’s factory radio. I was somewhat pleased but also a little miffed that my husband spent money on something that we already had in the car-for FREE.  Yet, I instantly fell in love with Sirius (which is now XM). Having a station with all 80s music, numerous talk radio stations (my favorite), and uninterrupted playtime with no commercials has been amazing. With anything; however, there are limitations and sometimes I am not pleased with my satellite radio. For instance, it is not always commercial free all the time.  The talk radio does repeat many of their shows and they change their stations numbers so often that I have difficulty exploring other options and mainly stick to the same 5-10 channels all the time. Recently my renewal papers arrived and I really wondered if I should renew. My car has the capability to play anything on my phone- Itunes, Pandora, and even podcasts FOR FREE.  After some debate (and calling to negotiate a different price), I decided to renew my subscription to the satellite radio because it really is worth the price.

When I was thinking about this process, it reminded me a little of how people see us and how we see experiences. I am fully aware that I am less than some people prefer me to be, but most people are unaware that I am so much more than what they see. It really is all about perspective and circumstances. How we view things really is about our perspective. I recently read a very old quote from a Roman emperor that states, “Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is perspective, not the truth.” How very wise. We all think through a lens that is colored by our own experiences and beliefs. Yet, occasionally when we open ourselves up to other perspectives, we open to an entirely different way to thinking. Being open to different perspectives can so improve our day to day interactions with others. For years I have been using the “have to” vs. “get to” perspective. Instead of saying I “have to” cook dinner for my family, I restate it in my mind as, I “get to” cook dinner for my family. The truth is I don’t have to cook. I can call Hub City Delivery, but the new perspective is, “I get to prepare something my family will enjoy together.”

So how does this apply to us here at school.  We have many obligations as educators….attend a meeting, turn in grades, call that parent back, complete the field trip form, and the list goes on and on. It can feel burdensome. It can feel tiring. It can feel overwhelmed. But what if we thought about those obligations as opportunities… I get to go to an RTI meeting and discuss a troublesome students with my highly qualified team of folks, I get to invest in the life of a child, I get to meet the needs of a student by listening to the concerns of a parent. Obligations can drain us. Opportunities can excite us. Obligations can discourage us while opportunities can give so much to us. Obligations require complaint, while opportunities give us a reason to give thanks. So at this very busy time of year, the crunch time of school, how is your perspective moving you forward or is it holding you back?