Your Other Prep for January

How Awe Helps You Actually Work the Plan

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The December Weight

Leading a campus in December can be so fun and so so rough all at the same time. Trying to pace yourself to make it to the break but not taking your foot off the gas to do it. We all know the downhill slide into assessment season that defines the second semester. For me, there were times when I knew my team and I had put together a solid plan for our January PD. We all felt comfortable with that right next step for the campus when we got back. And still that December had “it’s been that kind of year!” exhaustion all over it. I was tired and worried about how that great plan would be after the break.

And Then It Snowed

After one December volleyball game, pretty sure it was volleyball, I was outside the gym after the game waiting for the kids to get picked up and doing the admin monitoring thing. It had been that kind of year so far. I was so tired and just ready to be home.

And then.

It started to snow…in San Antonio. All these middle school kids turned into the best kind of kinder kids. An instant attitude change came over the kids. Even with the group buzzing from the win, the excitement went up so many notches on the happy meter in that instant.

I was laughing and joking too. The tension of the month just faded. This was a cool experience and we all knew it. (pun fully intended).

This particular winter wonderland experience didn’t stop when all the kids had piled into cars and the campus was all locked up. On the drive home I got to do my usual commute through downtown. That night, San Antonio had on her best holiday outfit. And then there was the snow tying the whole look together. I was getting to see all of this in real life.

What That Moment Gave Me or The Real Preparation for January

That evening was rare, and beautiful, and just such a cliched “holiday” experience. It was awesome. I realize now it was the right moment for me to have that kind of evening. I didn’t have anyone advising, “helping”, or refocusing me. I wasn’t a role or a position. I was just a person experiencing something really amazing. I was feeling awe and wonder.

That experience gave me what I needed to be a better leader for the rest of that December. What happened, exactly? 

I had a moment of awe. I felt a sense of something bigger that put everything back into perspective.

That perspective is a key leadership concept that I tended to ditch first when things ramp up more often than I would like to admit. That night, reconnecting set me up for feeling more prepared for what was to come in January.

The Power of Awe

Feeling “Awe” actually resets the nervous system. And with that reset, comes a change of perspective.

For me, that night, the perspective shift from the awe reconnected me to my humanity. From there I was able to get back to the real internal driving vision that led me to being an educator in the first place, why I do what I do.

And, that awe inspired reset carried me farther than any great plan for January could do alone.

Technically, I didn’t get a new strategy or an addition to our plan from experiencing that snow. I didn’t get a new “thing.” I got myself back online.

What January Needs from Us

January doesn’t need the best plan anyone has ever seen. It requires a better you. A rested you that has a regained sense of perspective. A human who is reconnected to their why and purpose.

I’m not talking about a new and better you through resolutions. This isn’t a post about self improvement. I’m talking about self-regulation, self-awareness, and self-kindness.

We all know that, for educators, January never starts with a clean slate. But we can choose to change our perspective on that slate.

Think about it this way, you and your team put a lot of work into those plans, routines, and systems for the assessment season that’s about to start. You, the person leading that effort, need to match the energy, clarity, and yes, HOPE you imbued within that  plan.

Find Your Own Awe

Bold prediction from me: It’s not going to snow where I live this year. I’m not going to find awe there. But, I do have other ways to experience awe. And these aren’t grand vacations to the coast, mountains, or deserts.

Museums, a great sources of awe for me. A great one near me has free Thursdays. I’ll wander in and stare at one particular statue for a refill on awe.

Local parks and outdoor trails. Touch some grass.

Staring at the ocean makes me an awestruck zombie but it’s not the most convenient place for me to get to. You might live on the coast. Bonus.

Listening to music can make me physically feel better.

You can find awe staring at the sky from your front porch. Or the drive through car washes even.

Your Turn

Think about any of the things that fill you with awe for a minute. I’ll be here when you get back. Really, take a minute and just go with it.

Welcome back. I bet you had a big sigh at some point there when you landed on your awe.

Now, consider something that you’re ramping up on campus next year now. If I had to guess, you feel just a little bit more positive about it after that tiny reset. Imagine if you took some time to actually experience that something you only thought about briefly.

I’m not your boss, I know this because right now, I’m no one’s boss. So, I say this as a guy writing a blog. I’m giving you permission to feel some awe this break. Heck, I’ll even write you a doctor’s note. Seriously, email or text and I’ll do it. Try me.

Go find some awe. Reset and find some perspective for January.