The Art of Making Resolutions: A Mindful Approach

     Every year I make a New Year's Resolution and it seems that with every passing year, the resolutions seem to be harder and harder to keep, making me feel like a New Year's Resolution failure.  Over the past few weeks, I've done a lot of thinking about how the goals that I've successfully achieved are strikingly different from my New Year's Resolutions.  This has shed some light for me on how to make resolutions in a more mindful way.

     As a goal-oriented person, I enjoy setting my sights on an accomplishment and figuring out how I will get there.  My executive functioning skills are quite intact.  I am quite good at setting realistic goals, determining the steps I need to take to reach them, planning my time accordingly, and staying disciplined as I work toward my goals.  So the question becomes: Why can't I stick to my New Year's Resolutions?  Looking back at three goals that I have successfully achieved this year has helped me to clarify what conditions are needed to ensure my success in accomplishing goals.


GOAL #1:  Finding an Apartment

     Back in February, I learned at the beginning of my February vacation (10:00am on Saturday morning!) that I would need to vacate my apartment in several months, right around the time of my sister's wedding.  Heartbroken and anxious to leave an apartment I had grown to love, I set my mind to finding an apartment by the end of the week, before returning to school.  Throwing aside my plans for vacation, I put all of my time, effort, and energy into finding an apartment.  That whole afternoon I researched listings and booked appointments.  Luckily, I found a great place within a few days, signed a lease a few days later, and received a key a few after that.  Since my first goal was accomplished within a few days, I created and successfully reached two new goals:  packing up my apartment by the end of vacation week and actually moving into a new apartment only thirteen days after finding out I needed to move.

Conditions that Helped Me to Be Successful and Disciplined in Reaching this Goal:
A pressing need (needing to find a new place) with a specific time frame attached (knowing that I would need to move before my sister's wedding) and the resources to achieve the goal (time, energy, effort)




GOAL #2:  My Professional Development Plan for School

     At the beginning of every new school year, I always think of a few new things that I want to work on or develop.  This helps to keep my teaching new and fresh from year to year.  My district requires teachers to formalize goals into a written statement, signed by both the teacher and the principal.  It contains a series of steps that will be taken to reach the goal, people who will help, and evidence that the goal has been accomplished.  Each year, I choose something that I am already interested in working on further-- that way I am already motivated.    This year, I am already well on my way to accomplishing my goal.

Conditions that Helped Me to Be Successful and Disciplined in Reaching this Goal:
My interest in pursuing the goal, being held accountable for achieving it, and the timing of the goal (at the beginning of the school year when there are a whole new set of kids and it makes sense to try out new ideas and teaching techniques.)


GOAL #3:  Maintaining This Blog:  Living, Teaching, and Creating Courageously 

 
     In July 2010, I had the incredible opportunity of attending a weeklong Courage to Teach Institute.  As a requirement for obtaining Professional Development Points (PDPs), we were required to write a five page reflection paper that included what we had learned/gotten out of the institute and how we planned to continue the Courage to Teach work.  In my reflection paper, I included the following section about maintaining my blog:

"For the past year, I have been wanting to start a personal blog but never had a topic, until now.  Inspired by great blogs that my colleagues write, I became excited about having a forum to share my ideas and to create discussions.  A fellow participant in the workshop sent a piece of her art work in the mail to members of the group as a thank you gesture.  What I thought was really neat was that she included thought provoking and engaging questions to accompany the art.  And the wheels in my head started turning...

Thinking about the CTT Institute, I realized that so many of us involved in the courage work are artists, writers, poets, creators.  I thought it would be neat to create a blog where art can be used as third things to promote the discussion of ideas.  Writing and creating art are two things that help me to be creative.  I'm hoping that by making a committment to post to the blog throughout the school year, it will help me to achieve more balance.  I'm not sure what a reasonable goal would be:  perhaps an entry every two weeks?"

I am proud to say that not only have I achieved this goal but I have far surpassed it.  A blog entry every two weeks would have brought me to about 10 entries at this point, but this entry is actually #21!


Conditions that Helped Me to Be Successful and Diciplined in Reaching This Goal:
My enjoyment in keeping up the blog (both writing and taking pictures for it), positive feedback and encouragement from people who read it, and it fulfills a personal passion and need of mine to create.


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In reflecting back upon the conditions that helped me to be successful and disciplined in reaching goals, I've realized that my success is not only dependent upon creating the goal but also in having some of these conditions in place:

*A pressing need
*Specific time frame in which the goal needs to be achieved
*Resources to achieve the goal (time, energy, money)
*Interest and enjoyment
*Being held accountable for reaching the goal
*Goal is created at an appropriate time
*Encouragement from others
*Fulfills a personal need and/or passion

What I finally came to realize is that my New Year's Resolutions are often just that, resolutions.  I have thought about goals for the upcoming year without making sure any of the above conditions are put into place.


My Advice:  If you are going to make a New Year's Resolution, make sure that you have the appropriate conditions in place to ensure your success.  If you determine that you will not be able to have the necessary conditions in place come January 1, then hold off on the goal or the resolution until these conditions can be available.  That way,  you will not feel like a New Year's Resolution failure!


Questions to Ponder:

1.   Think about goals that you have successfully reached.  What conditions were in place that helped you to achieve your goals?

2.  Think about your New Year's Resolutions for 2011.  What conditions will you need to make sure are in place in order to ensure that you successfully achieve your goal?

Unexpected Learning Opportunities

     Today I had the great opportunity to chaperone a trip to the Peabody Essex Museum with a fourth grade group from my school who is studying China.  A docent led us through the Yin Yu Tang House, a late Qing dynasty merchants' house that was originally located in southeastern China and then re-erected at the museum.  We also toured the new exhibit entitled:  The Emperor's Private Paradise: Treasures from the Forbidden City.

     While the docent did a great job walking us through the multiple rooms of the exhibit, she was also flexible enough to take advantage of an unexpected learning opportunity when it arose.  While the students sat in front of a display of large calligraphy couplets adorning a wall, a patron of the museum, an older Chinese woman in her seventies, asked the docent if she could speak with the group.  And then she began to tell the kids about what her life was like growing up in China, as they sat there captivated, hanging onto her every word.

     In China, she began, there were four subjects that everyone had to learn, not including academics: music, chess, calligraphy, and painting.  Everyday after school, her father required her siblings and herself to write a page of calligraphy, write large calligraphy couplets, and date them.  When her dad wasn't home and it was just her mom, she used to change the date on a page of calligraphy she had previously completed, hoping that her dad would not notice.  The woman left the students with a final message of:  Young people don't work hard but older people understand the value of hard work.

     At the end of our time at the museum, the docent asked the students what their favorite parts of the museum were.  Among their list of several items was hearing the speech of the older Chinese woman.  The students had clearly enjoyed this unexpected learning opportunity and I appreciated the message that the older woman imparted onto them.


Questions to Ponder:

1.  What are the benefits of taking advantage of unexpected learning opportunities in the classroom when they present themselves, even if that means deviating from the schedule?

2.  Think of a time when this happened.  What was the impact of this on yourself?  on your students?

Captioning Photography: Personifying Nature

     One way to be mindful and to be fully present in the moment is to look at things from different perspectives.  When we look at an experience, a thought, or an image in a new way, our brains are processing novel information, requiring our full focus and attention.

     For me, the act of captioning my photographs in photosharing sites like Facebook, engages my mind in creative thinking.  Rather than merely labeling my pictures, especially nature photographs with simply the name of the subject (tree, leaf, branch), I enjoy engaging myself and the viewer with a caption that causes the brain to think about the photograph in new and unexpected ways.  This is one of the reasons why I love the commenting feature on Facebook, where friends can post comments about my photographs.  Inevitably, their comments cause me to view my images in new ways, often inspiring new ideas for future pictures.

     While browsing through the captions (and comments) on my photographs the other day, I realized that some of the most thought-provoking comments and captions are ones in which nature is personified.  These captions/comments fall into two categories:  Personifying with Motion and Personifying with Mood. 


Personifying with Motion

When inanimate objects are personified, motion can be invoked from what at first glance appears to be a still picture.  My friend Grace commented on the following picture.

“It’s like they are reaching out to one another to stay warm.”  Now when I view this picture I look for ways in which the branches seek each other out.  When I go outside, I look for ways in which branches seem to be extending their limbs toward one another.


The picture below makes me think of a different type of motion.  One bright sunny spring day, I noticed how these shadows appeared to be playing hide and seek with each other.  The shadow behind the tree appears to be peeking out—ready to pounce on the shadow on the grass.

Personifying animals can also make photographs more engaging.  To me, this was just a pretty picture of a swan in Spy Pond.  Grace’s comments have engaged me more with this photography.  “I like how the swan looks like he/she is investigating all of the stuff in the water.”  Now when I view this picture, I am immediately drawn in, thinking to myself, “What is the swan looking at?  How is the swan’s exploration similar to that of the investigations of a scientist?”    

Personifying with Mood

Another way to bring human characteristics to a still-life nature photograph is by infusing it with mood or emotions. 

What emotions does this picture evoke?

When I originally viewed this photograph, I captioned it, “A lonely fall leaf resting on the cold hard ground.”  To me, this picture evoked feelings of desolation and loneliness.  However, Grace had a completely different take:  “Or it’s the bright spot, still holding on.”  This exchange of comments made me realize that the interpretation of a photograph is not just about the image itself, but rather a combination of the image with what the viewer brings to it.  I’ve always realized that my interpretation of an image can vary depending on my own moods and emotions


What emotions does this picture evoke?

And this one?



When I originally .captioned this picture, I simply stated the obvious:  “Objects frozen in the ice but the warm temperatures are starting to make the ice crack.”  It was my friends’ personifying comments on the photograph that inspired me to view it in a whole new way.  My friend Caroline wrote, “I like this a lot.  It has a violent feeling about it, yet it’s so natural and innocuous at the same time, cool concept.”  Brenda replied, “Caroline and I are actually thinking alike.  It looks a little scary to me as if the ice is cracking, but it’s very artistic.”

Words that accompany photographs as captions can give viewers a new lens through which to view the image.  Personifying pictures of nature can evoke motions and emotions in still-life pictures.  As a result, the viewer can often experience the image in a more engaged and mindful way.


Questions to Ponder:

1.  Have you ever personified nature when outdoors or when viewing an image from nature?   If so, how did that affect the way in which you viewed the experience or the image?

2.  The next time you go outside, view the world through a different lens.  Think about how something from the world outdoors could be personified.  How did this affect your experience?

The Importance of Play

     Yesterday I had the awesome opportunity of attending a free SCRATCH workshop at MIT.  SCRATCH is a programming environment on the computer that enables young people to create their own interactive games, art, stories, animations, and simulations.  Not only did I have fun learning how to use the program and the variety of ways in which it can be used, but I also extremely enjoyed being able to play with my colleagues.  Over the course of three hours, we experimented with the program, shared ideas, and had fun!

     After the workshop, a few of us took some time to explore the new MIT Media Lab that just opened in January 2010.  As stated on the website (http://www.media.mit.edu/about/faq#what), the Media Lab focuses on the study, invention, and creative use of digital technologies to enhance the ways that people think, express, and communicate ideas, and explore new scientific frontiers.  Like tourists in New York City, we walked around wide-eyed, in wonder at the building itself—from the ultra modern construction to the open and airy quality of the space to the gleaming white walls to the open design of the offices to the sleek and colorful furniture to the transparent elevators where the pulley mechanism could be seen in action. 

     Particularly drawing our interest was the whole concept of the Lifelong Kindergarten (http://llk.media.mit.edu).  On the website, the goal is stated:  Sowing the Seeds for a More Creative Society.  We develop new technologies that, in the spirit of the blocks and finger paint of kindergarten, expand the range of what people can design, create, and learn.  Within this building, there is even a LEGO learning lab, how cool! 

     Like kids in a candy store, we eagerly gobbled up everything that our eyes took in and everything with which our hands could play.  Hanging on the walls were several interactive exhibits.  My favorite was a huge magnetic board with lit up tiles that could be manipulated.  I had fun making messages with it, like the one below:

      As the writer of this blog, what was especially awesome, was when my friends Brenda and Grace came bouncing back into the presentation room, bursting with enthusiasm to share with me their newest discovery.  “You have to see what we found!  You will love it!  It is so you!”  Curiously and excitedly, I followed them into the hallway as they led me to a photographic exhibit on display in several areas throughout the building. 

     The exhibit consisted of clusters of photographs by an artist around a central theme that they had chosen.  Similar to this blog, next to the photographs were a few paragraphs, written by the photographer, explaining how the pictures related and posing thought provoking questions to the viewers.  It was fascinating to me to see how other people had presented a similar idea in a different way.   In a follow-up email later in the day, Grace wrote, “I loved the photography exhibit and it definitely spoke of you. If you were going to put together your own exhibit, which of your photos would you include?”  My mind has been on fire ever since, ignited by the idea of organizing my photographs into an exhibit, and playing around with themes and how I would display my pictures.

      In so many ways, my mind was at play yesterday: in learning Scratch, in sharing ideas with my colleagues, in exploring the new MIT Media Lab, in viewing a photography exhibit, and in envisioning ideas for creating my own photo gallery.  After the workshop, Grace also commented, “That was really fun today. It is rare to have 3 hours of totally focused time to learn something and share it with others.”

      An article called “Play, Creativity, and Learning: Why Play Matters for Both Kids and Adults" addresses the importance of play.  The benefits of play in the workplace include keeping you functional when under stress, refreshing your mind and body, encouraging teamwork, helping you see problems in new ways, triggering creativity and innovation, and increasing energy and preventing burnout.  (http://helpguide.org/life/creative_play_fun_games_html). 

     If my colleagues and I so thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and there is research that clearly defines the benefits of play at work, why don’t we engage in it more often?   Unfortunately, the answer usually is:  there is not enough time.   If elementary school teachers (who work with kids all day long) can not find enough time for play in their busy and hectic schedules, just think about what other types of work environments must be like.  So how do we create the time for play at our jobs?  This is a complicated and difficult question to answer, but a very important one to ask.


Questions to Ponder…..Feel free to post a comment in response to any of the questions below if you are so inspired.

1.    How do you define the word play for yourself?  What does it feel like when you are engaged in playful activities?  What activities do you consider to be playful?

2.   How is the element of play incorporated into your daily life at work?   If play is not already a part of your everyday routine, how could it be included?