Wisdom and Productivity, the Podcast: Episode 1

 

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This principal’s "amor fati"

“Think progress, not perfection.” -Ryan Holiday

Amor fati is the love of one's fate. From Epictetus to Nietzsche, this concept has been around for centuries and is one that I would like to reflect on today. I remember starting as a principal hoping to arrive one day at work and encountering a utopian school with no problems. I remember countless times driving back home wondering why problems kept coming up. At many instances during those first tumultuous years as a principal, I thought of quitting many times. 

I would go home complaining of how I wished things were and on how much better I could do the things I kept failing at repeatedly. 

But the day arrived when I learned that I was attracting all those problems in my life. I was completely rejecting the role and responsibility in my life because I was afraid.

You see, fear is a self-fulfilling prophecy:

"Many are harmed by fear itself, and many may have come to their fate while dreading fate. -Senaca

In The Daily Stoic, we are reminded that "the paranoid often destroy themselves quicker and more spectacularly than any enemy." They also state that "the combination of power, fear, and mania can be deadly" if not controlled.

So one day I let go of fear and started focusing on things I can control. I did learn that the obstacles are the way and decided to tackle them. I learned that one can find beauty in everything and that a truly meaningful life is possible. 

The other day, a group of my peers and I laughed and talked like human beings. Learning sessions from parents jumped from maybe 10 parents present to 30 parents learning virtually. Conversations are more likely to find a positive outcome because people get to see each other when they talk (thus avoiding miscommunications like the one on this sketch). My mother in law gets to see her adult children via plastic screens and she even gets to see her doctor without leaving home.

This principal's love for my own fate has allowed me to come out of Plato's Cave in order to appreciate life's glows and grows. 

Searching for wisdom

 "Start a blog!"

-Adam Welcome

I have been on a journey searching for wisdom. I have been looking for ways to improve both my personal and professional lives. I used to think that those two lives needed to live in separate realms but with time and experience, I learned that it works best for me to properly complement them. I have been tweeting for quite a time masquerading my desire to be a writer via micro-messages that say just a bit of what I would like to talk about.

I struggled with PTSD for most of my life until I decided to do something about it. The turning point that ended the first part of my life and began the 2nd, was an incident that involved fire.

I was driving to the school I lead as a principal when suddenly I was facing a landscaping truck on fire. I noticed right away that a man came out of it literally burning and by chance, I was there to help him. The repercussions of this event catapulted my PTSD to such a level that I wasn't functional and was forced to take a medical leave of absence.

During my time off, my geeky-self developed a plan based on the type of "retreats" that only a few members of society have access to and I did in my home. The one habit that I was able to develop during that month was to completely forgive everyone I needed to forget beginning with myself.

Coupled with my research for my doctoral dissertation on emotional intelligence and school principals, I started to uncover the specific reasons why I was not performing (both personally and professionally) at the level I wanted to. I started to gain the satisfaction in life I was searching for by developing my self-awareness and then doing something about it. Productivity tools like Todoist made the world of difference too!

I am not an end product; al revés: I will always be an unfinished product. For me to properly serve others, I am committed to being at least 1% better every day. If you think about it: it is absolutely possible to become better every year! What about in 5 years? 10?

So this is it! This is my first blog! I was absolutely inspired by Adam Welcome, a principal and presenter from California who's co-leading a PLC group with NAESP. When it was my turn to talk, I said something that went like this:

-Adam, I am here because I also have ideas to share. I would love to write a book, lead professional learning, share with others.

And Adam, in a persuasive way, encouraged us to start a blog or a podcast to extend our outreach as we collectively work to make this world better.

Peace and calm, EM