“I once talked to another principal who was very successful. She told me, ‘it isn’t about you, but it is about you. As a leader, your work is not about you — you have to focus on the people you’re there to lead and serve. But as a leader, you do set the tone. So in a way, your work IS about you’.”

A few weeks ago I was reminded that the parts of life that we sometimes think aren’t measurable - you know, the “squishy” things - actually are measurable and are often the ones that matter the most.

For me, half the fun in life is being among different people, learning from them, debating with them, and expanding one’s own point of view out of it.

Principle 3: Be willing to see what others won’t. The embodiment of this principle can be seen in the story of former Navy SEAL Dan Cnossen.

You don’t get what you don’t ask for, and you don’t get what you don’t pursue. 

When I think of the words “athlete mindset” it might surprise you to know that I don’t immediately think of athletics.  I don’t picture the gym, or bobsled, or the track, or the podium. In fact, what comes to mind is a thick, black leather chair in a mental health counselor's office. 

It’s a good time to consider which things we want to keep in our lives/work, which problems we want to commit to solving, and which things it’s time to kick to the curb.

The standards in that little tiny niche within that tiny niche are really, really high. 

Novelty is incredible motivation. There’s nothing wrong with it. But it’s also a bit of a psychological trick that only gets us so far.

So I decided: Nope. Not anymore. I’m not doing it this year. I’m going to stop fixating on the stuff that pisses me off, and put my attention elsewhere. It was a “definition of insanity” moment for me.

Just like in seventh-grade math class: if we don’t show our work, we don’t get full credit.

We pick out books from the library together. (Recently we were reading a selection of five-minute stories, each with a “girl power” theme.) But as we’ve been reading, I’ve noticed something that isn’t sitting well with me. 

My junior year in college at Florida I had a roommate who snoozed for an entire hour every day. One day in the fall I couldn’t take it anymore.

My college sports career was abysmal. Every single year I found myself with another injury. You’d think that at a certain point the coaches must have been shaking their heads, thinking “why are we wasting a scholarship on this kid?”