Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher circa 500 BC, nailed it. Change is the only constant in life. Roughly 2300 years later, Benjamin Franklin expanded the famous quote by saying, “Change is the only constant in life. One’s ability to adapt to those changes will determine your success in life.” Change, in…
Tag: school counselor
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HAPPINESS & SUCCESS
Does being successful make a person happy, or does being happy make a person successful? The answer is BOTH. However, if you are asked to choose which is most true, you might be surprised. Many people think being successful is the key to happiness, but in reality, the opposite is…
LET’S COPE!–Part 2 of STRESS HAPPENS.
[Part 1 of STRESS HAPPENS can be found here.] Some people have a lot of stress and handle it well. Some people have a lot of stress and handle it poorly. Some people have a little bit of stress and handle it well. Some people have a little bit of…
I’M POSSIBLE! The Power of a Positive Attitude When Learning
Audrey Hepburn had many great quotes, but none more profound than this one: “Nothing is impossible, the word itself says “I’m possible.” When learning difficult tasks, students can be encouraged to change “impossible” into “I’m possible” by having a positive attitude and reaping the learning benefits that come from this…
SILENT. LISTEN.
Silent. Listen. What do these two words have in common? It’s pretty obvious to most people that doing the first allows us to do the second. Being silent allows us to listen. Sounds simple enough. But IS it simple? Listening certainly involves being silent, but there are other important aspects…
ANGRY? ANXIOUS? SCARED? How to Regulate Strong Emotions
It was almost Spring Break before I heard about Matt. Seemingly, he started the year with a measure of success, but according to his teachers, his behavior had gone south quickly after returning from Winter Break. By the time I got involved, Matt had a special seat in the…
ABILITY-EFFORT-ATTITUDE: How the Growth Mindset Affects Learning
“I don’t know how!” “I can’t!” “I don’t want to!” “I don’t care!” Working in public education for 20+ years has afforded me the opportunity to observe some consistently true dynamics. One such interaction is the interplay between attitude, effort, and ability among students. In recent years there has been…
THE DIFFERENCE A SPACE CAN MAKE…
Sometimes a little difference is, in reality, a very big 180-degree kind of difference, a night-and-day type of difference. The details matter. Have you ever tried to freeze water at 33 degrees? What about calling someone but being one number off in their phone number, or worse yet, being off…
HOW TO SURVIVE THE LOSS OF A LOVE: A Great Little Self-Help Book
Two colleagues I consider to be dear friends are retiring at the end of this school year. Typically, retirement of friends causes a little tinge of jealousy to rise up in me. Not so much this time. While I don’t see them often anymore due to a change in my…
NO ONE CAN MAKE YOU FEEL INFERIOR WITHOUT YOUR CONSENT (E. Roosevelt): Lessons in Bully Resistance
February, the month of LOVE, is home to Valentine’s Day and, personally, my more preferred celebration, Random Acts of Kindness week. This year, RAK week is February 9th-15th. You agree, I’m sure, that RAK should be every day, not just a week-long celebration, but intentionally promoting it during this week…