AMPLIFY!

When I think about my journey as an educator, it has been full of exhilarating highs and heartbreaking lows.  When you're passionate and invest yourself wholeheartedly in what you do, that's what happens.  You're all in. You pour your heart and soul into each student that you serve.  It's a relentless pursuit to create the best possible experience for each kid that walks through your door. 

My passion for education, is a fire that burns within me.  If I can just spark the love of learning in my students than if fed with more fuel, it will get bigger and bigger until it becomes a flame.  It can't stop with my students though. I know that there are many students that I can't reach and many subjects that I can't teach.  My desire is that teachers everywhere will have the same fire for education.  The same desire to make their classrooms a place where learning comes alive and is filled with the magic. 

​Quite some time ago I heard author of Teach Like a Pirate, Dave Burgess say a phrase that always has stuck with me.  "Amplify Your Impact".  These words have played in my head many times as I've taken leaps of courage in my educational journey these past few years. Today I ran across a post I wrote in December of 2016: "Don't Step...Leap"  When I read my reflections from a year a go, I'm blown away by how much has happened and how much I've grown!  As the new year is quickly approaching, I am reflecting on the amazing opportunities that I've been given to share my heart, my passion....my story. With each opportunity I've been given a chance to ignite a spark, kindle a flame, or fuel a fire.  Wow! This is so exciting to me; an honor and responsibility I don't take lightly.  I don't want to waste one single chance to make a difference; to amplify my impact!

So how am I going to do this? You see, New Year's resolutions are not really my thing.  I've made them, but I'm not the best at keeping them.  The "One Word" approach of choosing a word that is a driving force for the year, rather than creating a list of resolutions is a bit more my style.  However, in year's past I've settled on "a word" for the year, but never really had an action plan to set the word in motion.

This year my word is "AMPLIFY" and I am determined to be intentional about putting this word to action.  I was pondering this concept when I ran across a planner at a local gift shop.  I've always struggled finding a planner that fits my complicated brain, but the name of this one stopped me in my tracks.  The Porpoise Planner: A Year of Inspiration and Action.  I like the sound of this!  The planner is designed to be a self-mentoring tool that gives you exercises  to decide on your big dreams for the year and helps you break them down into action steps.

It gives you space to:

1. Define Your Goals

• Define and prioritize WHAT you want to do. Make a list of goals you want to accomplish. Dream big & be creative!
• Determine your intentions by going back and circling or highlighting the goals that mean the most to you.  List them in order of importance.

2.  Examine Your Goals

• What's your WHY?  Why have you chosen these goals? Tweak goals to align with what you value.

3.  Examine Your Challenges

• Figure out the HOW.  List the challenges you think you'll face in achieving your goals.
• Look at the challenges you listed.  Brainstorm strategies to cope with each and leave a note of encouragement to your future self.

4. Break it Down

• Plot your goals by breaking down into do-able steps. It gives a table to list each:

1. Goal
2. Steps to take
3. Time Frame (start and finish time)​

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The planner has monthly spreads to plot each month at a glance so you can define longer-term objectives.  It gives a space to write:

• ​goals 
• great things happening
• What I rocked
• What didn't go so well

It also gives a weekly spread to help with your daily tasks. ​It gives space for to-do lists, top goals, and scheduled events.  The idea is to start each week by identifying major objectives, upcoming highlights, and challenges.  You begin every morning by filling out your goals, to-do's, and jotting down what you're grateful for.  It also gives space to reflect at the end of the week on your successes, setbacks, and how to make the next week great. 

I have lots of dreams to reach and goals to crush in 2018.  I'm hoping that by putting my "one word" to action I will truly be able to...

AMPLIFY MY IMPACT!