Something I have concentrated on developing throughout my career and also my personal life is to really try and see opportunity in everything. Now let me take a step back here and say that sometimes it is just not as easy as it sounds but I do still try.
I have tried really hard to instill this quality in my own daughters as well as the students I teach. Life throws at us many challenges and it is important that we are able to recognize the value that a challenges will bring to us. In fact a challenge will offer us the opportunity for personal growth, a new experience and also a new learning experience.
Sometimes when we are faced with a challenge another idea could surface that previously would not have come to the fore had we not had to stretch our mind and get creative in finding solutions to what we have in front of us .
Of course it is important for us not to ignore reality but we can learn the benefit of keeping a positive mindset especially when dealing with negative people and events around us.
When I returned from Spain this August I was able to return to my previous job at the college as they had kept the job open for me for 3 years just in case I decided to come back. I was extremely grateful for this opportunity as I enjoy the age group and the subjects I teach at the college.
What I noticed in my first few weeks back was the number of negative people who seemed stuck in a rut and had not changed from that scenario in the 2 years I had been away .
They are not happy with their jobs and have been there many years so in effect have lost the challenge and spark in what they do. In seems that the job has become something they do towards getting a pension in a number of years time.
This negativity is a daily challenge for me as I know it is easy to get sucked in and dragged down to the point of agreeing with them and joining the negative clan who move around the college moaning about everything.
I decided early that rather than let the negativity affect me the opportunity in what I was doing would be transferring my knowledge and experience onto my blog and building up my blog as an avenue to move forward when my daughters have finished school 2 years down the line.
For that reason I love what I do and see in the college a great opportunity for me to develop on my own. When I am faced with negative people I take it as an example of what happens when we fail to embrace change and see opportunity in what we do .
In fact we should really thank the challenging people who cross our path for teaching us about ourselves and also allowing us the opportunity to learn the benefits of keeping a positive mindset.
In my position as coordinator of health and social care in the college I am faced with challenges every day coming from all directions. I have students coming to me with their problems and unable to see a way out. When I sit with them and we discuss the angles around the problem it is mostly the student who comes up with the solution.I am just the facilitator who tries to help them see that there are other ways to look at the situation in front of them and see a way forward.
When it comes to the end of their two year course the only difference between the student who achieves distinctions and the student who manages to pass is the ability to take on a challenge and not see it as a set back. All of us are faced with challenges throughout our lives and it is our decision on how we approach them as an opportunity to learn or we use them as a reason not to try.
As tonight brings us into 2013 we must remember that what ever way our life unfolds will depend on how we respond to the challenges and roadblocks which come our way and they will be there I can assure you.
Rise up and face them head on, recognize the value in what they offer you and have a wonderful year ahead !