School Administrators: Filling Your Vitality Bucket

Whether you are a school leader, teacher, or parent, you are on a mission to take care of people and help them learn to take care of themselves. At the school level, trying to get our students exposed to and proficient  at 21st Century skills is time consuming and exhausting. To be responsible for any type of leading takes energy and passion. Here are some things I use to keep filling my bucket:

• Family and Friends: Surround yourself with people you love and who love you. 

Spending time with my husband and children keeps me centered. My parents and other family members do the same. From traveling around the world to playing board games by the fireplace, they fill my bucket. Surrounding myself with people who I care about and care about me gets me through even the most challenging times. Filling each others' buckets is rewarding as well.

• Colleagues: Connect with people locally, nationally, or globally to collaborate. 

In this day, they do not need to be people in your building or district.Working with people we can relate to and learn from has been key to helping me through trying times. Their support and collaboration fills my bucket. I am lucky that I work with a great admin team. I have networks through Twitter and professional organizations that keep me moving forward to better myself and my building.

• The Kids: Focusing on the ones we do it all for is instrumental to filling our buckets. 

Students are the reason we do it. Focusing on their best interests. Letting their learning and accomplishments become our recognition and reward is what it is all about. When I see a student take pride in his or her work, earn a grade that they have been striving for, or even seeing a light bulb go off as they understand something new for the first time is priceless.

• Professional Organization(s): Find an organization whose mission speaks to you.  

This way you can not only get the support you need, but you can take a leadership role to support others.MEMSPA has been a resource to keep my bucket full.  MEMSPA has been a great avenue to helping me feel I am a value to others and the profession. I have also been able to establish networks of support, engage in activities and excellent professional learning.

• Good Health: You must take care of yourself before you can take care of others. 

No matter who you are, exercise and taking care of yourself helps re-energize you and fill your bucket. Also, a part of taking care of yourself includes getting enough rest and eating right.

• Mindset: Make the decision to be positive. 

Postivity and the decision to keep your bucket filled and filling others' buckets can keep you on the right track. This mindset has been vital to helping me through a great deal of professional and personally adversity. Mindset is everything.