I'm reading Daniel Pink's book A Whole New Mind right now in conjunction with some leadership materials here and there. While reading the chapter on symphony, a quote caught my eye:
"all aspects of well-being, including physical, environmental, mental, emotional, spiritual and social health.....contribute to the healing of ourselves and our planet"Within the same page of that quote, I found this one:
"The ability to perceive one's own life in a way that encompasses the full spectrum of human possibility is essential to the search for meaning"Upon Mo Hax telling me I "had to read this book" I never thought it would have the impact it has had in relation to leadership and self-fulfillment. While reading the chapter on symphony, I struggled to understand it and connect it to myself until I related these two quotes to each other. What is being said here directly relates to the characteristics of a good leader as described in the book "Building the Bridge As You Walk On It" by Robert Quinn.
This struggle with providing symphony in my life and figuring out how to make it work has been a huge part of me moving forward. Someone just this week asked me, "how do you do all that you're doing?" This question immediately reminded me of these quotes and the last chapter I read in the Building the Bridge book. The simple answer to this is that I have to. To fulfill all of my dreams and be happy within, I have to create symphony in all areas of my life. That includes the work, the play, the running, the family time, the learning....all of it.
I tweeted a quote this week that has been bouncing around in my mind after reading the chapter on symphony. That quote came from my principal, Lynn Rhymer, a few months ago when I was telling her that I didn't have time to exercise. She said to me, "If you really want to do something, you'll find the time". That comment has branded itself on my brain never to be forgotten and always brought up when most needed. Truth is, no matter how busy you are, you can't let the other parts of your life go. Each area is as important as the other and they all need to be nurtured to create your own beautiful symphony.
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We read this book as the basis for implementing 21st Century Learning at my former school and it made what we were doing make sense. It had such an impact it became part of the our presentation at the NCTIES Conference last year.
I struggle too with balancing the workload of the days, taking care of my teachers and their technology, writing (a second job), and being a good family man and father. I make the time - often times giving in to lack of sleep - to get it all done, but everything I do is important to me. I think I've found my niche as a tech facilitator at my new school, and it makes going to work each day exciting and a new adventure. If you have any secrets to creating the symphony please share. I'm still working on it. Good to know I'm not the only one.
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