Monday 25 April 2016

#Microblog Mondays: Showing up is good




Today I'm pleased with myself because I made a good decision.


It is a non-instructional day in our school system. This means that there are no students in school but teachers have a day to complete other tasks or learning activities. Sometimes these days are structured, sometimes they are not.


A few weeks ago, our learning leader asked everyone in the special ed department to go to a workshop on an assessment tool during the non-instructional day today. She told us the date, the location, and then forwarded an email with information in an attachment. I made note of the date and location but didn't bother to open the attachment until late last night. When I did and read it I realized the workshop today had nothing to do with what the learning leader said it did and it didn't even directly apply to my current work.  But it was too late to clarify what I should do. This might sound like a trivial matter but it annoyed me. The location I was supposed to go to was across town. I would have to drive during rush hour. I was fairly certain I didn't have to go, but then I worried about looking foolish if it turned out I should be there and didn't show up.


I made up my mind to go, then not to go, then I worried about traffic, then I wondered about taking the bus, or the train. I suggested different possibilities to Mr. Turtle who said that if we were late on our morning routine he would miss his time to eat breakfast.  And so on. It was all making me very  anxious. Also I was irritated with my learning leader for sending confusing information, and with myself for not checking the information earlier.


Finally, I considered the alternative. There were no scheduled activities at our school. So if didn't go to the workshop, I would be working on my own in my classroom. I like to have time to get things done, but did I really want to work on my own today when there was another option? I decided I didn't. Besides, I had already had some time to complete tasks on my own last week. So I decided to go to the workshop, even if it wasn't specifically targeted to my teaching assignment.


My anxieties turned out to be misplaced. There was very little traffic and the drive was easy. When I walked in the door, the first person I saw was an educational assistant I had worked with at my old school. I was so happy to see her! I decided then and there that just seeing her was worth the trip. We caught up and I showed her baby (toddler, rather) pictures. I also met my learning leader and she admitted the information was confusing and that she had been mistaken. So I was glad to learn that and not have to wonder all day if I had just been stupid. Finally, although the workshop wasn't what I had been led to believe, it was still very good (all about using visuals). I learned at least one thing I can start using immediately.


And as it turned out I still had time to come back to school and do some work on my own (inspired by the workshop, actually).


The moral of the story? Forget the anxiety and doubts and just show up. For the workshop, for life, to see other people, whatever. At least it worked out this time. I'm very happy with my day. And since the next part involves tacos, AJ and Mr. Turtle, I'm pretty sure it will just get better.


More about Microblog Mondays here!

19 comments:

  1. Amen! And a lesson I'm learning every day. Sometimes just showing up is half the battle.

    Glad things worked out and you got a chance to get some additional work done.

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    1. So true! I really didn't have high expectations of the day so everything felt like a bonus.

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  2. This is such a great post and the story of my life. I will spend forever worrying about whether to go or not to go. You're right, when you show up, good things usually happen. I'm so glad it turned out to be a good day for you.

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    1. Me too! It helped me to realize that the things I worry about are often very silly and the worry is the biggest problem.

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  3. glad you went and it turned out so well! inspiration for me to not worry so much, and just show up :) and yeah, lovely background ;)

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    1. Thanks! I will have to remember experiences like this when I worry/overthink.

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  4. I love this! I love that you had so many worries and that in this case, they turned out to be not what you thought in a good way. What a wonderful day it turned out to be! And yes to tacos and family.

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    1. The little details are always what make a day awesome for me.

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  5. You mean I'm not the only one who gets all worked up over getting from point A to B when it's an unfamiliar location? I've been in training for the past 2 days at Harry Hays and even though I used to work downtown, for whatever reason it stressed me out and my father in law has been dropping me off in the morning :)

    This was such a nice post though! Good reminder for me.

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    1. (Romy - it didn't log me in properly on my phone)

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    2. Ha, no you are not the only one. And I will do pretty much anything to avoid driving or parking downtown. Although hear it is much quieter with the recession in.

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  6. Glad it worked out! And yum, tacos!!

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    1. Yes! I love having those little things to look forward to in the evening. And it's so hreamt when we actually meal plan and I'm not rushing to the grocery store after work.

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  7. Ha ha! Story of my life... I needed to hear this. And tacos... you had me at tacos..

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  8. Glad it worked out for you! Most of the time, when I'm torn like this, I do end up being glad I've plucked up the courage to do something. Yet it's very easy to decide not to make the effort. This is another good reminder for me.

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    1. Yes, and the anxiety makes it seem like more work, although it is a separate issue. For me what helped was asking myself what I really wanted to do, not what was easiest or what other people expected, which was just confusing the issue.

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  9. Super late leaving this comment, but I read this post a while ago and I can so relate. I get worked up, in advance, about all kinds of real and imagined issues, the majority of which never come to happen. Anxiety and doubts seem to make up a large part of my inner world, and I appreciate the reminder that at the end of the day, it usually just works out.

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    1. Thanks for commenting! They are a significant part of my inner world too: even though I've gotten better at managing anxiety over the course of my life I still default to those thoughts a lot of the time.

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