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Discouraged?
August 23, 2007

Everyone has bad days. While I am an irritatingly optimistic person, there are even days when I become discouraged. I vision, I set goals and share them, I make practical plans, but still obstacles arise. Amazingly I found encouragement for work while visiting my neighbor Kerrie's church this weekend. No matter what religion you practice I think you can agree with these four causes of discouragement:

1.  Fatigue
2.  Frustration
3.  Failure
4.  Fear

So what did Pastor Dr. Ron Hamm suggest were the cures:

1.  Rest Your Body
2.  Reorganize your life
3.  Remember the Lord

Perhaps you would like to rephrase the last one for work to :  Remember the goodness in what you do. Remember your purpose. Remember your successes. Remember others who helped you get where you are. Make emotional deposits and withdrawals as needed (Covey).

I think you will agree that resting and reorganizing will help. If you are feeling discouraged, don't hide it. Reach out to others and let them encourage you. Educators are usually very caring of other's feelings. We are sympathetic and want to help. Go give someone the opportunity to help you. Join LM_NET, AASL, and your state library organization. Read professional journals. Read and post to blogs. Take a class. Get out of your silo and surround yourself with positive people.

And, if all else fails, go read a book strictly for fun or run through the sprinkler. It's hard to be so discouraged when you don't take yourself too seriously. Things will look up soon. You are not alone.

Posted by Diane Chen on August 23, 2007 | Comments (0)