New Goals

I took this picture on Waikiki beach in Honolulu on the last day of our trip. I saw the tree the night before and was mesmerized by the complexity of its branches. We returned back the next day and I had to take a picture. I never seen a tree like this before. Moreover, it’s one of my favourite images… Light coming through trees. I just love it.

This is a nice image to start 2018. What’s next? We’re in the new year and it’s time to take the next step. My 2018 One-Word is CREATE and I am faced with the challenge of MAKING NEW GOALS. It’s hard to believe that I met my lifelong goals and now I understand that making goals is about achieving them, adapting them, and yes… making new ones. When I was teaching secondary mathematics, I dreamt about speaking in front of a large audience about education and getting my doctorate. I never imagined it would happen. I left teaching in public schools and spoke in front of a large audience about education and became a doctor. Truth… for years, I thought it was only a dream.

I guess this is a great place to be. I’ve met my lifelong goals. It’s absolutely amazing!!! What I have learned is, you take big risks to achieve your goals. You may not realize it at the time. Leaving the classroom was not easy for me, but at the time it seemed like the right thing to do. That was 7-years ago. It’s pretty clear that my love for education, teaching, and learning has not stopped. I love the opportunity to teach at the university as a sessional instructor and being a school trustee has helped me to keep in touch with the K-12 system. What’s next? For the last week, I have been chatting with others face-to-face and online about what I will do next. It’s been a question mark and the advice I get in return is to take a break and what you are meant to do next will present itself.

Ahhh yes… back to TRUST. Today I woke with the notion of being open to anything. What I’ve learned about achieving my lifelong dreams mid-career is that anything is possible, if you want it to be and you believe it’s possible. Believe it or not, I got my BIG AHA on what’s next? from the #bcedchat I co-moderated with @DAliceMarsh on TIME SHIFTING. The topic was about big life changes that influenced our careers in education. For me, I named leaving K-12 and my dissertation. As the edu-chat continued, I ended the chat with “A8. I don’t know exactly, but it’s going to be fun, engaging, and transformational. Likely education related and I am deep into my purpose and passion” to answer what I am expecting or hoping for next. The crazy part is, I wrote the #bcedchat questions.

For those who follow my Twitter feed, I also appreciated the learning from BIG LIFE EVENTS and I have much gratitude because I would not know what I know today and have met the people whom I met since leaving the K-12 classroom. Yes, “a plan” would have been ideal but in hindsight, I had a plan: talk to a large audience about education and get my doctorate. DONE. Now it’s time for a NEW PLAN. I am the creator of what’s next and I never perceive “rejection” or “no” as failure or not being worthy. I look at it as a sign that this is not the way to go, it’s not the right time, or my alignment is elsewhere. What I realize is, I cannot have a narrow focus on what’s next and I am able and willing to do more or something different. I met my lifelong goals. It’s time for NEW GOALS and I am open to anything who would benefit from my expertise, mindset, and experience.

Of course, I am not going to stand still. I will be sending out my CV to opportunities that I could contribute to but also learn from. I want to be learning and build on my expertise. In the meantime, I will embark on more research as a post-doctoral experience and hope to publish a few articles. I have more to learn about research as it relates to practice, leadership, and the K-12 system in addition to what it takes to publish research. This is my learning. I would also like to publish a book and what it takes to do that. That said, I am also interested in opportunities where I am teaching and learning, or helping others to engage in teaching and learning. This is the extension. I look forward to what’s next.