Quote-A-Day: Day 354

It pays to lose ourselves, if only to have the opportunity to find ourselves anew. #QuoteADay #Day354 #edchat #satchat #NYedchat #ASCDL2L

While I admit that in most cases I like to know where I stand at all times, I’ll also happily admit that there are times when I gladly wander and get lost.  In these situations I’m happy to float a bit aimlessly, knowing that I can easily reel myself back in.

Here are two examples of when this happened to me, just within the last day.

First, I moderate a biweekly Twitter chat on the Next Generation Science Standards.  Yesterday, our topic was on tying the Next Gen standards to informal science.  I’ve been a formal science educator and curriculum director for my entire career; while I’ve taken part in informal science events and activities, I don’t have the lens of being a leader in this area.  This made leading the chat difficult, but incredibly fun and filled with learning.  My co-moderator and I commented to each other last night that we felt lost and unsure how to respond to some of the tweets.

And that was okay. J

This morning, I took a short break in between tasks to read up on the Southern Reach Trilogy.  I’ve heard quite a bit about it, but haven’t read much of the books or even the book flaps.  So, I read a quick intro to Book 1, and for about five minutes, I was transported to Area X, the reading was so gripping for me.  While I was in my office, I also wasn’t, and that momentary brain shift was exactly what I needed to dive into the next bit of work.

And that was okay. J

We need to provide ourselves with opportunities to lose ourselves. 

The reason?  Because once we find ourselves again, we’re often just a bit different, and regularly, just a bit better.