WEEKLY WISDOM

Posted May 11, 2022

In this season of graduations and ceremonies, there will be many mentions of future.  I recently worked with a group of 9th grade students and had them write a note to their future self about how they would use one of their strengths. One student dated it for the very next day, and we laughed about how that is, indeed, also the future. 

A wonderful resource to use all throughout the year is https://www.futureme.org

This site enables you to send yourself a note that will be emailed to you at some point in the future. It could be a great activity for students at the end of one grade level to send their future selves a note (perhaps to their next year's teacher?) about how they will bring their unique talent to the next grade. This assignment can be used at many age and grade levels. It brings intentionality to how we aim our best selves towards our dreams and goals. 

Here's a question you might pose to anyone as you are working together to help students land in their best life. 

What are you doing now that your future self will be proud of?

Posted April 25, 2022

Author Kate Bowler interviewed Gary Haugen, CEO of International Justice Mission, about how hard it is to keep caring about someone else’s pain when we aren’t caring well for ourselves. Gary’s remedy for compassion fatigue is joy. “Joy,” he says, “is the oxygen for doing hard things in the world.”

What's a moment of joy you were part of recently? How did it help to keep you inspired?