Coaching by Paige

  Tomorrow is a mystery.  Today is a gift.  That's why we call it 'The Present. -Eleanor Roosevelt You've probably heard about things like keeping a gratitude journal, or Law of Attraction , or even the movie The Secret .  Personally, I eat up ideas that blend spirituality, neuroscience, and positive psychiatry, even though I recognize that not everyone feels the same.  However inspired I may be by such things, they usually look very different once put into action in my reality.  Gratitude is always an essential component in these techniques as well as in meditation and mindfulness.  Well, at this point in my life, I've started 7 different gratitude journals.  I've completed none.  I can find 2.  The rest are on a bookshelf through a thick jungle, across a desert, and locked in a tower with no doors in "The Land of Should" (see  Why Try Coaching ).  I've tried everything I know to keep up with them, to build routines around the...

When I interviewed for my job as principal at Grisham Middle School in Austin, TX, I shared, as Simon Sinek would call it, my "why."  It was a story about a previous student, let's call him Joe, that led me to answer the call to educational leadership. Joe was a 5th year senior.  He had transferred to the high school where I was teaching theatre arts.  "No Child Left Behind" was still relatively new and, since his previous school was deemed "academically unacceptable," he was able to transfer to an "academically acceptable" school in the same district.  His girlfriend was pregnant and he wanted to be able to support their family.  Joe was also a gang member.  Upon finding out he was going to be a father, he attempted to disaffiliate from the gang--a nearly impossible task for many.  Joe couldn't graduate unless he fulfilled his one year fine arts requirement for graduation (in addition to a few other requirements).  Theatre and art, not r...

  "Life coaching..." a term often thrown about but never really defined.  The first time I heard it, I was sure it was NOT for me.  I mean, I've had my struggles. I've seen a counselor, a psychiatrist, doctors, gone to church, gotten a massage now and then...I take care of my personal business, and I do it discreetly.  That's how adults should do it.  Right?   Should ...   The Magical Land of Should/Shouldn't I used to live in this land.  In fact, I passionately existed for the shoulds and shouldn'ts.  I was a middle school principal, after all.  No one could tell children, teachers and parents more about what they should and shouldn't do better than me.   "We shouldn't run in the hall!"   "We should do our homework" "You should get your student to school on time" "I shouldn't have to say this one more time..." I mean, I worked hard, took care of my personal business, saw to my family, cared about how I a...