We’ve all heard this before: What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Except: no. It’s not inherently or necessarily true. So many things that literally or figuratively try to kill us don’t leave us better or stronger. Cancer didn’t kill me. (Hooray!) Am I stronger? Certainly not physically. I trained with a trainer for several … Read more
A law was passed in Oregon that students’ absences due to mental health issues can be excused. But until I looked it up and read about it, all I knew was that “mental health days” are now excused. Having a legit mental health issue and “taking a mental health day” are two very different things, … Read more
With most things, there’s a fine line between “not hardcore” and “too many excuses.” Setting a reasonable, realistic goal is critical in walking this line. For most people most of the time, “hardcore” is not the way to go. It’s not sustainable. If you’re in a situation where it’s critical to be all in and … Read more
The Climbing Daddy, The Kid, and I went to a Phoenix Mercury game over the weekend. It so happened that it was “Rock the Pink” night. I was not excited. They honored breast cancer survivors, which was nice, and every seat had a pink Rock the Pink rally towel on it. Pre-recorded interviews with some … Read more
On a podcast, a question was called in about self-image and body weight/shape. The answer included gratuitous use of the phrase “skinny bitch.” Can we please get rid of it? “Skinny” is a description of body. “Bitch” is a description of demeanor or personality. They are in no way connected. Some skinny women are bitches. … Read more
I have a student who has been playing an instrument for a week. He came to class completely disheartened and said, “My uncle said I’m never going to be able to play this.” Don’t be that uncle. Of course the kid is struggling and sounds terrible right now. He’s been playing for a week. Instruments … Read more
I get an email every weekday morning from “the universe.” Some of them say just the right thing on just the right day. Some … meh. Today’s tied in to a post that I had a skeleton for already and decided to use the inspiration to fill it in. “Performing miracles, Heat, isn’t a matter of … Read more
Most parents I know lament the amount of stuff their kids have. (Some lament their own as well.) Most parents I know specifically say that there’s no need to bring a gift to their kid’s birthday party. (This is extra nice when we don’t really know the birthday kid very well and aren’t sure what … Read more
After going through a handful of ideas, I put up the display shown in the picture in both of my classrooms. In case you can’t see the photo, there’s a poster in the middle that says “take what you need,” surrounded by sticky-notes with messages. You got this! I can do it! Mistakes are opportunities … Read more
A while back, I read a few articles about complaining and how it rewires your brain. Not in a good way. Also a while back, I used to run 30-day challenges on Facebook. Two of those challenges have been “life-changing” as per feedback from people in the group. One was no added sugars (which we … Read more