Swampy Water Doesn't Stink Until it is Stirred: A short reflection on potential

Swampy water doesn't stink until it is stirred.  The potential, however, is palpable. Think about that statement for a moment. Is your initial feeling one of positivity or negativity? Does that statement fill you with the idea of potential or dread?  I am guessing that the strongest feelings it invokes would caution, "Don't do it!" because you know the consequences. You know that when you stir that swampy water, the immediate stench released will be unpalatable and irreversible. 

Potential is an amazing thing. It's so powerful, yet it sits in waiting until it is enacted. Once released, all the little pieces that had settled into position, all the small habits and practiced responses, are invited into action. Stirring up clean, clear pool water does not invoke the same dread as that idea of stirring up swampy water, and rightfully so. Clean, clear pool water has not packed the same energy, the same potential, the same habits, into its waters. 

This year I am inviting my students to first monitor and assess their small habits before they set off attempting to set larger goals for the year. Study habits, homework habits, social habits, mental habits, eating habits, exercise habits, sleeping habits, you get the idea. All those little pieces they have habitualized. Those are the sediment or the chlorine that fills their waters of potential. 

To be sure, we all are filled with potential! This new school year is filled with potential! Being aware of what will be released and adjusting small habits in need of adjustment, will ensure that when we stir the waters of our potential in an attempt to reach our goals, the consequence will be success. 

Enjoy reading what I write? Copies of my book, Connections Across the Student Desk, are available on Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com

Wish I could come speak to your staff and colleagues? Give me the topic, I'll make it come alive! Contact me: School2HomeConnections@outlook.com