TL;DR:
- Before you take any action on a strategy, check to see if that strategy can be simplified!
- Growing your skills involves building skill sets of gratitude, celebrations, affirmations.
I was asked the other day, what is one thing you didn’t learn in school that looking back you wish you had, and it got me thinking. And then almost immediately so many thoughts came to my mind. Things like gratitude, affirmations, limiting beliefs, and the power of celebration just to name a few. Going through school for me was all about academics. Keep your head down, get good grades, and everything will be okay; that was the goal. However, my reality was drastically different.
I had no idea who I was or who I wanted to be.
I walked past mirrors with my head down because I didn’t like who I saw in my reflection. I identified as a pessimist. I had a fixed mindset with a capital F. But I thought that if I kept getting good grades, one day I’d find happiness. One day things would happen for me. But, I’m sure you can guess, one day never came.
Well, I guess it did, just not in the way that I thought it would. I found my confidence, my value, my happiness, my overall joy, by learning who I was when I looked in the mirror. And how I learned each of those relates back to the skills I wish I had learned in school.
Start with where you are. And keep taking those small, simple, and strategic steps to practice thinking better each and every day! Click To TweetLearning how to be grateful for everything (yes, the good, the bad, and the ugly), learning how to use affirmations, how to unpack my limiting beliefs, and how to use the power of celebration are all skills that I have learned through daily practice. It’s so important to remember that these are skills. Just like riding a bike, learning to read, or learning to multiply, these are skills we can learn. And it starts with small, simple, and strategic steps that occur consistently each day to practice the new skill in multiple settings.
Growing Your Skills: What steps can I take?
So you might be wondering, what are some of those small, simple, and strategic steps you can take? Before we jump into my go-to strategy, remember small means that it takes a short amount of time. Simple means you don’t need extra resources or materials. And strategic means it aligns with you and your goals!
Why is this important? Because before you take any action on a strategy, it is so important to check in to see if that strategy can be simplified! If our brain thinks that something is complicated, we won’t take action. This is why the first step to take is always to simplify, simplify, simplify!
Okay, so we know to simplify. We know to start small. We know to keep it strategic to your goals. So you might be wondering, what steps am I actually taking? Here are three simple ways to illustrate how to incorporate these skills (gratitude, affirmations, celebrations) into your daily routines! All three of these relate to the concept of habit-taking or chaining which basically means adding a step onto a habit or routine you already naturally do throughout the day.
Here are three simple and easy examples:
- Gratitude: Turn walks to and from your car into gratitude walks. As you are walking, share out loud things and people you are grateful for!
- Affirmations: Every time you pass by a mirror, say out loud an “I am _____” statement that is powerful, purposeful, and intentional.
- Celebrations: Every time you enter your home, share three celebrations from the day so far out loud!
Growing Your Skills: Small, simple, and strategic…check, check, check.
Building skill sets of gratitude, celebrations, affirmations takes practice. But it doesn’t have to be hard. It doesn’t have to be challenging. In fact, it gets to be simple and easy!
Start with where you are. And keep taking those small, simple, and strategic steps to practice thinking better each and every day!
About Lindsay Titus
Lindsay Titus is a K-12 Behavior Specialist with a license in behavior analyst. As a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, Lindsay coaches and trains educators on the study of behavior and how to implement evidence based behavior principles in simple and easy ways! With experience as a classroom special education teacher, and behavior specialist in public schools, residential placement, and private settings, Lindsay enjoys working with all educators looking to reignite their passion for education, connect with all students, and conquer challenging behavior in any classroom setting.
