TL;DR:

• A smile can go a long way.
• Social distancing doesn’t mean we can’t check in with each other and spread kindness.

My wife and I were at the grocery store this morning and as you probably know, it was awkward and people weren’t overly personable. Katy and I smile quite often, and laughter has always been a huge part of who we are as a family.  I said something funny to Katy, and we both laughed.

That’s when I noticed a woman coming towards us.  I thought we were going to get read the riot act, but then I noticed she had a huge smile on her face.  She told us it was nice to see people laughing and smiling for once.

I’m sharing this because it made me think about how it’s okay to still laugh and smile during this uncertain time.

Scientifically speaking, smiling and laughter reduces stress, anxiety, and depression.  It makes us feel better about ourselves. And right about now, we could use a little boost to our mood.

As an educator, I’ve always felt that my role goes beyond the school walls. My largest role as a principal is to spread positivity.

I encourage you to smile at someone if you have to go out (but only go out if you absolutely need to).  If you don’t need to go out, then tweet, post on instagram, snapchat, facebook, email, text, or call someone. Throw a ton of kindness their way.  Make it genuine, and simply tell them why they matter to you.

Tweet, post on instagram, snapchat, facebook, email, text, or call someone. Throw a ton of kindness their way. Click To Tweet

It will make you and the other person feel better.  We need this right now.  Let’s hope this will create a chain of positivity that spreads around the world.

Thanks for reading.

Stay healthy.

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ABOUT BRIAN FAULKNER

Brian Faulkner is the principal at Heineman Middle School in Huntley School District 158. My focus has been simple from the very start of my career; give students what they need in order to be successful. I fully embrace teacher leadership and a shared leadership philosophy and look for creative ways our staff can collaborate, share, observe one another, and continuously improve their craft. Saying I love what I do is an understatement. I’m on a mission to make a difference in the lives of each member of our learning community. #team158