Some Days It Was A Struggle… OK, ALL DAYS!
Every morning for me in August of this year was like plucking the white petals from a daisy. I love running… I love it not… I love running… I love it not… I had committed to a month-long run streak challenge. Runners World Magazine promotes and sponsors these challenges each year. I even made a funny #SHORTS video and posted it on YouTube to illustrate the struggle. I titled it, “Check Out My running Shorts” On second thought, that title may have scared some people away. YIKES, you can’t unsee that!
My Love/Hate Relationship with Running
This love-hate, on-again/off-again relationship with my hobby is sometimes frustrating. Most of the time, frustration aside, it feeds my teaching, my health, and my life. I wish I was more consistent and more motivated at times. In the unmotivated and inconsistent times, it’s hard for me to say “I’m a runner”. Running comes and goes as part of my identity. That doesn’t detract from the countless lessons it has provided and improved.
Hobbies Sharpen The Saw
It sharpens the saw. I referenced Steven Covey’s book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” in a previous post and podcast episode. I encouraged you to “begin with the end in mind.” Another habit mentioned in the book is, “sharpen the saw.” The concept is also found in the Bible where it says,
Using a dull ax requires great strength, so sharpen the blade. That’s the value of wisdom; it helps you succeed.
Ecclesiastes 10:10 NLT
There are many ways to sharpen the saw.
There are many ways to sharpen your saw blade. You can level up your skills with a course, take a nap, read a good book, or meditate. Anything that engages, rests, or taxes you in a different way than teaching is what you’re looking for.
The time I wore my shoes out.
Sadly, this is not a story of my great success in running. These weren’t running shoes that I wore out by passionately engaging in my hobby. Nope, they were work shoes. Insanely comfortable work shoes, that I wore every, single, day. When you wear the same shoes every day, your patterns of walking, standing, and moving take a toll. Your repeat movements come to light faster.
The pivot got me.
One motion I repeated often was a single-foot pivot. Throughout the day I repeated this movement hundreds of times. Every transition would begin with a pivot on one foot. I would pivot toward the students, the computer, the smart display, or the phone. It was always the same foot, and I had worn a hole in the bottom of the shoe. This development in footwear remained unbeknownst to me.
That is until one day in early November. It had snowed the night before but was above freezing when I left for work. I walked out into my attached garage, got in my truck, and drove to school. When I stepped out of the truck, I felt something. The slush of the parking lot had invaded my shoe, from underneath. This breach left me dumbfounded until I could get to my classroom and inspect the letdown. My shoe hadn’t failed me, my repeat behavior had. I had to suffer through this sneak attack for the rest of the day. It was not fun.
But they LOOK fine.
The shoes looked fine from the outside but they were ruined. Sadly this is what I see with many teachers right now. They look fine, but underneath, they are wearing thin from overuse, misuse, and possibly abuse. In the words of Susan Powter we need to, “Stop the Insanity!”
It’s all part of the job.
We do “the job”, but the job can take so much if that it’s all we do. It can consume our identity, energy, and time. If this is you or has been you in the past, please… get a life. I mean a personal life. You are wearing out the same narrow spot of your mental, physical, emotional life. You need to change your shoes and sharpen your saw.
Hobbies are a point of contact.
I always advocate for sharing your life with students. Humanize yourself, it shows that you care and opens an opportunity to connect. You never know what is going to be the attachment point for a student. You need to provide as many as you can. For years I would have pictures on the wall in my room. There’s the one with a former student and me at a 5K. One with my sisters and me at a 15K we ran together. And one with a former student breaking the tape to win a race in Scotland!!!
These pictures tell a story. They communicate a healthy balance of personal life and professional life. That opens a point of contact that may make it easier to relate to me. When they have a personal problem, I am more likely to receive the honor of guiding their story out of a dark moment. Sharing is caring.
Hobbies provide life lessons.
One story about running I find myself telling often is around the idea of consistency. Running every day of the month is a double-edged sword. You need consistency in life to establish capacity but too much consistency leads to burnout or burn-in. Many runners have one or both of these problems. They run at the same pace no matter what the situation demands. They have trained their brain to produce that pace even if it isn’t desirable. When they set a goal, or a race day arrives, they struggled to break out of their consistent pace. This is “burn-in.”
DON’T burn-in or burnout.
Many educators have their methods “burned in.” A way of doing things that is rigid and routine. When the pandemic began, many “routine runners” found themselves struggling to adjust to the new demands of teaching. Though we hope the pandemic is over soon, many of the shifts are here to stay, and some are just beginning.
Aside from burning in their consistent approach, many runners burn out. Something I’ve been talking about in most episodes. Like my shoe, if we constantly tax the body, mind, emotions, or footwear in the same way, we run the risk of burnout. We need rest and time for the repair to avoid the inevitable.
Burnout happens for a lot of reasons. Are you getting bored with what you do? Are you finding your passion is wearing out and effectiveness with it? You’re either headed for burnout or already experiencing it. That doesn’t have to be your experience.
Hobbies give so much back.
Hobbies provide the joy, rest, connection, and time for reflection we need to help us maintain our edge. What do you love to do? What do you wish you could do more of? What choices, shifts, and tradeoffs do you need to make to get more of that back into your routines? What thing have you talked about with joy and passion in the past that students have connected with? What lessons and metaphors can you glean from your hobbies? What could these hobbies and interests help you teach? How could they help students connect, develop character or engage content?
Here is your Class Kicking Plan.
If you find yourself getting dull and disconnected. If you feel like you’re working harder and not getting the results you want. Maybe you’re burning out, burned in, or just worn down… get a life. And get a hobby. It will help you sharpen your edge, connect with kids and provide illustrations for life. And.. you’ll be back to kicking some class in school, at home, and in life.
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In the upcoming post (linked when published) I’ll talk about some deeper thoughts I have on running from the perspective of over 20 years as a running coach. Stay Tuned!!!