I have been laughing quite a bit at all of the posts regarding how long the month of January feels to those in the teaching profession. On Friday, it really did feel like we were on the 62nd day of the month. The process of coming off of winter break, entering back into a routine, and realizing that 2020 goals are going to take the same grit from 2019 are all jarring realizations, to say the least. I went back to the yearly overview post I made around New Years to recenter myself on how I am moving forward into the next month. February is about moving forward. Moving forward with any goals, moving forward with ideas, and moving forward into the rest of the school year. At the beginning of January, I had written about the two books I am focusing on for this year: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy and You Had Better Make Some Noise: Words to Change the World by Phaidon Editors. I have many words that connect to goals for 2020, but both of these books are strong reminders to insert love and kindness into the world and do so loudly.

“What do you think success is? asked the boy. “To love,” said the mole.” -The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, Charles Mackesy

The first step in moving ahead into February is to challenge the negative mindset that has crept in throughout the month of January. Thoughts such as:

• The school year is already halfway over, and I feel as if I am not accomplishing as much as I want to do.

• I am tired.

• I already feel behind, and it is only January.

• I feel defeated when it comes to sustaining the same energy each day.

• I should be writing more.

• I should be reading more, and yes I am in a reading funk.

• Why haven’t I started the big project, yet?

There are more. However, the battle with negative self-talk enters right around February. Right when the feeling of the New Year subsides. Right when you realize that snow days aren’t happening this year in Michigan, and you adjusting to the idea of survival mode as a means of living. Just surviving is not a way to live. As teachers, the goal of February should be recentering ourselves out of survival mode and moving forward into a place of love. Love for self, others around us, our profession, and our own goals. For many of us, we say to ourselves, “I simply can’t.” Our daily demands are forcing us into a “when I open my eyes, until when I close my eyes” type of mentality. We still have to find a way to move forward even if it is small. Small progress is progress. In order to move forward, we are going to need a lot of determination and a lot of coffee (or the beverage of your choice). This month, the theme is coffee.

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