This week’s word of the week is relentlessness! I like it because it can mean so many things and it can be a real positive or it can be somewhat less positive!
I came across it from a podcast featuring Rio Ferdinand. He was discussing High Performance and his life journey which led him to both Manchester United and Crystal Palace. He talked about his approach being ‘relentless’. He knew what he wanted and he was relentless in his approach. He said all sorts of other interesting things, including how, reflecting on his premiership career, he thinks he should have been a little less harsh and more understanding of those around him (my words, not his). So, was his relentlessness a positive or not? Not an easy question to answer. A principal from a previous school also left the legacy of ‘relentless positivity’ behind. Apparently, his ‘only’ aim was for the children to be happy. If the children were happy, he was happy and he was fulfilled. Speaking to an ex-colleague of his from another school, this person also noted that the staff were happier too. Anyway, I digress. Once I arrived at this particular school, one academic year after this principal’s departure, the children were not particularly happy or unhappy and the staff likewise. I cannot comment on the atmosphere during his tenure, but I can say that it had not left a legacy. A shame really, because I would have said that this would have been a great legacy to leave.
So, why is relentlessness this week’s word? Initially because this one week has felt VERY long to many of us and it isn’t quite over yet; this isn’t being sent on delay. I have been attempting to channel some of this person’s ‘relentless positivity’ recently because I feel it really is important. When we look back at everything that has happened over the week, the term, the year, the new Covid-19 world timeframe, it would be all to easy to feel overwhelmed by it and admittedly there are times when I have been and am sure will continue to be. I am not one of those annoyingly cheerful people (as I am sure you are well aware 😊), but I do try to keep a smile on my face and look on the bright side. To do otherwise is not only defeatist, it is also unhealthy. Again, I am in no way saying I don’t ever fail to do this, I am just saying this is my aim! Way back in the early days of my career I was incredibly fortunate to have an office next to a very very wise lady (I inherited the office by accident after someone left). She was probably my first real mentor (this was in the days when mentoring wasn’t a ‘thing’ and the only mentors I had had previously were the official ones from my PGCE). We lived in neighbouring villages, and she came to visit the hairdresser in mine; very nice lady, but a real gossip. I didn’t go in very often, nor did my colleague, but when I did I would invariably find out all sorts of details about the lives of my neighbours. Knowing me to be a very open person who would tell anyone asking anything (why hide things?), she told me that I should be very wary and that I didn’t want to find myself on the receiving end of the same gossip. She also told me that, in life, there are ‘radiators’ and ‘drains’ and that ‘drains’ are (were) particularly prevalent in teaching. Her advice was to stick to the radiators and avoid the drains. Surround myself with people who were not, consciously or otherwise, trying to drain my energy or positivity. I am delighted to say that I have generally managed to do this and it makes a real difference. When I find myself feeling like I am becoming negative or experiencing many things negatively, I try to pull myself back and increase my self-awareness.
Relentless. This week has felt relentless but it is now all but over. What next? I don’t know. Will we be open on Monday? Who knows, but I am hoping to be. I think we are in a good place of preparation and ready for reasonable eventualities.
I would like to leave you with a quote I picked up on LinkedIn: “Trust the wait. Embrace the uncertainty. Enjoy the beauty of becoming. When nothing is certain, anything is possible.”
Happy Friday everyone. Tomorrow is a new day and who knows what it will hold.
I’m listening to ‘Your Top Songs 2021’ on Spotify. I think I need to increase my musical experiences. I’m listening to (and loving) a bit of Bryan Adams: (Everything I do) I do it for you. I still have his Waking up the Neighbours CD in my garage in England. Yes, a CD. One step away from a cassette tape. One of my very first album purchases and, given I preferred to record my own tapes from the radio, this was significant!
I have to say this – it’s just moved on to M People and ‘Search for the Hero’. I think we’re all pretty heroic and should follow her advice more often. One of the best things you can be is true to yourself.
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