10 years ago, I made one of the biggest mistakes of my life.
Or so I thought at the time.
I was still living in Atlanta but would be moving soon to NJ.
Even as I prepared to relocate with my family, I was unsure whether I'd stay in school leadership or move into coaching.
One of the positions I was pursuing was a part-time principal position.
Truth is, it really wasn't the best fit for me, and I knew it.
Read More‘Cognitive dissonance’ is a term coined by psychologist Leon Festinger back in 1957 in his book A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance. It refers to the discomfort that a person feels when there is misalignment between their behavior and their values or beliefs. It can also occur when a person holds two contradictory beliefs at the same time. In contrast, cognitive consonance exists when ideas logically flow from one another and are consistent.
For example, a person who considers himself orderly and cleans up after himself even when it’s not easy or convenient is in consonance with his beliefs. But if the same person leaves things around, his behavior is in dissonance with his self-identity.
Read MoreA lot of the stress we experience is generated by the fear of the unknown. What I often do to control my own stress levels is I ask myself, "what's the worst that could happen?"
That's the cliff. ⛰️ I then start walking myself back from the cliff and reframing things.
Read MoreSaturday night, I took the 'long' route home from post-Sabbath services
It's about 2 minutes longer than if I had used the shortcut
But because of heavy rain that fell just minutes before, the shortcut was muddy and treacherous
So, I decided to take the 'long" way home to save myself the possibility of slipping and soiling myself, which would have made the 'short' way 'long' (I hope you're following me on this)
Which, come to think of it, I've been doing for most of my life
For our recent family road trip, my wife and I went with our children for two days of sightseeing in nearby cities. In total, we spent around ten hours in the car, mostly on 3 lane highways and predominantly at night, with little roadside scenery to take in. This gave me, the sole driver, plenty of time to observe my road-mates.
For the most part, the other drivers on the road followed the standard script. Those in the right lane were the slowest, with lots of folks occupying that lane temporarily to enter or exit the road. Drivers in the center lane were the majority. They maintained a healthy, predictable speed and were largely content to keep their place in line. Then there were the left-laners. These folks were the most aggressive, clocking in at the highest speeds. They would also weave in and out of lanes in order to improve their position and arrival times.
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