The DIY Frame of Mind
Living in Portland is a constant lesson in the power of the DIY frame of mind. Walk down almost any street and you will be sure to find a home whose front yard is populated by raised beds, re-purposed woodwork, or chickens.
I’m inspired by these choices and have begun develping a strategy for converting my lawn into a pratical permaculture landscape. More systems and guilds, less man vs. wild.
What can you accomplish with your own DIY frame of mind?
3 Questions to Help Students Answer: "Why Go To College At All?"
Before students can feel fundamentally prepared to select an appropriate university, they need to understand whether or not college is right for them, and why they choose to go. To support that preparation, I'll introduce three broad questions students should be able to answer.
In subsquent articles, I will deep dive into each of them.
First, it's useful to understand that the earliest stage of the decision making process is all about building vision.
Why? because a concrete vision provides a foundation upon which the rest of this process is built. Without vision, all of this is tends to feel ungrounded and it’s easy to lose your way.
Important Note: "vision" is not necessarily synonymous with a professional goal. While a student's personal vision will often include a career path, it isn't required to build this foundation.
Now, let's get to those questions:
1. Do you already have a vision for your life, and does that vision require a specialized degree? Perfect! You already know "why". You need the degree fulfill your goal. Now start asking yourself what kinds of schools have a program that offers that degree.
2. Do you already have a vision for your life, but it doesn't require a specialized degree?
Great! Now ask yourself how attending college will help you to create the life you want for yourself and maybe start to determine the type of college that creates an atmosphere that matches your vision.
3. Do you feel as though you are completely without a vision?
No problem! You are part of the majority and that's just fine. Can you still determine if college will be worth the effort and money? Yes, and we'll discuss that in detail soon.
For now, let these questions serve as simple food for thought for you and your students. We'll dive into the more complex fare in future posts.
Where Do You Want To Go?
Here are 5 steps that students will be able to take in order to help them understand their motivation for going to college and work toward finding an answer to the big question of "where do you want to go to college?"
Read moreOn The Remaining 20%
In 1977 Woody Allen said, "showing up is 80% of life" and you've likely heard some variation of this often misquoted idiom.
When evoked, this mantra is meant to get you off your ass. It encourages you to be a joiner. To be an extrovert.
But wait a minute...that doesn't really sound like something Woody Allen, one of the most socially anxious directors in the history of Hollywood, would say. Does it? And how are we supposed to feel about the missing 20%?
Well, it turns out that there is a little more to this quote and maybe some answers. Here it is:
Showing up is 80 percent of life. Sometimes it’s easier to hide home in bed. I’ve done both.
Now THAT sounds like Woody Allen, and it completely re-frames the meaning for me. This quote suddenly displays a nuanced vision of life that acknowledges the conflict between the Ego (anxiety) and the Super Ego (aspiration).
No longer painting life as a zero-sum game (do or do not), it expresses patience with the self that longs for a quiet and solitary state. It says that one can transition between states of activity and calm, but still fulfill life goals. And honestly, there aren't many people on this planet better suited to speak to this than Mr. Allen.
And for me? Well, it helps explain the remaining 20%.
Life isn't always about doing. Sometimes it's about being.
On The Daily Trail
I head out with the intention of gathering up all of the little pieces of myself that get scattered by the comforting winds of my routine. Stability has a mild numbing effect, and like being under the influence of an anesthetic, and I don't always notice when those small pieces begin to drift. The mindful elements of myself aren't gone, but they often feel out of reach. Stepping off the daily trail is hard to do, but it's worth blazing new ground.
This is why I love finding a new trail-head and letting my feet carry me where my car cannot. I love getting away from the screens that define my daily routine, and communing with nature. I love the sound of rushing water and the way it clears my mind by filling my ears. I love replacing looming skyscrapers with towering trees.