Beware...

No, it's nowhere near Halloween, but I say BEWARE for a very specific reason.  It seems to be the word swirling around in my head this past week.  While I learn much about technology and follow some pretty amazing folks on Twitter and see all they have to say not just about technology, but also education in general, I keep telling myself this word.  I say it because it's a message to myself to beware of the dangers of comparison, to put it plainly.  I could go on and on about standardized tests and all the comparisons there (since this seems to be a hot topic in TX lately), but it's more personal than that.  The more I learn, the more I realize I need to learn...boy could that preach.  It would be so easy to tell myself some negative talk..."You'll never measure up to these great folks.", "You'll never make the same, long lasting type of impact they do.", "You'll never have all the training and certifications they have.", and worst of all, "You'll never be good enough."  Well, bad thoughts I put you on notice, Beware to you...All those things may have a grain of validity in some universe, but I'll measure up to my own standards of greatness, I make an impact where I'm planted, with the folks I interact with daily and professionally, So What if I don't have all the training and certifications they have, and I am good enough, in fact I'm pretty great at what I do and who I am.  Now, before you start thinking I have my head in the clouds, full of myself, I just think that some positive self talk can actually take the harshest of circumstances, toughest of challenges, and on and on, and turn them around, beginning in our own mind.

How to Use Positive Self Talk for Stress Relief

I tweeted out a quote from Aaron Hogan (@aaron_hogan) from his blog, dated June 26th, where he blogged about Feeling Like a Fake, but one line of his page caught me, "There's no place for shame in learning."  Aaron's since done some further blog posts on feeling in a similar situation, where nothing is necessarily spectacular, just common, ordinary.  He had this video embedded, on June 28th, which I just found today.

So, I say to myself, BEWARE of the danger of comparison...I may never be a as great as some other folks, but to some folks, I know I matter, I know I add value, and I know I'm making a difference in my corner of my town.

Now, just in case you need some positive things to counteract all that negative thinking, I call it "stinking thinking",..Shannon Long (@SweetBlessShan), on her blog called, Technology Rocks, Seriously, has some free printable signs that you can put around your class or even your school to help others feel validated no matter what point in their journey they are on.