Personal Development
HOW CAN TEACHERS PREPARE
THEIR MINDS FOR A NEW SCHOOL YEAR?
BY: LISA FÁTIMAH
Mind Ready.
In Motion.
From Ocean To Ocean.
I
want you to do something right
now. Please write one (1) sentence
that conveys how you are feeling
at this very moment.
Take a
moment to close your eyes. Listen to
the wind inside of you. When you are
ready, speak and write the words that
describe this very moment. Please
tell the truth. Use whatever adjectives
come to mind. Share with yourself.
Now, clench your fists very tight.
Tighter. Slowly inhale and release. As
you release, visualize how you would
like to feel throughout the school year
– throughout your life. Remember, I
said, “feel,” not “do” or “accomplish,”
feel.
Lately, feelings have gotten a bad rap.
Feelings are viewed as inconsequential,
rhetorical, mindfulness mantras with
little value beyond social media click-
bait. However, without being in touch
with our feelings (the conduit for our
thoughts), we become robotic, and at
times, toxic. Be aware of the things,
thoughts, people and ideas that give
and take away your oxygen - your
energy.
“EVERY THOUGHT WE THINK IS
CREATING OUR FUTURE,” said Louis
L. Hay. This you can do and will do
either consciously or unconsciously.
Let’s choose to think positive thoughts
and create dynamic futures.
BEFORE the mountains of paper
work, rules, syllabi, textbooks, lesson
plans, supply purchases, schedules
and location changes inundate your
life, DECIDE how you want to feel
during any unforeseen personal or
professional crisis.
Affirm: “I will lead. I shall succeed.”
We awaken our platinum powers by
acting as if we have already achieved
what we desire.
One way for you to do this is to create
your own algorithms that will help you
to anticipate challenges and chaos
and address the unknown. This is not
selfish, this is self-preservation. We
know that outcomes cannot be fully
predicted, nor can we determine the
behavior of others. What we can do is
to have solution systems in place, for
ourselves.
Computational
neuroscientist
Dr.
Frances Chance, principal member of
the technical staff in the Data-Driven
and Neural Computing department
at Sandia National Laboratories, is
currently examining ways in which
dragon flies can help improve missile
defense systems. Based in California
and New Mexico, USA, Chance’s
research explores the accuracy of
dragonflies to catch their prey. In an
interview with Tech Xplore, Chance
states, "I try to predict how neurons
are wired in the brain and understand
what kinds of computations those
neurons are doing, based on what
we know about the behavior of the
animal or what we know about the
neural responses.”
As dragonflies reportedly catch 95%
of their prey, being able to anticipate
how their behaviour, the neurons
in their brains are wired, may help
Chance to apply this same knowledge
to defense systems.
Imagine being mind-ready and being
able to predict 95% of what could
happen at the schoolhouse? How
much more prepared, relaxed or ready
would you be if you’re able to detect
and visualize deflecting difficulties
with aplomb.
I believe you can, by being mind-ready
and flexible. Seasoned and freshman
52
Term 1 Sep - Dec 2019
After the Bell