Meme - Simply successful secrets

Well, I have been tagged...

Miguel would like to know ...

List the top 5 to 10 things that you do almost every day that help you to be successful. They can be anything at all, but they have to be things that you do at least 4 or 5 times every week. Anything less than that may be a hobby that helps you out, but we are after the real day in and day out habits that help you to be successful.
Source: Around the Corner v2 - MGuhlin.net, Ed Tech Journeys' Guest Blogger, Sylvia Martinez (GenYES Blog) writing on this meme by Thea Westra, Simply Successful Secrets

mmm...

1.  Wondering

I must admit to being a chronic questioner.  I always want to know why or why not.  I am a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity and I drive my working buddy mad as when he instructs me on my next job, I can't just do what he says, I have to know why we are doing it that way and weigh up in my mind if it is the best way for it to be done (cheeky I know since I have no building qualifications!).  I think this is a good example though because if you are a questioner then you begin to feel that you can solve any problem.  Problems become exciting and you rub your hands together eagerly to face the next one.  This is an environment I strive to create in my classroom.

2.  Problem solving

My next habit leads on from the first.  I not only ask questions but I am tenacious in finding out the answers.  I expect to be able to find out what I want to know when I want to know it.  This is why the idea of 'clickability' that David Warlick mentioned in his keynote in Dunedin really resonated with me.   I laugh at my frustration when I am reading a book and I know that the information I need is in there but I can't just search for it.  A day without internet connection leaves me shaken :-)

3.  Reading

I have a voracious appetite for reading.  I begin my day reading my blogs and entering into the journey through the net they take me on.  I then take a break to read my latest novel to have a moment of escape from reality (currently reading the Red Tent by Anita Diamant).  I am successful in creating a love for reading in my classroom and enjoing many discussions that arise from engaging with text.

4.  Running and reflecting

I find that if I don't run at least three times a week I don't embrace life as vigorously as I could.  Running gives me the time to reflect on everything that is going on in my life and to make sense of it.  I am not a person to meditate or sit still.  I am not a person to take the time to reflect if there is work to be done.  So running allows me the time to take store of my experiences and sort out the world. 

5.  Family Support

Overarching all of these habits is the habit of using my family thermometer.  I can sometimes get carried away with my work.  For me education is not a job it is a passion and a hobby, something I am involved with because it fascinates me.  This means that I can lose myself in it and get lost.  My family grounds me and helps me to stay in the real world.  They celebrate my successes and they commiserate with me when things don't go so well.  They help me to keep going.  So the most important habit for me is to make sure I put my computer away, pack up the books, clear my mind and take some time out with my husband and kids.

Well, that was quite a cathartic experience! 

So 'Tag' you're it -

1. Greg Carroll
2. Steve Dembo
3. Iain Bonney
4. Lyn Ross

technorati tags:meme, Miguel_Guhlin, Greg_Carroll, Steve_Dembo, Iain_Bonney, Lyn_Ross, Simply_successful_secrets

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