To gain an education

Wow, rough morning. I had two of my children who were stressed about going to school, worried about what the day would bring. McKay actually got out of the car and headed off, then ran back and climbed in crying, saying that his stomach hurt too much to go. I knew he wasn't sick, so I parked and talked to him. It turns out that he has a new math teacher that he thinks is really mean. It is interesting how maybe one sharp word or negative comment from a teacher can make a child fearful of their class for the whole year. Anyway, I walked him in and convinced him to go to class, then went in to see if I could find out more from the front office. It turns out they have a lot of kids having the same issue, which they think is mainly from the change in teacher, not so much the teacher herself. So, they are going to keep an eye on him.

It reminds me of when Keaton was in 2nd grade. He loved his teacher SOOO much. But, if he ever had a substitute, he'd freak out! He couldn't handle the change. I think a lot of us have trouble with change, even as adults. That is why so many new year's resolutions fail. One part of our brain wants to change, the other part fears it. I did manage to read that article last night, Living a Good Story, and Alternative to New Year's Resolutions. In this article, Donald Miller suggests that we set out to tell life stories, rather than set goals. He says that a story involves a person that wants something and is willing to overcome conflict to get it. He sets the following steps for writing a story:

1) Want something. If we don't want something, we feel unmotivated. As Alberta Jones once said, "I hate not having a hair goal." That is one great thing about being young--you have all these built in goals, or deadlines: mission, finishing school, getting married, etc. As adults we could have pay down our debts, get into shape, improve our relationships. So, the first step is to decide what we want.

2) Envision a climactic scene. How do you want the story to end? Did you know that JK Rowling mapped out the entire story of Harry Potter from the beginning. She didn't know what all the details would be, but she planned the climactic events from the start, and wrote towards them. Steven Covey's 2nd habit is Begin With The End in Mind. What do you want the end point of whatever you are trying to achieve to look like? If you have that clear, each step along the way becomes clearer too. Donald Miller recommends that half your goals or stories be relational, because they are the most fulfilling. So, instead of just saying lose weight, make a plan to run a race with friends, or have a contest with a fun ending.

3) Create an inciting incident. This is something that creates upheaval in the person's life. So, in order to return to stability, you have to solve the problem, ie reach your goal. When you invite someone to join you at the climactic scene, or let everyone know about it, you really need to do the work to get there, or you will be embarrassed. One man commented that he didn't have the courage to tell his girlfriend that he loved her. So, he made her a jewelry box with I Love You painted on the lid. Then, he couldn't give her the gift without the message.

I have some stories that I want to write this year. Some of them are fitness stories. You can see my list of races I am planning to do. Now, you are all invited to join me! I did all of those races last year, except St. George. I wanted to do the Top of Utah, but I was a little reluctant, so I recruited Jenny to do it with me. It was a lot more fun that way, and I knew I couldn't back out at the last minute. I also knew that Dave would be comparing my time to my previous St. George time, so I needed to try to beat it, and I did. So, now I am going to work on my fitness by doing an awesome weight DVD.