ACRWorks Quote of the Day:  "Maxim for Life: You get treated in life the way you teach people to treat you." ~ Wayne Dyer

ACRWorks Quote of the Day....

"When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude." - Gilbert Chesterton

Mentoring Our Future Professionals

It has been awhile since I have written on my blog, but as I was out walking today, I was thinking about how relieved I was this quarter was over.  I taught five college classes and it was quite the challenge and quite a learning experience for me.

I have been working in higher education now for four years and I have seen students come and go, fail and succeed.  Each quarter comes with new challenges not only for myself as an instructor but for my students.  As I was walking I was thinking about some of my students who embraced the challenge of obtaining an education, despite the obstacles they knew they had to overcome.  These are the students that every quarter inspire and amaze me.   They are the non-traditional student, and range from all ages young and old, with families and without, some scraping to get by, not knowing how they will get to school or driving from long distances to come and achieve their dream of an education.  Many are first generation college students and are the first in their family to achieve a college degree.

As an instructor we have the challenge of not only delivering the curriculum, but making the curriculum engaging and interesting to the student.  They may have an interest in their particular field of study, but experience the highs and lows of motivation as they move through their programs.   This is not unusual, but when working with the non-traditional student, it has become even more important to me to see these students succeed.  I have found that my role is not only as instructor, but also as mentor. Someone they can turn to, respect, and know truly cares for them and the goals they have set out to achieve.  This can be quite a task and one I find myself challenged with when I see a student so strong in potential, but lacking in self-confidence. 

As I walk, I feel the feelings of frustration I have had this quarter seeing exceptional students, perform at less than what they are capable of.  I am then reminded of all of those who have come through their programs successfully, who I have seen put every ounce of themselves into making it work, even though it was time consuming, challenging and even sometimes frustrating.    They remind me that nothing is impossible, if you make the decision not to quit.  I wish I could help more understand this and succeed such as these students have. 

As I finish my walk, I wonder what kind of advice I can give these students as they graduate and enter into the next phase of their lives.   I guess it would be to find what you love and do it.  Don’t listen to what other people say.  You may fail, many times before you succeed, but if you believe in what you do and love what you do, then never give up.   You are the only one who knows what you need.   Each of us were given specific talents for a reason.  Tap into it, sink your teeth in and never give up.    

I encourage other professionals to embrace mentorship and help those just starting out in their professions.  They have finished the education portion of their career field, now comes the phase where they put it into action.  Help them as they begin their journey, share your expertise and help continue to guide them toward their success.  Give them your best advice and let us never forget that we were all once beginners in our profession in need of further guidance from experienced professionals. 

Stephanie

ACRWorks Quote of the Day - "Sanity remains defined simply by the ability to cope with insane conditions."
Ana Castillo

ACRWorks Challenge of the Week. Focus on responding instead of reacting. For more info, read my blog at www.acrworks.blogspot.com.

ACRWorks Quote of the Day, "To respond is positive, to react is negative" ~ Zig Ziglar

Responding vs. Reacting

Moving toward productive communications

Is there someone that just knows how to push your buttons?  Maybe a boss or colleague at work that tries to micromanage the office, or an opinionated relative, whose opinions are always directed at how you are living your life.  These people make us anxious and tense and just their presence can put us on guard, distract us and create an unproductive environment. 

Reacting to an unpleasant conversation or situation is what most people do when they feel they are threatened in some way.  However, when we react, it only brews more hostility and discomfort.  It also gives way too much control to the aggressive or domineering party.  However, this form of communication can be changed from reacting to responding with a little practice.

Responding puts you in control of the situation because you are not allowing the individual to manage your emotions by their careless words or actions.  When we respond, we are carefully choosing our words in a manner that gets our point across, without cross words and strong emotions.   When you are in a confrontational position and you feel your temperature rising, take a moment and pause before you respond. Pay attention to how your body is feeling and what thoughts are going through your mind and quickly cool yourself down. 

Here are a couple examples.

Your step brother comes in for a visit.  All he ever talks about is how much money he has, what is business is doing and his brand new 6000 square foot home he is building.  You can never get a word in, because he always changes the conversation back to what he is doing.  During his visit he says, “So John, are you still living in that little place on Short Street? I could never live in a home so small.. how do you do it? I was feeling claustrophobic in our last house and it was 4000 square feet – your place is what, 1500 square feet?” 

Your reaction: “Well, I guess if I was more deceptive in my business practices I could be pulling in more money as well.  However, I believe in running my business and treating my clients with integrity and respect.” 

Your response:  “Yes I am still living in my home.  It is very comfortable for me and my family and we are happy there.  We have wonderful neighbors and we feel a sense of community where we live and that is important to us.”

When we choose to react we only had more fuel to the fire and the person who will be harmed the most is ourselves.  In the work environment this type of conflict leads to a lack in productivity which will hurt in your job performance and in the performance of the business. 

Remember, while we cannot control the actions of others, we can control our own.  Choose to respond instead of react and let go of the unproductive and negative behavior patterns of others.  You will keep your emotions in balance, reduce your stress level and be able to focus on matters that are of importance to you.