Bring the Good News (Because it Matters)

Good News has a powerful effect on our personal mindset and overall school culture. When educators bring the good news, we fend off pessimistic vibes that may infect the campus, and we also improve mental health and well-being by promoting positive thinking.

This good news is all around us if we look for it—it isn't hiding, but it does become hidden if we allow our vision to be clouded by worry, negative thinking, and destructive people. Perhaps the most exciting news is that each of us has a piece of good news inside!

Everyone has inside them a piece of good news. 
The good news is you don’t know how great you can be! 
How much you can love! What you can accomplish! 
And what your potential is.
— Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl

Everyone has inside them a piece of good news. 
The good news is you don’t know how great you can be! 
How much you can love! What you can accomplish! 
And what your potential is.
— Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl

This quote from Anne Frank is one of my very favorites—partly because of the insight it conveys and mostly because I'm amazed that this wisdom could have been discovered by someone who was so young. Her internal drive must have been incredible to be around, energizing those around her with a contagious joy for living.

Anne was able to see beyond the overwhelming inhuman persecution that forced her family to daily fear for their lives. Her brilliant perspective brought light to so many. 

Sustaining a joyful spirit in the midst of relentless adversity is a powerful advantage. Adversity brings with it important moments that can often elevate our clarity and commitment. But, we only see it if we reframe our thinking, and then we can overcome it to emerge stronger, smarter, and more resilient

If the doors of perception were cleansed, 
everything would appear to man as it is—infinite.
— William Blake

During the second half of the school year, it's sometimes hard to find the good news. 
In addition to our usual heavy workload, plans and decisions for next year begin to unfold, and the pace of school life accelerates at a dizzying rate. Distractions abound, especially as fatigue sets in and conflicts rise.

Our ability to promote and focus on good news impacts ...
     ... our confidence.
     ... our temperament.
     ... our productivity.

Some good news is temporal, and yet there is Good News that is truly transformational to the heart and soul. 

Fear, uncertainty, and doubt squeeze the joy out of life, diminishing the light within. The tiniest bit of faith is all that's needed to overpower those forces that constantly try to hold us back, make us feel inferior and incapable, and deplete our stamina. 

We're capable of incredible love, and we can accomplish way more than others think possible when we remember the amazing gifts with which we have been blessed.

How beautiful are the feet 
of those who bring good news!
— Isaiah 52:7

How we communicate matters! We are in a unique position to model resilient leadership to help colleagues and students stay strong and avoid burnout—especially in the second semester. 

Bring the good news this week, my friend, as you continue to realize just how great you can be!

Great because of your steadfast influence and genuine love.

Great because of your faithful testimony and encouragement of others.

Great because of the fulfillment of your calling and purpose.