Put on your mask
Subtitled: Not what you're thinking
November 24, 2020
Before jumping into the post, I’m excited to share this podcast with Justin Baeder from The Principal Center where we talk about my book. Enjoy! (And be sure to follow @eduleadership on Twitter and subscribe to his podcasts).
A time of gratitude, and more
While I originally intended to use this space to start talking about each of the Elements of Principal Knowledge needed to create a collaborative workplace environment, I thought I would instead press pause.
Indeed, I recently ran across the work of William Parker, and his published book: Pause. Breath. Flourish. He also has a podcast, Principal Matters, and I have found his content to be quite useful.
Stress is high
All around us, stress is high. I don’t need to tell you about the odds that schools, principals, teachers, staff, families, and students are confronting these days. It really is too much.
And we haven’t even reached the holidays–considered by many to be the most stressful time of the year.
While it may seem cliché, the analogy of putting on your own oxygen mask seems apropos. Here’s how it goes:
Put on your oxygen mask
Whenever preparing for takeoff on an airplane, the flight attendants go through a series of simple steps. Included in this “training” is a short phrase that many may not even notice. If you’ve flown a few times, you can probably recite most of the following lines:
“In the unlikely event of a sudden drop in cabin air pressure, oxygen masks will drop from the panels above your head.”
They go on to speak about how to put the masks on, and then make this statement:
“Be sure to put your mask on before helping others.”
How do you put on your mask?
Be sure to put your own mask on before helping others.
While it’s a nice cliché, and it’s quite easy to say, it’s much harder to do.
Much harder.
And what does it mean, anyway? To put on your own mask?
I think it starts by being clear about what it means to put on your own mask. How do I put on my own mask? I pray, walk, cook, eat, socialize (right now, remotely), watch sports (especially football!), and try to practice gratitude.
Each of us has different ways of putting our masks on.
- How do you put your mask on?
- How much time do you spend investing in yourself?
- When do you do this?
- How can you ensure that this is prioritized? And hold yourself accountable for putting on your own mask?
Helping others
Ours is a service profession. Whether in the office, classroom, hallway, or otherwise–we help others. We see others flailing about, without their oxygen masks on. And it is tempting to help put theirs on. Because this is what we do. We serve.
Stop. Put your own mask on first.
Questions for Reflection
What difference would putting on your own mask first make in your life?
What do you need to be able to prioritize putting on your own mask?
Who can help you with this?
Do you have a story you’d like to share?
Comment below
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