WIll You Be Relentless?

I’ve been feeling more than a bit spent lately.  Call it the December Doldrums.

What bugs me the most is that I feel tapped out professionally. While everything that I’m doing is as solid as it ever was — I’m writing a ton, I’m delivering solid PD sessions, my classroom instruction still motivates me — nothing is coming easy to me right now and that makes it hard to find the motivation to push.  I’m grinding and producing and meeting all of my responsibilities, but I want my work — both within and beyond the classroom — to be more than a grind.  I want it to be energizing.

Does this sound familiar to anyone else?

So I took a bit of time off this morning.  Went to the bagel shop for breakfast and a bit of reading.  It’s my selfish treat — an escape from the always-on life that can be so draining.  I don’t open my email.  I don’t rush.  I don’t worry about the stack of crap sitting on my desk waiting to be done.  I read — and reading is relaxing.

Today’s title was Graceful by Seth Godin — and check out the quote that I stumbled across two pages into my meal.  It was so perfect, I had to turn it into a slide:

(click here to enlarge, download and view original image credit on Flickr)

So here I am being relentless.  

Thanks for the reminder, Seth.  I needed it.

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Related Radical Reads:

How Gritty are Today’s Learners?

What Seth Doesn’t Know about Schools