Mindsteps: Are you hunting field mice?

Robyn Jackson
Robyn Jackson

From the Mindsteps Newsletter by Robyn Jackson

Did you know that a lion can actually hunt, capture, and eat a field mouse? There are certainly plenty of field mice around and yet, a lion rarely bothers with them. Why is it that a lion will spend more time stalking bigger prey rather than just eat his fill of field mice?

Well, it turns out that the energy to do that is greater than the calories it gets from the mice. My point? If a lion spent his whole day hunting and eating field mice … it would slowly starve itself to death.

How many of you feel like lions hunting field mice this year?

We’re focusing all our energy on the things that never feed us.

I learned something really interesting from all of your comments and feedback during the free motivation training series that I sent to you a couple of weeks ago. Most of you wanted the training. It was the most requested topic we received when we asked you what you wanted training on. Many of you admitted that you needed the training.

But, you didn’t feel that you had the time right now to watch it even though you believed it could help you reach more of your students and make a bigger difference in their lives. Even those of you who did watch the training became convinced that it was critical to feed your own will drivers and build your own motivation. And yet, you admitted that you didn’t have the time right now to take care of yourself.

Maybe in the summer…
Or next year…
Or when you retire…

I have never seen anything like it. We are neglecting ourselves at the time when we most need to take care of ourselves. And as a result, we’re slowly starving ourselves to death.

We are so busy expending all of our energy hunting field mice that we are losing ground, becoming more tired, more discouraged, and more overwhelmed.

Here’s what I know. You will never find your passion or make the difference you were meant to make in the world as long as you let the little things get in the way of what’s really important.

And you’re really important.

If you don’t take care of you, invest in yourself, feed your own will drivers, you will have nothing left to give to your students. Your teaching or leadership will fall flat. You’ll just go through the motions. Every little thing will frustrate you and instead of finding passion in what you do, you’ll just try to get through the day and survive.

The paradox here is that if you take care of yourself, make the time to invest in you, it will take more time at first. But, that time and investment will pay off big time. You’ll have more energy, more passion, more focus, and more joy every day – more than enough to lavish on your students and keep a little to nurture yourself as well.

Today’s Tweetable: Remember, if you work hard on your job, you can make a living. If you work hard on yourself, you can make a difference.

It’s time that you took care of you.

What’s keeping you from taking care of yourself?