Stinkin Thinkin

Good Morning and Happy Friday!

Congratulations to Smith Graham and Garrett Gatlin! They won first place at the district debate tournament and have qualified for the CX Debate State Tournament in March.

This past Tuesday our Lady Blues and Graham Steer basketball teams defeated Mineral Wells in close contests.  Congratulations!  Best of luck to our teams this afternoon as they travel to take on Abilene Wylie!

Voting- We have had 169 team members complete the Educators Oath to Vote. The deadline to register to vote for the Texas primary is February 1, 2016. The primary election is March 1, 2016. This is extremely important, as over 90% of local elections in Texas will be determined in the Republican primary. This link will take you to great information about how to register to vote and how to see if you are already registered.  http://www.votetexas.gov/register-to-vote/ 

Stinkin Thinkin

Do you ever watch the television show, Hoarders?  To me, it seems so insane that someone can collect and wallow in that much junk.  Although most of us may not hang onto and stack up that much physical stuff we do allow our minds to hoard “garbage thoughts.” This practice leads to ‘stinkin thinkin!”

In Flipping the Switch by John Miller he surmises this closed mindset greatly inhibits personal and organizational growth.  He places this negative thinking into five categories or mindsets: Exception Mentality, Expectations, Entitlement Thinking, Experience Trap and Exclusion.

Exception Mentality = Hearing an idea and immediately thinking of someone else who really needs to hear it.  If this applies, it is a good idea to stop and consider how you can apply this idea to yourself.

Expectations = Closed mindset thinking such as, “I knew this training would not be any good.”  Instead, ask yourself, “How can I gain the most from today?”

Entitlement Thinking = Thoughts such as, “I have been here twenty plus years, so I deserve…. or “When will I get more training?”  The better thoughts and questions are,  “What can I do to invest in myself?” and “How best can I acquire new knowledge to meet the challenges presented?”

Experience Trap = Human arrogance, overconfidence and reliance on one’s experience as being paramount to completing the voyage.  Instead, keep asking, “How can I enhance my effectiveness” and “What can I do to acquire new skills?”

Exclusion = Exclusion of someone’s perspective or marginalizing their input.  As we are all teachers and all students continue to ask, “How can I truly listen and consider what this person has to say?”

Removing these roadblocks from our thinking is not easy.   Change begins with “Me!”

Hope you have a blessed day!

Corny Joke of the Day:

Why shouldn't you write with a broken pencil?

Because it's pointless.