☺

Elisa Waingort

—

A Teacher Musing Out Loud

Shifting

—

by

Elisa Waingort

in

Photo by Alexas Fotos on Pexels.com

This month I am making small, medium and big shifts.

Shifting my tone of voice.

Speaking softly even when I’m about to lose it.

Shifting how I speak.

Slowing down my speech so that it fills me with deep breaths and not angry talk.

Shifting from assuming to listening.

Ask ingquestions instead of making statements, which may or may not be true.

Shifting my attitude.

Assuming good intent even though it my not seem that way. And, when it turns out it doesn’t, then it will be time to move on.

Shifting my focus.

Spending just the right amount of time on work, but leaving what didn’t get done for later; later will come soon enough.

Shift is my January word.

Evolve is my #OLW for 2021.

So many ways to shift in order to evolve.

Cross posted to The Two Writing Teachers Tuesday Slice of Life Story Challenge.

11 responses to “Shifting”

  1. Patricia J Holloway Avatar
    Patricia J Holloway

    Great choice for your OLW! I love the actions you’ve chosen for your olw. I may have been out of my mind when I chose mine: magic. I was thinking about the definition of the word as a noun that says a special quality or ability. It’s going to take a special quality to effect the change the world needs.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Elisa Waingort Avatar
      Elisa Waingort

      Possibly, but we can make magic happen by the choices we make and the relationships we nurture. At least I hope so!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Patricia J Holloway Avatar
        Patricia J Holloway

        I like how you put that, our choices and the relationships we nurture!

        Like

  2. Wondering and Wandering Avatar
    Wondering and Wandering

    Inspiring, Elisa. Shift is a great word choice. It has a growth mindset spin to it rather than change or stop.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Elisa Waingort Avatar
      Elisa Waingort

      Thank you for your comment. I hadn’t thought of shift in that way, but you’re offering a new lens for me to view the process of “shifting”.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  3. Amy Ellerman Avatar
    Amy Ellerman

    Shift is a great word, because it implies a change to an action already in motion. It always helps to be able to take advantage of the inertia and energy that is already present (rather than starting from a stationary position).

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Elisa Waingort Avatar
      Elisa Waingort

      Good point, Amy. For me it’s about continuing to make tweaks to the path I want to stay on.

      Like

      Reply
  4. Melanie Meehan Avatar
    Melanie Meehan

    Shift. Yes, it could lead to evolve as sometimes we get there through just small changes. The power of a word!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Elisa Waingort Avatar
      Elisa Waingort

      The power of a word is right!

      Like

      Reply
  5. Darin Johnston Avatar
    Darin Johnston

    I love this word simply because it suggests moment and motion. You aren’t simply staying pat, you are moving towards goals and that can never be a bad thing! 🙂 I especially love that idea of shifting focus. Creating the time for work, but not allowing work to dominate us ALL the time.

    Thank you for sharing with us today! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Elisa Waingort Avatar
      Elisa Waingort

      Movement is important. Thank you for pointing that out, Darin.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

Leave a reply to Patricia J Holloway Cancel reply