Last week was an unusually challenging week for me. We held the conference of Superior Court Judges at the School and I seemed to have something go wrong almost every day. The conference was just 3 days long. Still, I managed to keep my head up and move forward. I recently discussed some of the best advice I've received over the years and mantras that I live by. I had to pull out a few of them, to keep things in perspective.
Despite having missing folders and late lunches, these things, while frustrating, were not Earth shattering problems. Because of my previous experiences with Study Tours, I've had students go to the hospital with collapsed lungs and broken wrists, buses break down on the I-5 on the way to San Diego, and students missing in Times Square. Now those are stressful situations. That kind of perspective allows me to remain calm in situations that don't compare.
Perspective allows us to keep calm under pressure, know how to solve problems, and deal with unexpected situations. Everyone has a different perspective. For some people, having missing folders would have been the end of the world. For me, it was just a matter of solving the problem enough to get what I needed.
Now, after the dust has settled I'm able to reflect on the mishaps and find a way to avoid them in the future. I can examine what went wrong and what didn't. In the moment, I always try and find the solution to the problem at hand. Sometimes, you just have to hope that you get lucky!