DLE LEADER SHARES 7 WORDS TO LIVE BY FOR POSITIVE SUMMER VIBES

By Greg Bluestein, DLE Culture Chat Committee Member, Teacher at Everett High School, Everett, MA 

Writer’s Note: The June 18 Breakfast Club was fantastic, and guest speaker Frank Fuentes hit on many of the points that I was actually discussing with my 9th grade class the prior day. I thought that I’d share them with the DLE community in hopes of kicking off the summer season with some positive vibes. These are the seven key words that I share with my daughters regularly that really make up my identity as an educator, coach, father and husband. Have a great summer, everyone!

1. Integrity – This is the beginning and end of everything in leadership, self-discipline and moral/ethical values. Your integrity can never waiver and if you do make a mistake, do not try to justify it. Simply learn, get better and move on. Our experiences are part of our identity, and mistakes in integrity lead to lifelong codes to live by.
2. Courage – Otherwise defined as “bravery,” we define courage as trying to do something in spite of fear. The reality of venturing into the unknown is that we often come out successfully simply because we tried. Half the battle is showing up. If you don’t show up, your chances of success are zero. True courage comes when you not only show up, but put 100 percent of your effort into whatever you’re doing. If that is the case, you will either succeed or you will learn (we don’t believe in the word “fail”).
3. Can’t – This is the only “curse word” in our vocabulary. If it slips out of your mouth in regular conversation, quickly follow it with the word “yet.” Example: “I can’t jump that high…yet.” Positive self-talk is a major key aspect to having a healthy mind. Disavowing yourself or your abilities from anything in this world is like training for a race and then just lying down when the starting gun goes off.
4. Adventure – Life is not a walk in the park. It is a crazy adventure full of twists and turns and excitement. Pain will happen in life. There is no stopping it. But how we view pain, both physical and mental, can either be a detriment to our overall mental health or a motivator to our success. We call any physical injuries “adventures” because sometimes falling down is a part of life—and the best parts of our low moments are the moments after, where we stand tall.
5. Response – Effectively handling our business, our thoughts, our actions and our words is the only way we can try to shape the outcomes to what we want to happen. Even then, though, our responses may not be good enough, or the event may be overpowering and our outcomes can still fall short of what we desire. It is at this point that it is time to respond again, in a better, more effective way. Learn and grow through your responses, and always remember that YOUR RESPONSE BECOMES SOMEONE ELSE’S EVENT. You have a direct effect on the people around you through your response. Act accordingly.
6. Compete – Competition often brings out the best in people; but sometimes it can bring out the worst. Usually when this occurs, it is because we are too focused on the other people around us and not enough on ourselves. What I mean by this is the internal competition to be the best is far more important and rewarding than beating those around you. Focus on getting 1 percent better every single day. If we are constantly competing with ourselves, we can push ourselves to heights we couldn’t otherwise imagine.
7. Kind – The most important adjective in our vocabulary. Every night, when I put my kids to bed, I tell each of them: “You are strong, tough, brave, smart, fast, funny, beautiful and KIND.” They know that the most important thing they are capable of is being kind. Kindness to others is what makes society work. If you are having a problem with a person, ask yourself what their day could have been like to treat you like that.

Find empathy rather than vengeful feelings and you will be more at peace with yourself. It is important to be kind to ourselves as well, because to err is human, and we need that allowance to continue believing in ourselves.