Life Athletes, hello and to season 2 of the Life Athletics podcast! I appreciate all the support you’ve shown and given me over the past 100-plus episodes.
On today’s episode, we have Rick Smith, the author of Conscious Classroom Management and an award-winning teacher, education consultant, and international presenter. He focuses on moving through life with balance, slowly and surely, one step at a time.
Love is unconditional; life gives us conditions so we that we can love them. Tweet this!
Rick talks about how the strategies he lays out on his book about becoming better at managing the classroom can also be applied to everyday life. He tells us about the two principles in teaching that you should be taking into consideration: inner apology and inner authority. These two also work well when considered in day-to-day life.
Teachers make changes the way students learn, which is one step at a time. Tweet this!
In addition, he talks about the importance of breathing - which I totally agree with. In life, we have to tackle so many struggles and most of the time we forget to just keep our head above water and breathe. Rick also makes it a point to remind everyone that we need to be kinder to ourselves, that we need to love ourselves no matter what.
We don’t have to change who we are to receive love. Tweet this!
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Habit of thought:
“I’m always in service mode.”
Habit of action:
Aside from “embracing the worst-case scenarios,” Rick says that stretching in the morning and exercises allows for his body to “wake up.”
On writing: “I just write and I just build with it.”
We have to be willing to embrace discomfort or we're never going to move. Tweet this!
What does success mean to you?
“Success means that I am centered inside myself, in my own body, and that I am kind to myself and others.”
What does balance mean to you?
“Balance is I’m in the world doing things, but I’m also very aware of not getting too high or too low based on what happens externally.”
What do you do to get in the zone?
“Literally just taking deep breaths, narrating to a friend what’s going on - just naming them so I can see what it is.”
What do you do to recharge your batteries?
“Stretching, exercise, lovemaking, hanging out with friends, sports, eating good food.”
What do you want to tell people to stop doing if they want to have success in their lives?
“Stop setting the bar too high. Stop being conditional with themselves.
What do you do to anchor yourself back to the old version of you?
“Breathe, movement, and touch.”
Go step by step, enjoying the journey. I don't think anyone ever arrives anyway. Tweet this!
Resources:
Facebook: Conscious Teaching
Twitter: @ConsciousTching
Email Rick at ricksmith2001@yahoo.com
Conscious Classroom Management by Rick Smith
Picture This! by Rick Smith