Thoughts on the beginning of the school year.

We hear the phrase “information overload” and think about the wealth of resources and information available to us in this age of the internet.  As the new school year approaches with increasing speed, I am experiencing “ideas overload”.   Browsing Twitter, websites and blogs and talking with my colleagues provides me with a plethora of inspiration – ideas, thoughts, concepts, plans, programs, projects – all a click away.   Global projects, challenges, programs ranging from short term to long term abound.   They all have merit and some are very exciting.

A recent conversation with a wise woman reminded me that we need to filter the possibilities and choose a few simple goals.

“”You can do anything but not everything”.

The tendency to want to do everything , read everything, try everything, is really quite self-destructive.   A similar idea is discussed in the article  by Harry and Susan Squires “Talking back to your brain”, although with a different slant the principle applies in my circumstance.

The concept is simply that if we ask ourselves small questions, we are more likely to be able to come up with achievable answers (apologies to the authors for my paraphrasing).

I don’t want to exclude the time for ‘big picture’ thinking, but in order to be able to function effectively, to take the next step, to get the ball rolling, I need to bite off achievable chunks from my vast array of choices.  I need to work within my many limitations but still strive to extend my boundaries – if that makes any sense?!

So the thinking continues.  Following Harry and Susan Squires advice, what small questions should I ask?