Okay, I’ll admit it. Here’s one of the secrets I must hide from Cindy. – SCN Encourager

I refuse to ever let her see me reading an article with the headline “how to be more awesome.”

The inevitable teasing would be brutal.

But her skepticism alone wouldn’t mean the article lacked merit.

It just means that Cindy hasn’t bought in… yet.

I used the word “yet” because there’s hope Cindy might actually support this article about the value of keystone habits without comment.

For sure, she’d believe YOU could become “more awesome.”

That goes without saying.

I’m probably considered more of a lost cause, though.

But I thought the article about keystone habits had something to say directly to every school communicator.

I wouldn’t have read it in secret using a flashlight, otherwise.

It made me wonder about my own keystone habit.

What is my immediate “go to” mindset and behavior (the habit) that I grab whenever a quick flare-up situation pops up at work?

Do I have one?
Do I even know what it is?
Do you have one?
Do you know what it is?

The most powerful keystone habit for me over the years has been to “always put on my parent cap.”

Although I’m not as nimble in scrambling up to this vantage point as I used to be, I can’t think of a time when approaching a situation at school with “my parent’s cap” on didn’t serve me well.

No doubt about it, it’s important to be mindful of the needs of your students and staff, but when the heat is on, you’ve got to start some place.

Empathetically accelerating what a parent needs to know (and by whom and how) is a consistent winner.

I’m guessing your “parent cap” isn’t too far from your reach, either.

You may not have “Ferrari” on the back of yours – I don’t – but it isn’t for the lack of trying.

I figured that if I was going to struggle at “becoming awesome,” I should at least have a magnificent motivational word on the back of my cap.

You know; Ferrari, Ace, or NSPRA2016.

I asked Cindy for her opinion.

“What word of inspiration do you think would be the best one to have on the back of my parent cap?” I asked.

She didn’t answer right away.

Instead she went to her computer and printed out this photo.

“Why not buy a cap with ear flaps?” she smirked. “I think you’d look cute.”

So, now do you see why I must keep a few secrets at home?

Keeping secrets now and then is usually a whole lot easier than “securing buy-in.”

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