Reframing Fear

I had the honor of speaking with two different groups of professionals last week. I spoke with a room of child nutrition directors and the next day, I had the honor of speaking with roughly 150 pupil transportation directors.

At the closing of my keynote, one of the transportation directors locked eyes with me. I could sense that she wanted to speak with me afterward. Without a word, I made my way to her, and we hugged. It was a big hug, and it said so much without saying anything at all. I had never met her before. I don’t know if I will ever see her again. But in that moment, we were on the same page. With tears in her eyes, she said, “This was exactly what I needed to hear today. Thank you.”

I’m not writing this because I think I am anything special. I’m not writing this because I think my message is anything special. I’m writing this to share that public speaking terrifies me. It terrifies many of us. But I keep doing it. Imperfectly and with my whole heart for no other reason than I hope to give someone else…a little hope.

Quite simply, I hope all of us in education realize that tomorrow can be better than today, and we are the ones who can make it so. It’s why I wrote Legacy of Learning. The future of our schools, our communities, and this world quite literally depend on us and whether we choose to keep showing up.

As Toni Morrison says, “If you have some power, then your job is to empower someone else.” When I have a mic in my hand, my job is to empower others. It’s not about me. It’s about the power of us as a collective.

If you are afraid of a new challenge this school year, the fear might be your signal that this really matters, and you need to push through that fear and try.

After all, fear is often excitement that needs reframing.

It’s exciting that we get to do work that matters so deeply every day.