Motivation to thrive as an early childhood professional
"Bloom Where You Are Planted. You're okay. You're doing great." I want to repeat these statements at least a thousand times to ring them properly into the heart of every childcare center business owner, leader, or teacher and in response to the emails I receive from friends, colleagues, and mentees.
"Yes, Sir/Ma'Am/Director. Just Bloom Where You Are Planted. You're doing great. You're on the right track." I'll be honest: I was confused the first time I encountered this idiom "bloom where you're planted." What did it mean? Did it mean I should not improve? These questions swirled around in my head until, after some research and deep consideration, I stumbled on a youtube video that elegantly addressed my doubts.
I can't describe the immense satisfaction that it brought me. The message I got was this: No matter where you are in your journey or what role you are in within your career, you should try as much as you can to gain experience and information from that situation. You should grab all the positive sides it presents and weld them to your future advantage. When it passes away, all the positive and negative opportunities it offers will NO LONGER be there.
I wish I had heard this advice much earlier in my career as an early childhood professional because somewhere in the middle of my life, I'd found myself complaining about almost everything and everyone. "This school sucks. This company doesn't appreciate me.", "Whew! I am stuck in a job that doesn't pay me enough.", "My boss is the worst." "When will this job end here? I complained".
Those were my original complaints; you can tell how furious I was. But looking back to those days, I realize that I never harnessed the potential of the situations that I was in, and some of those situations are irretrievable. I should have bloomed where I was planted.`
How to thrive at your current job as an early childhood professional?
Learn from any problematic circumstance by analyzing the reasons in hopes of learning how to manage a difficult situation better.
Use this time to boost your skills.
Build positive connections and network with co-workers.
Better yourself in every way.
Meet the Author: Sheika Petteway
Sheika Petteway provides educational and leadership training to individuals and organizations. She is the founder and CEO of Elite Educational Enterprises and has several years of experience serving in the early childhood education industry.
Connect with Elite Educational Enterprises
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