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When I knit my first hat, I used bamboo needles.
These were affordable and lightweight, and solved my early problem of stitches slipping off of the slick aluminum needles I had inherited from my grandmother.
But as I improved as a knitter, I found the bamboo needles to be a little slow and draggy. That’s when I tried nickel-plated needles, and that’s what I’ve been using ever since. That’s what gives me the “slicing into warm butter” feeling.
Read MoreIf you want to learn something — anything — the content is out there.
There are books, videos, and courses galore to show you how to do whatever it is you want to do, from flower arranging to sailing to investing. Whether in person or online, there is no shortage of information and eager teachers out there.
Despite this, we don’t reach our goals. We don’t all learn how to do the things we want to. Although online course completion rates are not the best measure of whether someone is learning, most sources suggest that they hover between 5 and 15 percent. Presumably, some of these people got as much as they wanted to from the course or learned what the wanted to learn elsewhere, but for many of them, life happened. They wanted to follow through, but they didn’t.
Read MoreBecause we don’t give grades, it might appear that we are no longer measuring or scoring students.
On the contrary, we’re measuring and scoring all the time – and more importantly, teaching our students to measure and score themselves. “Rulerless” does not mean that we don’t measure anything. It means, rather, that we measure according to our own criteria, based on the results we are seeking. As we do so, we can gather highly useful, actionable data about the performance our students and ourselves as teachers. This data not meant to rate or rank anyone. It’s meant to help us become who we want to be.
Read MoreRunning is painful.
Sure, every runner lives for those moments of glory where the endorphins are kicking in and it feels like flying. But there are lots of times where your muscles ache and your lungs burn and you’re hungry and sweaty.
There are times when you’re huffing and puffing and it's tempting to slow to a walk. My rule has always been, "no walking until you get to the top of the hill." If you’re still in agony when you hit that goal, fine. But not until then.
Read MoreIt’s nice when our work goes smoothly. It’s especially satisfying when we can point to our output: “I wrote these ten pages/folded these three loads of laundry/finally won the battle royale.”
But sometimes, it’s not that clear-cut. We brainstorm for an hour but none of the ideas quite click. We exercise and eat right for an entire week and our clothes fit the same. We spend half a day waiting at the doctor’s office for an appointment that resolves nothing.
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