I signed up weeks ago for a math class I'm interested in, but it looks like old man winter will get in the way. It's not worth it to me to drive a long distance in an old car on snowy, slippery roads--it's simply not worth the risk.
This is the way of life--what we plan often doesn't come through due to a large number of unexpected factors. That's why it's best to seize the moment and do what you can do when you can do it.
I had a similar talk with students yesterday since many had applied for a leadership position, but only a few were going to be picked. I told them that it's good to apply for lots of opportunities, and then they'll become more resilient and used to winning and losing. I reminded them that when you apply for a lot of opportunities you increase your success ratio and you become less afraid to reach out and try.
And to use another old adage, when a door closes a window opens--I like this adage because it gives you a positive direction when opportunities are blocked or end and leads you to look elsewhere for the new opportunity, time, or advantage that opens up. Tomorrow when I don't go to the math event, I'll likely fill the day with positive activities.
This is not rocket science, but instead positive self coaching, the coaching we do to help ourselves and to model for our students too.
