(#292) A Blogger’s Retrospective: 2015 in Review

May your 2016 goals lead to your actions and your actions lead to your dreams.

While sitting in an Austin hotel room at the end of May 2010, I wrote my first post for this blog. I had 3 goals:

Experience a new (for me) aspect of social media
Develop and flesh out new ideas
Provide something of value—not just another cyber rant.

I believe I have accomplished the first and the second. It is up to you whether I have accomplished the third. My blog posts contain videos, book recommendations and summaries, questions to ponder, and always a takeaway to apply immediately to life. I have remained true to my commitment to publish one blog post per week. This post marks the 292^ndconsecutive week.

Thank you for reading, commenting, and sharing. I would love to hear what you found of value on this blog. And, please feel free to share any ideas you have for future posts. One of my goals for 2016 is to add another 1,000 followers to this blog. With your help, I will reach that goal. Thank you!

As has now become tradition for me, this last-of-the-year offering lists each of the previous 51 posts I have made to this blog this year. Along with each title you will find a descriptive statement. Perhaps a nugget or two will provide inspiration. I have linked each title to the actual blog should you want to read it, re-read it, or share it. Thank you for your continued support and comments.

And I have included a new “TOP FIVE” feature for this end-of-the-year post: (1) the top (by number of views/visits) blog posts for 2015; and (2) top five blog posts since I started this journey.

*Top Five 2015 Posts on this Blog*

1. (#257) Sunsets and Sunrises
2. (#260) An Evening in the Gratitude Café
3. (#262) Resilience: What’s Your Story?
4. (#241) What If?
5. (#249) A Life Well-Lived

*Top Five All-Time Posts on this Blog*

1. (#86) A Model for Critical Thinking
2. (#194) Honor the Past. Celebrate the Present. Embrace the Future.
3. (#219) The First Day of Class: People Before Paper!
4. (#18) Crab Pot Mentality!
5. (#93) SQ4R: Strategic Reading Strategies for the Classroom and Beyond
(My video that accompanies this post is my most watched YouTube video.)

All the best to you and your family and your friends as you create and enjoy your 2016 journey. May your 2016 goals lead to your actions and your actions lead to your dreams.

2015 in Review

What If? * Rather than setting a list of “me-too” goals, why not imagine the “what if” of our future selves?Think of your future and fill in the blank: “What if _____?
Reflecting on a Significant Event * The power of this reflective practice exercise lies in its ability to help us discover not only what we do but why we do it.
Failure is an Option * How will I stretch myself in the coming week? Even if I might fail, what will I do to continue my learning and growth?
Do You Have Your Own Board of Directors? * I remain focused on surrounding myself with knowledgeable and skillful people who will have my back—and kick me in the butt when needed. Who do you have on your Board?
Courage * What we do in these situations defines our characters and our destiny.
Are You Bitching or Are You Pitching? * Do you work (or live) with someone who endlessly pontificates, grouses, grumbles, moans and laments?
Applications and Reflections * Just consider the hourly wage of each person tied up in a workshop. Is the R.O.I. worth the lost wages and service?
Loopers Add Texture to Life * We all add layers and texture to life.
A Life Well-Lived * We have to remember that Buddy touched us as he did so many others he met on his journey. He leaves lessons and a life well-lived.
Motivating the Motivators * Beyond the paycheck and benefits, what is being done
to motivate those who are charged with motivating our students?
Transformational Leadership * These leaders literally transform our workplaces
and our lives into empowerment zones. How many have you had?
If Politicians Had to Live the Educational Policies They Create * Let’s make the policy makers have to face, and work with, our students and teachers day in and day out. The same ones their legislation impacts.
Bridging the Gap: The Stories We Tell Ourselves and the Stories We Live * Stories we tell ourselves vs. stories we actually live. What stories are you telling yourself?

Image: pisitphoto@FreeDigitalPhots.net
The Five P’s of New Employee Mentoring * Does your organization effectively “on-board” new team members?
Did You Make a Difference? How Do You Know? * While this blog post speaks specifically to my teaching colleagues, we can all draw inspiration and clarification
when we stop and examine what we do.
Don’t Blame the Bureaucracy, Point to the People * If you can’t or won’t help, just step aside for someone who will do a competent and humane job.
Sunsets and Sunrises * “You are where I was. And I am where you will be.”
The Power of Guy Fieri: Five Life Lessons * In our do-everything-a-little-bit-faster-each-day world, how often do we take time to be curious, to learn, to listen, to laugh and be positive?
Is HOPE a Meaningless Sentiment? * Is hope just a word that will soon be washed away by an incoming tide? Or does it send a message of resilience?
An Evening in the Gratitude Café * So many great things, places and people surround us. Appreciate them…embrace them.
Mixing it Up with Your Audience * So, go ahead. Mix it up. It will not only energize your audience, it will keep you fresh.
What’s Your Story? * What autobiography have you created? Time for a revision?
Retreat or Stay-Treat? Treat Yourself! * What can you do if you want a retreat but can’t quite swing getting away from your daily routines for three or four days?
Manage Your Energy. Maximize Your Productivity. * What small step can you take this week to set your agenda, manage your energy, and accomplish the most important thing on your radar?
That’s Not Teaching. That’s Talking. * Teaching and learning need to remain inextricably connected.
Challenging the Status Quo * We have to remember what we learned in our formative years:
“Know what battles to pick.” Great advice unless you never seem to choose a battle.
You Get to Create the Path. * We are all artists painting our own lives.

Arvind Balaraman
@FreeDigitalPhotos.net
P.R.I.D.E. for Student and Life Success * Choose well, my friend.
Yes AND * It is interesting that we can point to others as being intransigent in their thinking while we pat ourselves on the back as possessing true critical thinking skills.
Have You Spent Time with Ida Ownly? * A relationship with Ida Ownly has no future
other than one of contrition, remorse, disappointment, and heartbreak.
Comfort Zone * “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” -Neale Donald Walsch-
GRIT: What Keeps You Moving Toward Your Goals? * “If at first you don’t succeed try, try again. Then quit. There’s no point being a damn fool about it.” -W.C. Fields-
You Got Mail! *Is email “so yesterday”?
Igniting Passion: Seven Superlative Student Stars * They spoke directly to the power of teaching and the importance of relationships in life.
What Do You Carry in Your Backpack? * It’s one thing to know we need to shed the extra baggage but it is quite another thing to actually do
Mistakes, Disappointment, Curiosity and Growth. * When we choose not to dare because we might “risk feeling disappointed” we end up “choosing to live disappointed.”
Thriving in the Thin Place: Becoming Our Essential Selves. * Thin places represent those spaces that help construct (or maybe deconstruct) meaning in life.
Common Goal-Achieving Challenges. * Treat yourself with respect on the way to your goals.
Do You Have the Wisdom of a 5^th Grader? * If we pay attention we often can find real nuggets of wisdom from the young people around us.
Trigger Warnings. * If we keep our students in protective bubble wrap while in college, what have we prepared them for as they move into the workforce and the rest of their lives?
Collisions for Collaboration or Crashes for Confusion? * Whether talking about the college classroom or the corporate boardroom, conscientious nurturing of authentic relationships improves the chances for effective communication, meaningful connections and powerful creation.
The Story of the Lavender Farmer * It has been a saga, but I am determined to be successful, and continue to learn from each chapter. Thank heaven they come one at a time.
Inspiration and the Potential to Make a Difference * While the interactions may “just happen,” turning them into meaningful moments takes mindfulness.
Gaining Clarity * We would do well to surround ourselves with people who care about us—but won’t allow us to skate by with minimal reflection and action.
Are You Relevant * “The trap we fall into is trying to tell people how life-changing our widget is. If it changes their lives, we won’t have to tell them.”–Bernadette Jiwa

amenic181@FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Seeking Passion? Embrace Curiosity * Be curious about your inspiration…curiosity will lead to your passion.
It Could be Worse. Comparatory Suffering? * For me, comparatory suffering creates its own issues. My suffering is mine. Yours is yours. Does it really help to compare it to someone or something else—while denying the feelings in front of you?
Advice from an Owl * This week, thanks to an owl, I will leave you with many more questions than answers.
On Making Mistakes, Being Ordinary, and Embracing Growth * Accepting mistakes does not mean we condone sloppy work. Acknowledge, take ownership of, and grow from your mistakes and you will definitely not be ordinary.
Life Fitness and Mental Discipline * “How do you walk around in something you were born with and not know anything about it or not be aware of what affects it?”-Charles Bailey
Befriending Ourselves * Think of your favorite novels. More than likely the protagonists
did not follow a straight line from the beginning to the end of the story. Your life journey is the same. You are the hero of your story.