- Jun 1, 2020
- 3 min read

STRONG Educators Stop and Remember Their WHY

Updated: Jul 27, 2020

Nothing great is ever achieved without a mission, a core reason, or a strong value that pulls you through the rapids enabling you to get back up when your boat is capsized.

This is part 2 of a 7 part series. The introductory post sets the stage. Be sure to check it out here:

6 Ways to Stay STRONG & Re-enter the (education) World.

The WHY is the purpose, cause or belief that drives every one of us. ~ Simon Sinek

If you've ever been around preschool children, you quickly learn why is a word that rolls off their tongue as frequently as they blink. They are curious, but they ask: why, why, why trying to make sense of their world. Without the WHY nothing makes sense. WHY is the foundation to our being. It drives our actions and gives us purpose. Without purpose there is no passion.

To stay STRONG, stop and remember your WHY. Often we begin our education journey on fire and somewhere between mandates and meetings our purpose gets muddied. Challenging students capsize our boat; we feel like we're treading water daily. Everyone wants more than mere survival.

You want to be STRONG for your students, family, and life. You want passion, purpose, and job satisfaction.

You can have it.

Right now, stop and remember your WHY. What keeps you going when you get hit by student? What keeps you going when another mandate is given while taking none off your plate? What gets you fired up? Stop. Write it down. Remember it. Share it. Post it where you can see it daily.

We quickly forget our best intentions. Therefore, writing down your WHY and posting it where you see it daily will keep it in the forefront allowing you to be STRONG.

The S in STRONG stands for: Stop and remember your WHY.

My friend Barbara Bray wrote a wonderful book, Define Your WHY: Own Your Story So You Can Live and Learn With Purpose, with a simple system to define your WHY in a way I've never seen. She guides you through the steps bringing clarity beyond the cliche': For kids. I highly recommend her book. Grab it here.

Learn the science and power of WHY here.

Once you've defined your WHY, please share it on Twitter and Instagram. Your WHY might just be the words someone else is searching for. You'll inspire others. Use #STRONGedu

Share a picture or a sentence a day for one week to help you stay focused on your WHY and remember your WHY. (Next week, we'll move to T in STRONG.)

Join our STRONG community. See details below.

It takes 30 days to establish a habit pattern. (It actually takes longer to solidify the habit, but we'll save that for another time.) So just for you, we're going to do a 30 day challenge to stay STRONG and help you re-enter school STRONG. (Whenever it re-opens.)

Here's how it works:

It's for you and like-minded educators. Connection for students is key but also for you. Educators need connections too. It's a community.
It's totally free.
Each week, I'll write a post reminding you to stay STRONG focusing on one of the letters in the word STRONG.
Get tips right to your inbox by joining the 30 Day #STRONGedu Challenge. Click here: 30 Days STRONG. (No spam. Promise. )
Join our community without signing up for anything by participating on Instagram and Twitter. Use the hashtag: #STRONGedu
Share and cheer each other on by sharing your STRONG stories. Share a picture or some words each day of how you are staying STRONG for yourself, your family, and your students. What you do will inspire others to do it too. :)
Share this with a friend so they are connected too.
Have fun and belong to a community of STRONG educators. (#STRONGedu)