Questioning Everything
Maybe what I thought was bad isn't...
The Air We Breathe
A couple of months ago, I was sitting at a training for new teachers.
One of the main things they were sharing with us was about the environment in which our students are growing up.
And I found myself nodding my head and relating to so many things the speaker was sharing. Because it’s not just the environment my students are growing up in; it’s the environment I live in every single day. And the one you live in too.
The acronym he used to describe the environment of our modern world is SCENE.
1. Speed
The Environment: We are living in a world that is fast and getting increasingly faster by the minute.
The Issue: Constantly living in a world of speed teaches us that slow is bad. It teaches us that if something isn’t happening quickly, maybe we are doing something wrong, or maybe we aren’t meant to be doing that at all.
The Reality: Slowness creates deeper understanding and connection.
2. Convenience
The Environment: We are living in a world where many things are becoming easier and easier - ordering groceries online, streaming a movie, and getting directions (just to name a few).
The Issue: Constantly living in a world of convenience teaches us that hard is bad. It teaches us that if something is not coming easily, maybe we should just forget it.
The Reality: Confronting hard things in our lives teaches us perseverance.
3. Entertainment
The Environment: We are living in a world where entertainment is at our fingertips twenty four seven.
The Issue: Being constantly entertained teaches us that boring is bad. It teaches us that if something is not engaging or flashy or controversial, maybe it is not worth our attention.
The Reality: Boredom fosters creativity! It also promotes self-reflection, allows for rest, promotes mindfulness, boosts mental resilience, stimulates our imagination, and counteracts overstimulation.
4. Nurture
The Environment: We live in a world where kids (and adults!) are coddled. Many of us either live in constant fear or live in constant avoidance of anything that isn’t predictable, controllable, or a part of our plan.
The Issue: Constant nurture teaches us that risk is bad.
The Reality: Risk creates opportunities. Risk teaches us that we can do more than we thought we could, and it teaches us that it’s okay to fail and make mistakes.
5. Entitlement
The Environment: Living in a world where things are always quick, easy, and entertaining creates a perfect breeding ground for entitlement. We feel as though we deserve things we used to only dream of having.
The Issue: Living with entitlement teaches us that labor is bad. It teaches us that we shouldn’t have to get our hands dirty or do any hard work.
The Reality: Labor improves productive struggle. It increases our patience, our resilience, and our confidence.
And after he shared all of this, I realized I see this everywhere.
I see the impact of speed in the increasing loneliness of our world. Everyone is so busy that it is hard to slow down and connect with others.
I see the impact of entitlement in the “everybody gets a trophy” mindset, where everyone feels deserving of the same reward even when very different amounts of work were contributed.
But more than that, I see these things in myself.
I see the impact of convenience in the way I get frustrated as soon as something gets even a little bit hard.
I see the impact of entertainment in the way I reach for my phone in any moment of down time - waiting for an appointment, standing in a line, riding on the elevator.
I see the impact of nurture in my own capacity for risk, or lack thereof.
My Takeaway
I have to change my mindset.
I have to constantly remind myself: When something is hard, it doesn’t mean it is bad. When it doesn’t come quickly, it doesn’t mean it isn’t worth the time. When something is boring, it doesn’t mean it lacks value or purpose. When it’s risky, it doesn’t mean it is wrong. When something requires more effort than I thought, it doesn’t mean something is wrong with me.
The hard, slow, boring, risky, more laborious things in life are not automatically bad. They are what you make them.
Thank you for reading!
Take care,
Caroline