mature student

World Teachers Day

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Being a teacher is a very stressful yet rewarding career and I think far too often teachers are not supported by parents and/or the various personnel who should be valuing their role.

There are so many teachers that really go the extra mile with our children and inspire them to follow their dreams. It is very sad that burn out seems to be happening far sooner in new teachers too.

So to all those teachers throughout my own child’s schooling I say sincere thanks and to the lecturers at University who are now continuing to inspire her in her educational journey.

I have many colleagues who work in pastoral within schools too who are helping teens in trouble with various intervention projects and pastoral care..remember these staff too who are tackling the real issues on a daily basis.

Weighing up options

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When I worked within a legal environment we would call ‘weighing up’ the balance of convenience. Throughout business and personal lives we are often faced with challenges and choices to make and weighing up the pros and cons can be difficult.

Aside of being feared of change, the word compromise can be just as frightening. Not everyone has the personal attitude towards their life to see an experience may be a good one, albeit a second choice and perhaps not quite what you had in mind as the next best move.

If the life of a freelancer has taught me one thing its that life throws all sorts of curved balls for one to juggle and/or bat away. We think our skills and qualifications are taking us towards a definite route but along the way we may be distracted by something which we made need to reach that final goal…and perhaps didn’t realise until now!

Today I am doing just that weighing up and reflecting on what to do the coming months, or longer…watch this space.

 

Finding time

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I am surrounded by dynamic friends who squeeze so much into their lives and still find time to help their community,be supportive of their own inner circle of friends and family. Maybe mostly as I choose to play with positive people.

Seriously though, as my own mentor and life coach (Mother) always used to say; one always finds time to do the things one wants to and what really matters.

However, I also know many people who are not happy with their life and the lack of challenges or opportunities that come their way…but are for whatever reason unable to make the effort to do something about it.

To make changes in our life we have to do just that – maybe a small step at a time. I find taking up a new hobby or studying/adding to the CV helps tremendously with the latter opening up personal and job opportunities and increasing self-worth.

There are many great organisations that offer distance learning and online courses which can fit around your work and family commitments. i.e. BSY Group and Oplex Careers.

Remember we are never too old to learn new skills.

When is the right time?

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I had to confess to a close friend that i was having studying withdrawal symptoms…how sad am I? Seriously, I had given myself a little break from my list of courses to do. I had decided not to start up again until my daughter went back to university. Then today I found myself seeking out one of my proposed courses and starting to read my first lesson…

If I am honest I was concerned the longer I put off starting the worse it would be to get back into my routine. As any fellow mature students will realise one has to be really committed, self-disciplined and motivated to return to studying.

I have to say the past few years I have found gaining various qualifications a positive move and I have really enjoyed the reflective reading and evolving as an individual. Finding the right position to make ultimate use of said qualifications has been harder than I envisaged but I know the right role is out there.

For me of course it was a two prong plan as my counselling qualifications have also given me credence to my serious writing projects, currently with my publisher. One has to be patient as some dreams take longer to chase, catch and become a reality.

Q: So when is the right time? A:Now!!

Remember we are never too old to learn new skills.

 

MINDFULNESS

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Being mindful helps us to keep things in perspective and our emotions under control.It is very easy to allow stress to overtake our usual reasoning.

By taking a day at a time and enjoying that day for what it is rather than worrying about the things that may or not even happen tomorrow enables us to lead a far more healthier and positive life.

Too often I talk to colleagues as they approach an important event or something which they have been working towards i.e. giving a presentation or sitting exams and suddenly it all seems so daunting.

The reality being what we tell ourselves we sadly listen to. So the thought for today is to tell yourself you can succeed and not only that you are going to enjoy doing so. Stress…what stress?

I will leave you with one of my Grandmother’s favourite sayings:-

‘If things don’t alter they stay as they are!’

Dorothy’s education

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Whilst writing my tribute to my mother ‘A Mother’s Love‘ (Gospels according to Dorothy) I guess I have been indulging myself somewhat in my memories of not just her pearls of wisdom but of the times we spent together.

Like many people my age I grew up with Doris Day tunes playing on the radio or wireless as mum always referred to it! Mum was an avid fan of both this actress of the time and of course Clark Gable. To dad she was ‘his Doris’ and to mum he was ‘her Clarke …he even had the moustache and was a nappy dresser!

Today I was treating myself from time away from the screen and found an old film on Netflix ‘Teacher’s pet‘ which featured both these actors of the time. It was a magical era where men wore suits and women didn’t go out without their hat and gloves classic! Clark was an editor on a newspaper and the beautiful Doris a teacher of journalism.They fight over which is better education or professional experience?

There were some great one liners in this old gem of a film which I had to write down:-

‘Education teaches a man how to spell experience’

‘Experience is the jockey, education the horse’

Later there is a debate wherein a very well educated psychologist argues that; ‘if you have knowledge through experience you have an education. If you look up the word knowledge it means to know’…valid point.

The school of life is indeed a great teacher and our experiences are the lessons!

 

Freud…in the end I succeeded

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Getting ready for my next course, but watching the best documentaries on BBC4. Last night’s  Freud ‘Genius of the modern world‘ was thought provoking to say the least.

As the narrator revealed he was so often criticized as being unscientific! I became interested…no fascinated in this great man’s works many years ago when researching dream time. I will be re-reading ‘The Interpretation of dreams‘ again this summer.

How tragic it was that this brilliant man’s books were burned in the streets of Vienna during the second world war.

He was ahead of his time and definitely left us challenging the way we think and led the way for counselling…not to be a hostage to our past but become true masters of our own minds (as quoted within the program).

It ended with his own words:

‘In the end I succeeded but the struggle is not yet over’

 

Is more less?

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I never suffer from writer’s block but I confess today that I am deliberately not working on my book. I have been asked to expand the word count and I am probably two thirds the way through achieving it…

But and its a big BUT…I am worried about my beloved project losing its original magic which I believed I had captured.

I can hear voices of close successful writer friends saying…just get on with it. The thing is I have material already written that I could so easily use…BUT that word again.

Is less more? or is more less and I’m not talking about the word count now!!

A break away from it today will hopefully make me decide what to do next or what to write next!

The best thing being; the re-write has given me an opportunity to include recent emotive experiences and there is nothing better than writing honestly from the heart which is what I always try to do…more or less!

 

Friendships

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I hope I never take my close friends for granted and I try to be grateful on a regular basis. It is no secret that appreciating what we have in terms of valued friendships is what real worth is about.

Nothing better than having a brunch with a study buddy who ‘gets you’ and is as passionate about your ambitions and achievements as you are…that’s true friendship.

What a fab start to the week not one but two sessions with like-minded people. Salad dinner out with another over-achiever who understands the desire to continually self develop and learn more.

Life is good if you allow it to be and invest in your own life and your friendships.

The mind, as I often say is a brilliant piece of kit if we just take time to learn how it works and what it can do!

Thank God for fellow mature students!

Not a secret to me!

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I have just watched the brilliant IT documentary ‘Secrets of growing old’. This really was a great testimony about the bonuses of growing old and how ‘the elderly’ should be respected and cherished. No surprise to hear how older people understand  how younger minds work in terms of conflict – we learn to defuse and love more I guess.

I am always saying how one is never too old to learn new skills and the amazing people in this magical portrayal of people over fifty++ proved exactly that. A must watch!

The people featured certainly showed how the mind works in many improved ways with age.  How the mind is much more free to explore new things and how the left hand and right hand side of our brain connect more giving us the bonus of both applying logic and creativity.

I often write about how smells unlock memories we have forgotten and this was covered in several ways confirming just what a great piece of kit our brain is. Use it well!

I particularly liked the discussions about how our ability to love and care is refined. Not surprising then that often people move to pastoral roles as they improve with age and have wisdom of experience to use their increased empathy skills.

Interesting feature about a project in a community for the elderly where they brought in chickens to care for; it brought lonely people together and gave many a purpose. Having kept chickens they are amusing and it has been proven that having pets to care for reduces the risk of heart attack..by a third!

As we get older we become more honest and wise – so we do deserve respect. However, we are not afraid of being childish and do not worry so much about what other people think. That resonated well with me! 

An 83 year old model now living her dream commented how the insecurities of youth prevent us from doing things. Proving age is just a number!