I just saw a powerful and very important documentary film, Race To Nowhere. Actually it was my second time seeing it and I got even more out of it this time around. Although it’s geared for parents and educators, I feel very strongly that it’s for all to see. Yes, it speaks about the educational system with all the pressure to excel through high test scores, AP classes and as much over-scheduling as feasible; but the messages that speak to the societal values and priorities we are putting out there is all too encompassing and important for anyone to miss. The ramifications are huge and affects us all.
The bigger picture here is how we are living our lives. What makes for success? Are we just chasing our tails? Do the means justify the ends? How do we attain balance in our lives? Are we living according to our values, strengths, passions? Do we have the inner strength to swim against the tide, or are we being pulled under by the strong currents of societal pressure?
We first have to begin to know ourselves in order to find our place. How do we get to find ourselves when the outside is screaming at us through every conceivable inlet possible?
We must create those moments, those times, when we can tune inward and visit with ourselves, check in and ground ourselves. And then we can begin to hear our voices, our interests call out to us, our inner compass start to point us towards our own personal direction.
Kids don’t have these abilities yet. They’re first being developed, or are they? We as parents, teachers and as society’s adult role models need to live in ways that foster and encourage these abilities to recognize our strengths and find our interests. We all need to provide ourselves and one another with ways of coping, ways of managing our lives, ways of evaluating where we’re headed and if we’re on an authentic path that resonates with who we are and what we want.
And so I put forth 10 tips for getting on the path towards accessing our true selves:
In our high-stressful and high-pressured times, we must find and live with Balance in our lives or we will be walking stressballs with out-of-sync lives. To me that’s one {of many} of the big messages in Race To Nowhere; for Balance is an antidote to high stress.
Here’s my acronym for BALANCE:
B Balance
A Attitude
L Laughter
A Adjustments
N Nurturing
C Compassion
E Energy
Anyone care to fill in their words for BALANCE? If anyone has seen this film, please share what message(s) spoke to you.
Thank you for stopping by and reading.
Harriet,
What an awesome way to remember this concept! Thank you for the great message! I love it!
-Victor
Hi Victor,
Thanks for coming by and commenting. Glad you like the message.
Hi Harriet,
I doubt if I could convey this message any better. Joyful read….well done!
be good to yourself
David
Hi David,
Thanks for your lovely words. Glad you found it a ‘joyful’ read.
Wonderfully inspiring message Harriet, and I love how you have made it “re-memorable” with the BALANCE acronym.
Gratefully,
Alex
Hi Alex,
Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Glad you found it inspiring. Like your ‘re-memorable’ word. I guess the acronym here has done its job – to be a unique reminder.
Great post Harriet! Love the balance acronym…..so true and so important.
Hi Beth,
Glad you like this. See how inspired I was by the film. It kept me up much of the nite.
Beautiful, Harriet!
I love this – so helpful and important to remember.
♥
Hi Jodi,
Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Glad you like this and find it helpful.
I too recently saw the movie. It was tough to take, even scary. Education
ion is a behemoth, and as a country we seem to be wasting yet another generation’s time while we mess around. It’s harmful for individuals, and a matter of national security for us. (condeleeza rice task force recently made connection to our national security). We should all get in a room to watch, and not leave until we have a better system. Thank you for the powerful lesson you created from it.
Hi Ellen,
Nice to ‘meet’ you here. I also thought it was tough to watch. It brings all our warped priorities right into our faces. I’m not sure how to change a system, nor do I even want to go there. But we all do have the power do work on our own havens and set up and put forth ‘balanced priorities’. Of course that too is subjective. But change begins with each individual. So if we work on ourselves and our families, great things can occur. We as individuals get sucked into societal values and media priorities. So it’s up to us to go with our own, even if it means swimming upstream.
Hope to ‘see’ you again. Best to you.