I want to be more of a marigold. It's so easy to get bogged down in all the hard things that happen in education: the new schedule, the pressure to help every kid pass that ever-looming end-of-level test, the students who ask to turn in late work after you've said (multiple times) that yesterday was the last day to do so. Sometimes it's just easier to focus on the negative instead of using the mental energy it takes to think of the good things that are sometimes hidden.
But honestly, being a walnut tree (or being around walnut trees) saps my energy! All that negative energy makes me more tired, more overwhelmed, more stressed. Amazingly, though, having a positive attitude gives me energy. When I take the time to notice the good things - the student who wished me good luck on the Praxis test this week, the fact that I have such a good relationship with my administrators, the TED Talk parody one of my students wrote - I feel more like I want to go back to school tomorrow and take on the world. I am kinder to students, I plan better lessons, and I am more willing to help other teachers.
See? I know how important it is to be a marigold! But it's so easy to get sucked into the walnut tree mentality. What do you do to stay positive as a teacher, and to help other teachers stay positive as well?