The other day, in a moment of pure frustration, I made the comment, “I sometimes wish I didn’t care so much.”

The danger in caring too much is the temptation to expect perfection.  I truly hope to make everyone happy . . . I strive to solve every problem and bring order to every situation.  My sensible side, the thoughtful portion of my brain understands that it is impossible to make everyone happy.  The emotional side of my brain says, “The only way to even get close is to try.”

Life would be simple if we lived with simple right and wrong; if we faced black and white decisions.  Our reality is we are consistently faced with difficult decisions, competing interests, and high emotion.

As educators, we care for each and every student we serve.  Our reality is a world of limited resource – a world of choices and decisions.  We do our best . . . We care!  There are times decisions aren’t fair; there are times decisions hurt.

While in that moment, it would be easy not to care so much . . . not caring would make us less than our best.  The desire we have to be elite . . . the effort, passion, and dedication, pushes us to make the best decisions possible in difficult situations.