Make your point, share your reasoning, and move on. Don’t spend time arguing with people that don’t listen. It’s like shouting at the wind.
I never expect everyone to agree with me. In fact, I thrive on being asked tough questions, challenging my current thinking, and seeking to improve my performance. Being challenged, embracing for the productive discomfort of self-reflection, and having an idea evolve are some of the great joys of working with really smart people. We have a wonderful team and an amazing community . . . no idea is above reproach. There isn’t a decision or process in our district that can’t be improved.
Keeping this in mind . . . we do deal with some people that simply refuse to listen. We deal with some people in our professional – and personal – lives that seem to renounce the use of reason. There are some individuals who refuse to press pause; we interact with some individuals who are uninterested in opposing viewpoints. These folks simply use emotion and repetition to repel any new viewpoints. 
When we encounter people that seem to be unwavering in their beliefs – and unwilling to listen to any reason – we must simply move on. Arguing with a wall – shouting at the wind – is a waste of time. We have too many important tasks, our time is too valuable, to try to stem the tide of people unwilling to listen.
As Thomas Paine reminds us, “To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead.”

Surround yourself with positive people; put yourself in positive situations. Your associations directly contribute to your mindset.
Have you ever noticed that if you spend too much time with negative people that you start to become negative?
Is there a person that is in your life that you can count on to be negative? Is there someone who always has a negative thing to say? Is there someone who is a complainer?
Social media has created a forum for negativism and complaining. There are groups and places specifically engineered for negativism and contempt. Don’t fall into this trap.
When you spend time with positive, optimistic people your own attitude shifts towards a more positive, optimistic mindset. Purposefully think about the locations – both physical and electronic – that you spend time. Associate with the type of people, in the places, that support your aspirations and goals. 
Like Mark Twain reminds us, “Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.”

Nothing destroys trust faster than making and breaking a promise. Conversely, nothing builds trust faster than keeping a promise. – Stephen Covey
People remember what you do, not what you say. Before you make a promise, before you commit to action, make sure you are prepared to see it through. The cost of breaking a promise is too great to make weak commitments. You have the power to be true to your word.
In order to honor your promises, make sure that you have the right mindset and are ready to step-up when you speak. Don’t make promises out of emotion or on autopilot; be intentional and steadfast to your convictions.

The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities. – Stephen Covey
Our lives have become too busy, too hectic to fail in setting priorities. It is essential that we take control of our daily schedules; it is imperative that our values drive where we spend our time.
Before you take a look at the calendar, take a moment to get your mind right. What is important to you? What do you value? Now . . . act with purpose. Make time for what’s important and valued; don’t permit unimportant events to monopolize your calendar.

“Setbacks are inevitable; misery is a choice.”   – Stephen Covey

We live, and work, in a complex world.  Our lives are marked by continued events . . . events that require us to respond.  We strive to respond with a discipline-driven, above the line response.

We encounter a myriad of opportunities to interact with other people.  Each encounter, each conversation with others is an interface of interconnected responses.  My response creates an event for others . . . and it goes on and on.

We face inevitable setbacks and challenges each and every day.  We connect with individuals that may not share our values; we communicate with others that are default-driven.  We deal with people who live their lives below the line.  We face setbacks; we live with broken relationships and untrustworthy people.

It is easy . . . it can be a default mindset . . . to be miserable.  As Covey reminds us, “misery is a choice.”  You can respond by dwelling on the broken, by obsessing on the negative.  Or, you can respond by pulling yourself away from the dark and into the light.  Yes, there are times and people when your best response, when the best available “R”, is to simply walk away.

“The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.” – Samuel Johnson

Building trust . . . being true to our inner-core . . . servant leadership . . . habitual kindness . . . we must be discipline in how we live our lives.

Our habits are what we repeatedly do; they are the what we consistently do.  We must be discipline in our actions; we must be consistent in our behavior.

Our values don’t waiver; our values aren’t situational.  Our values – how we act – must be consistent, discipline-driven and intentional.  From a mid-summer conversation with a neighbor to a deep, philosophical discussion with a friend, from a meeting with an angry parent to a debate with an energetic student, our treatment of others must be consistent and rooted in our values.

Consistency and character require discipline-driven decisions and support.  We must be true to ourselves and balanced in our behavior.  During these summer months, during a time when we have the opportunity for relaxation and reflection, take the time to develop your stress-management-strategies.  How will you stay discipline during high stress moments?  Who are your guideposts on the journey?  What are your guardrails when things start going too fast?

Now is the time . . . the time to make plans for times you don’t have time to think.  Now is the time to find your guideposts, practice your discipline, and secure those guardrails.

“Plans are worthless, but planning is invaluable.” – Peter Drucker

Wow . . . for those of you who know me this really hits home.  I am a planner; I honestly love the act of planning, of preparing, and of strategizing.  I love planning everything from my day to my vacation.

I am that guy . . . the father and husband who is planning our next vacation before we are even on the interstate leaving the current trip.  The immediate reflection, vision for the future, and planning to make the next vacation even better . . . planning is invaluable.

I love to plan because I love to think, formulate and create the future.  The process of planning – the thinking that is involved – is invaluable.  The creation of a good plan, from the individual details to the tick-tock of the schedule, is where imagination and reality come together.  Planning is shaping the future.

At work planning is much the same way . . . taking our creative energy to strategize about a better tomorrow is invaluable.  Taking the time to dream, the time to picture our vision for the future in our mind’s eye is essential in our pursuit of elite service to our students.  Our growth mindset is the foundation – our plans and dreams are guideposts on our journey.

“Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

What is most important to you?

Think about it . . . say it to yourself.

Now . . . make a commitment to keep what is most important to you most important.

At work, what is the most important aspect of your work?   Simply stated, keep it most important.

Too often we allow the minutia of our day-to-day world distract us from our focus.  Too often we become default-driven . . . too often we lose discipline and fall into the Facebook, BCD, instant gratification world.

Living a discipline-driven life, living a life worthy of our goals and expectations, requires us to keep what matters most front and center.

What is your foundation?  What is at your inner-core?  Take the time to reflect, to define how you want to live your life . . . and then keep it front and center.

In his 2008 book, The Adventures of Johnny Bunko, best-selling author Daniel Pink defines “Flow” as, “the mental state of operation in which the person is fully immersed in what he or she is doing, characterized by a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity.”

You know – you remember – the times you have reached a positive state of flow in your professional work.  There are the times when your heart, your mind, and your soul are all in alignment.   It is when your work comes with ease . . . when the difficult seems simple . . . when there is joy in the journey.

My personal challenge is making the time, eliminating the distractions, to do the important work.  Too often I permit interruptions, I am undisciplined in my approach, and I break my own flow.  I allow that “ping” from an email, or “alert” from a text message to break my full immersion in an activity.  I become less productive – trying to be more productive.

As I personally and professionally commit to be more discipline-driven, I must embrace my own productive discomfort.  I must be discipline with my time . . . I must intentionally focus the energy of full immersion in my work.  I must silence the noise, engage in the process, and trust in the team.

We have amazing, talented, dedicated peers on our team . . . we build trust, relationships, and capacity.  Our trust . . . our belief in the team . . . permits us to focus on our work, to commit to the process.

How can you silence the noise, immerse yourself in the work, and commit to finding your state of flow?

Don’t let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace.  – Dalia Lama

In the 1996 movie Happy Gilmore, staring Adam Sandler, one of the techniques employed by Happy’s coach Chubbs was for Happy to find his “happy place.”  You know the place . . . it is where you go in your mind’s eye to relax . . . to escape.  It is that place that makes all of your day-to-day struggles, all of those little events, drift away like fading memories.

Your happy place may be a vacation destination . . . it may be a specific event or time.

Your happy place may be spiritual . . . it may be isolated.  Your happy place may be with others or it may be quiet and alone.  For you . . . the place that you are most at peace is personal.

The more I experience life, the more I search for prolonged times of inner peace.  I encounter individuals who bring peace to my life.  You know these people in your life . . . the ones who bring you back to center . . . the people that make you a better you.  I also encounter what Jon Gordon refers to as “energy vampires.”  These people – and their behavior – pull me from my inner peace.  These people pull me below the line, they challenge my ability to stay purposeful and discipline.

One of my goals during a summer of productive reflection is to be more discipline when dealing with energy vampires.  In my inner core . . . in my heart of hearts and soul of souls . . . I am confident in my purpose.  I have strong faith in the work that we do every day.  We can’t let the negativity of our outside world . . . we can’t let negativism of social media or the vitriolic tone of national politics destroy our inner peace.  We must be strong . . . we must rise above and stay above the line.