Welcoming New Students - our Springtime Comes Early at CW!

Welcome to our new evening and online students!  Spring comes early for us every year when we hold orientation and welcome students who start classes in the dark days of winter but bring Springtime and light into our halls and our online classroom, Moodle!  While all of our students are special, the ones who decide to start classes during the coldest part of the year really amaze me.  So many people just want to nest and hibernate until Springtime.



That's me talking to some of our new students - yes, it is evening and everyone
has already had a long day at work, and now they are starting class.  Aren't they amazing?

I have to applaud all of our students who continue to literally plow through the winter and attend classes, succeed and graduate.  As Spring begins, Commencement is not far away, the most wonderful time of the year for any college!  As our students graduate, we accomplish what we really want to do, help them self-actualize, clarify and realize some of their dreams.

The Third of The Four Agreements or When You Assume, You Make an Ass of You and Me

For those of us who are “Odd Couple” fans, we remember that famous Felix Unger line from the kangaroo court episode.  When you assume, you make an ass of you and me.

Sitting a session with a client recently, she asked me if I had read the book The Four Agreements, written by Don Miguel Ruiz, and published in January, 2001.  According to About.com, this is a wonderful book for stress management and personal growth.  http://stress.about.com/od/products/fr/fouragreementsf.htm

My client mentioned one of the four agreements, “don’t make assumptions”, which we discussed at length. 

A dear friend of my husband gifted him a copy years ago, and he devoured it.  I just never got around to absorbing it.  But it came up again this morning, specifically about assumptions.  Jumping to conclusions is such an easy thing to do.  As we navigate this higher education landscape of CW, I find it important to remind myself to give the benefit of the doubt.

How often do we make assumptions about others or about situations that are incorrect?  In this contemplative time of year, Spring and new beginnings, here are some pearls from The Four Agreements.

1. Be Impeccable with your Word: Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the Word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your Word in the direction of truth and love.

2. Don’t Take Anything Personally
Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.

3. Don’t Make Assumptions
Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.

4. Always Do Your Best
Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret.