Summary: Last Sunday my family and I were watching the Winter Olympics when the men’s 30km Skiathlon began.<br><br> As the race started, Norway’s Simen Krueger fell. Snow was flying all around him as two other skiers and he crumbled into one another. As the other racers left them behind, Simen scrambled back on his feet. His pole was broken, and he was in last place.<br> But Krueger was not finished. He replaced his pole and began a cadence that helped him advance toward the other racers. Over the next hour, he passed 63 other skiers to push his way to the front of the race. 1 hour, 16 minutes, and 20 seconds later, he crossed the finish line, raising his hands in the air and beaming with joy and relief. He had won the gold.<br> When <a href="https://www.inc.com/minda-zetlin/in-2-words-skiathlete-simen-krueger-explains-how-he-literally-fell-on-his-face-but-won-gold-anyway.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Inc.com interviewed Krueger</a> later, he was asked what was going through his mind after his fall. He said: “I thought it was going to be the worst day of my life with the start I had, when I was lying on the ground with a broken pole and a ski through my bib number.” He continued, “I was completely last in the group so I had to start the race again and switch focus to catch up with the guys.”<br> Krueger had to “switch focus”<br> I don’t know what kind of day or week you’re having. You may be experiencing lots of wins or you may feel like you’ve had the wind knocked out of you. It is safe to say those around you are experiencing a mix of ups and downs too. Whatever season you’re in, you will inevitably hit times that are harder than others. And when you do, it’s important that you know how to switch your focus.<br> Let me give you some examples:<br> Recently, I spent the day at my state capitol advocating for a bill that would provide teachers with a much-needed pay raise. Lawmakers had been convened in a special session to address a state budget shortfall from the previous year. Oklahoma has had almost of a decade of declining funding for public schools. Hundreds of teachers and educators had come to rally around a proposed bill and Representatives were meeting to debate.<br> At the end of the day, the proposal fell short of the votes it needed. It was a long and disappointing day for the educators who had come to voice their concerns. On my way home from the capitol, one of my former teachers sent me a text that said, “So we didn’t the raise?” That text said it all. <br> I know this teacher, like thousands of others across our state, feels unappreciated and disrespected by a state government that is failing to adequately fund its schools. As I went to bed that night, I couldn’t think of anything encouraging to say. I was angry, disappointed and discouraged.<br> The next morning, I was thinking back to other times when I’ve felt emotionally knocked down. And then I thought of Simen Krueger. Could I decide to shift my focus?<br> I thought back to one day as principal when I felt knocked down. I had ended a school day with a phone call from an angry parent. She was upset with a decision some teachers had made for a club her son attended. As I listened and tried to give her feedback, she kept blaming the teachers for her son’s predicament. And I knew she had not heard both sides of the story. I asked her to please give these teachers the benefit of the doubt until she had the opportunity to talk to them directly about her child’s experience and concerns.<br> “Oh, that’s so cute,” she said sarcastically. “Give them the benefit of the doubt? I don’t think so, Mr. Parker.” Sadly, the conversation went downhill from there. It ended when I told her we would simply have to agree to disagree till she had spoken to the teachers directly. <br> A week or so later, I saw this same parent at a school assembly. She apologized. As I expected, when she spoke to the teachers and heard their side ...
