As a little boy, I loved tromping in the stream at the end of my street, especially when it overflowed the banks. I also loved swimming in lakes and canoeing in big whitewater. As an adult, one of my favorite adventures was going down the Grand Canyon in wooden dories. It was a trip of a lifetime!
I am now being pulled by a stronger current — my newest adventure. I have officially retired from Dovetail. The river of my life is deep and more unknown than ever, and I have jumped in with both feet. The current that pulls me includes furthering our resilience work, creating advanced trainings, executive coaching, and public speaking. This work is in its infancy, and I’m excited to see how far it will go.
Our Resilient Mindsets are serving me well. I am more curious, have more choices, and draw on more courage (with a bigger heart) than ever. I LOVE life!
Serving others through Dovetail has been one of the great joys of my life. My contributions over 16 years with Dovetail started as a founding Director (writing curriculum and developing training), and continued as Managing Director, Executive Director, and Director of Transformational Learning (my favorite yet). Being a contributing author to both TOOLBOX™ (our K-6 SEL program) and We Are Resilient™—our adult human development approach—has been a privilege and an honor. I am looking forward to serving as a senior consultant for Dovetail Learning and our partners, as the work we created continues to inspire me.
Noticing Myself is now my favorite Centering Skill. Instead of running whitewater, I am contemplating the stillness of my inner waters. As Michael Meade reminds us,
We can’t let the outer world ruin our inner world.
Knowing how to center ourselves may be the most important life skill. It is for me. My life journey included difficult childhood trauma and adult stress. It all took a great toll on my body, through autoimmune dysfunction, a heart attack, and countless sleepless nights caused by stress. Psychoneuroimmunology teaches me that my thoughts caused most of it. So I now pay attention to my inner self-talk. ANY kind of negativity triggers neurological and biological distress. Noticing is nothing less than conscious awareness. Noticing matters! It truly is this gift of being human.
Are you Noticing your self-talk and its impact on you?
In resilience,
~ Dr. Chuck Fisher