ANYWAY

by: Chip Baker
Assistant Football Coach, Conroe High School (TX)
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In our profession as educators (teachers-coaches) we come in contact with many different people from many walks of life. Some of them are good for us, and we learn good things from them. Some of them may be bad for us, meaning that they have ulterior motives. We can also learn what not to do from those people. What we have to always remember is that we must always strive to do the right thing, regardless of what others feel about the decisions we make. In this profession there will always be someone unhappy with the decisions we make. At the end of the day, we must be able to look ourselves in the mirror and know that we have made the best decisions to benefit kids. We do not do what we do to receive accolades and praise. We do it because it feels good to see a child improve something that he or she has worked so hard on. It feels good to see a child reach the goals that they have set for themselves and their teammates. It feels good to know that you have made a positive influence on a child’s life. Not only does positively influencing a child’s life help the child, it also gives meaning to our lives as educators.

This brings me to why I wrote this article. Over our break I had a little time on my hands, so I went to Barnes and Noble to just look around. Occasionally, I go in there and look at the bargain books being that I live on a teacher/coach’s salary. I came across this book that was marked down to two dollars. What I did not know was that this book would end up being worth a million bucks to me. Once I got home I started reading the book and could not put it down. I read the entire 120 page book that night. The title of the book is "Anyway- The Paradoxical Commandments" by Kent M. Keith. There were ten paradoxical commandments, and I would like to share them with you.

1. People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. Love them anyway!

2. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Do good anyway!

3. If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway!

4. The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway!

5. Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway!

6. The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds. Think big anyway!

7. People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs. Fight for a few underdogs anyway!

8. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway!

9. People really need help but may attack you if you help them. Help people anyway!

10. Give the world the best you have, and you’ll get kicked in the teeth. Give the best you have anyway!

This book hit the nail on the head about so many situations or encounters we may face. Regardless of what others may try to do to knock us down, we still must do the right thing for kids. The kids do not forget all the values we have instilled in them. Our day-to-day tasks can be challenging, but we can make a difference by doing the right thing anyway! I hope that this may help you in some way in your personal pursuit to positively influencing a child’s life.

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