I’m relistening to the audiobook version of Seth Godin’s The Dip, which explores the point at which one should quit versus sticking it out. He mentions the idea of the cul-de-sac as the spot that you can get stuck.
Now, I’ve never lived on a cul-de-sac, but I’ve known others that have. Living on a cul-de-sac can be an amazing experience if, of course, you have amazing neighbors. They can look out for you, help you, and provide major benefits to living in a relatively shared space. A cul-de-sac can also prove to be a hellish experience if you move in and realize you have bad neighbors. They can make the experience pretty miserable, causing problems, making you anxious, and ruining your daily life in the seemingly shrinking space.
Thinking about the cul-de-sac made me think about our roles and careers in education. You may end up in a cul-de-sac as an educator. You might get stuck in a situation, maybe on a particular grade level team, maybe in a department, or working on a specific team. Your success and growth is going to depend on whether you end up with those amazing neighbors or those bad neighbors. You might get stuck in a situation where you are working with amazing colleagues who help to make you better every day. Or you may end up truly stuck with toxic colleagues who make it downright difficult to approach your job successfully each day.
The key as an educator is recognizing your cul-de-sac. You need to figure out if it is a positive or negative place to be stuck. You want to avoid those situations where colleagues are constantly bringing negative energy to the table. If you find yourself stuck in a negative cul-de-sac, you need to think clearly about whether you still want to “live” there. In fact, there are only two ways to escape the negative cul-de-sac. You either have to move out and find a new cul-de-sac, or you have to count on those bad neighbors moving out, leaving you there.
You are only in control of one of those solutions. Recognize your cul-de-sac. If it’s not a positive situation, you may need to find another.
Rich
