I want to be the President of the United States!
Well, not exactly, but I want to be like our current president, Barack Obama: Calm under pressure. Smooth in transition. Poised for whatever comes my way. 
“How is it that you can always stay so calm?”
A colleague asked me this directly after learning that I would be reassigned to another position at work.
I replied, “When you’ve seen and been through as many things as I have, what’s there to get bent outta shape about?”
A person who has experienced all kinds of storms, heartaches, and trials in life, eventually discovers that each disaster makes them become poised for the next. Now, I’m not a sanctified, church-going (every time the doors are open) woman, but I do believe in God and Jesus Christ. Because of my relationship with the Father, I am able to say when things don’t go my way, “I know HE is in control.” That’s poise. For me, poise is knowing that things could always be worse. It’s knowing that no matter what, HE won’t let me go without the necessities. Most importantly, it’s knowing that HE often closes some doors only to open others.
I’ve experienced some recent changes professionally that will likely bring the tech part of my blog to a halt. Admittedly, most of my page views come from the Personal Growth section. Whereas some others who face similar changes may become stressed (and understandably so), I’ve got to keep moving, I’ve got to keep blogging, I’ve got to keep using my God-given talents to glorify HIM. I can never allow social status, my sorority, or profession to define me. I’ll always be Joan…who also happens to be a Delta and a basketball coach….who happens to be tech savvy and a photographer…and who happens to be a teacher. After all, I am a mother and a child of God first.
I have to practice what I preach, maintain a Growth Mindset, and refrain from pondering endlessly on Who Moved My Cheese. Meaning, I ask myself, “Self, how can you take this situation and turn it into a winner?” So often we tend to wallow in defeat, not realizing that it’s only change.
My advice to all, is be YOU, not your title or your affiliations. Dr. Seuss said it best: “No one is better at being you, than you.” So there are likely better coaches, teachers and technologists out there. But I’m absolutely the BEST Joan Sharpe McCullough around. If your cheese has been moved, find some new cheese. The other cheese was probably growing mold anyway.
Keep “O-Calma” and watch “No Drama” Obama below!
Here’s a piece on Barack “O-Calma” from thepeoplestherapist. Good reading. Good therapy.
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