Unbox your Christmas present
On my last post, I asked you what your Christmas present was going to be. What was it that you have chosen to give to your future you? What is it that you have done that will make your future self thank your present self? Regardless of what you’ve chosen for yourself, I believe you’ve done a great choice! The question that I ask you now is: have you already unboxed your present?
It’s surprising to see how often we’re given presents and forget to open them. IT might be because we don’t know what is inside, or it might be exactly because we believe we already know what’s underneath that wrapping paper. You see, having an idea and not implementing it, is pretty much the same thing as having a present, but never unwrapping it. It’s just going to occupy space that could be better used by something else. It’ll bother you every time you look at it.
So, you see, it’s not just about the present you’ve chosen for yourself. It’s about the conscious decision that you sometimes make to leave that present there, lingering on in your living room, perhaps being used as anything else, like a made-up table to put on all those magazines you don’t read anymore, but never fulfilling its destiny. If you’ve chosen a present for yourself, just open it already.
Play with the present you’ve chosen, explore all the possibilities it offers. You’ll find out that there are other people playing with the same present you’ve chosen, and you’ll end up meeting. You’ll discover that there are many other possibilities when you and your new friends share your presents and see that it can actually become something bigger.
You see, your present is an idea waiting to be put in practice until you start using it. When we’re young, we sometimes fear playing with our toys, or sharing it with our friends because we’re afraid we’re going to break it. It is only when we start playing with it, inviting our friends to play with us, that we can see it for ourselves if that toy is actually something we like or not, and move on accordingly.
If you’ve done what I asked you on my last post, don’t let your Christmas present be the next expensive china in your house that you claim you will only use with very special people and on very special occasions. These things are everyone we meet and every day we have a chance to be together. Celebrate the toys life has given you and, most importantly, the ones you have chosen yourself. Make 2018 the year you’re going to see things through, and not see through things. Don’t just linger on; make it happen!
Henrick Oprea
Henrick Oprea has been working in ELT since 1997. He's got a post-graduation degree from the University of Birmingham. He is the current president of BRAZ-TESOL. He currently works as a freelancer teacher trainer and educator. He believes that teachers are the ones who make the difference in any classroom, and this is why he is keen on sharing. He blogs about education and ELT at https://hoprea.wordpress.com, and you can also find him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. He's also a dad!
