It's Not Worth Dying Over

I recently read in my local newspaper that 2 prominent bloggers had died of heart attacks. These fatalities were attributed to their nonstop blogging activity. This brings to mind a medical event that happened to me when I first became a Principal.


I was the newly anointed Principal of a very large, failing inner city high school. The school was violent, in a poor state of repair, with high absence rates for both students and staff, and a very low graduation rate. The Superintendent expected me to turn the place around and I was determined to be successful. For months I put in 12 - 15 hour days and even when I was at home I was thinking about the school. Not uncommon for a type - A personality who couldn't get things done fast enough.


After 5 months of this self imposed pressure I ended up in the hospital with a bleeding ulcer. I was 44 years old at the time and thought I was invincible. I had exercised 4 - 5 times each week, never smoked, drank in moderation and was at an ideal weight. In fact, I had never been a patient in a hospital before! During the 3 days that I lay in that hospital bed I tried to put my professional life in perspective. I wasn't going to change things at my school overnight. It had taken years for the school to get into its current condition and it would probably take years for my new initiatives and programs to make a difference. During an unexpected visit by my superintendent, she reminded me of all the progress I had already made in a relatively short period of time.


After one week I was allowed to return to work, but I did so with a slightly different outlook. I was still going to turn my school around. More students were going to graduate and go on to college. The broken plumbing and leaking windows would still be replaced. What changed for me was the way I was going to approach my job. I tried to limit the number of extended work days. I left the building for lunch everyday even if it was only to walk around the school track once. When I was home I tried to leave my job responsibilities behind and enjoy the company of my family. I also accepted the fact that things were not going to improve at my school overnight.


I've been able to maintain this philosophy for 13 years now. By all accounts I've been a very successful Principal who has supervised very successful schools. I've never experienced another job related medical situation and I remain in excellent health. We all want to excel in our profession whatever that might be. But however you choose to measure your professional success, it's not worth dying over.