This year, it took me two minutes to do my least favourite task of the new year; pulling down the festive tree. Was it quick because I had one of those cheap, tacky tinsel pop-up ones? Absolutely!
It was tough to farewell the old tree. With me since birth, it was a familiar friend full of childhood memories before being welcomed lovingly by my partner and daughters to our new home.
Over the last 51 years, something changed. It lost leaves and branches and as our girls grew, putting it up and down became a chore, symbolising something working against its purpose.
With bittersweet acceptance, I retired the tree last year.
This season we gathered, without compliance or complaint, to assemble the cheap and easy pop-up with laughter and fun, focused on the festive joy ahead. It stood proudly above the presents and watched over our beautiful family gatherings.
As we packed away the pop-up, I thanked the old tree for the memories and acknowledged the new tree for the lesson learned that sometimes the old ways are just no longer fit for purpose.
It made me think about how, in schools, we can hang on to traditions and processes because we have an emotional attachment, don’t like change, or, “We’ve always done it that way”. We often hold on to ways of working, that once mattered deeply, but now work quietly against us.
One of the ‘letting go’ joys I’ve had leading schools has been to make time for ‘keep, chuck, change or add’ sessions to encourage staff to identify new ways of working towards our shared goals. These opportunities facilitated greater innovation and efficiency by honouring the past and prioritising individual perspectives about purpose and impact.
Wouldn’t it be powerful if every school and system paused to ask these questions from time to time!
If our goal is to stick with worthwhile stuff, Annie Duke says, “The ability to quit well is at least as important a character trait as sticking to things’.
As much as I loved that tree, my family needed it gone. Our celebrations still happened with much joy – though now with one less source of unnecessary tension.
As this new year begins, what is one tradition, practice or process you’re ready to let go of to create more ease and joy?
