This message is dedicated to all the amazing educators who attended the NJ TECHSPO conference in Atlantic City in January 2025! Thank you to Dr. Richard Bozza, Exec. Dir. of NJASA, Mary Capasso, & Superintendent Glenn Robbins for having me to this awesome event.
It’s 6 AM in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Most people who visit Atlantic City are sleeping at that time, or still playing at the casino tables! But there were a few people in the weight room working out on the last day of the conference.
I got going with my routine, using the elliptical, and then doing some free weights. I was on the elliptical moving pretty well when I noticed two people start their workouts in front of me. One was on the spin cycle, the other was on the treadmill.
After a few minutes of warming up, they got moving. They both took off: the person on the treadmill was moving at a great pace, and the spin cycle person was standing up and pumping the pedals and moving. Both were clearly listening to music and were energized. The woman on the treadmill actually started raising her hands and shaking them as if she was at a concert!
They were moving! And you know what happened? I started moving faster. I started to become more energized because I saw them. I thought I was moving pretty good, but I said to myself I need to pick it up and get a better workout in! And that’s exactly what happened. I moved faster and was pedaling faster. It was awesome. They transferred their energy to me.
Without even trying, I was more energized, just by being around them.
I learned two points from this experience:
#1. You never know who’s watching you and how you can positively impact them. As public educators and leaders, there are eyes on us all the time: when we’re driving in our car, when we’re at the grocery store, on social media, and more. You never know who’s watching!
#2. Energy is transferable. These two people had no idea I was watching them, but their actions transferred positive energy to me. It’s called Shaktipat: the transferring of positive energy from one person to another.
It happens all the time in our interactions with others; as in this example, it could happen without even interacting. Just being around somebody else, there can be a transfer of positive energy.
Understand that when we do our work in schools or our own businesses, it’s important to show up for people with a good attitude. It’s a choice how we show up and to bring positive energy. Maybe those people working out that morning in January in Atlantic City went out the night before AND still chose to get up and work out and bring the energy!!! I’ll never know, but I know that they helped me have a better workout and reflect on bringing more positive energy to others.
Thanks, friends. Keep surviving and thriving.
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