I know. I know. The title is cliche. We all know being positive changes things. Sheesh, Carol Dweck has sold millions of copies of her book Growth Mindset, and it's all about the difference it can make in your life when you choose to believe in the ability to grow and improve. (By the way, it is a fabulous book you should add to your list).
So if we all know that positivity is so powerful, why is it so stinking difficult to be positive? Why have we created an atmosphere that breeds and feeds on negativity? It doesn't feel good to be negative. It doesn't feel good to live in a place where nothing goes well and there's a problem with everything. But as teachers, it's a place where I see so many people dwelling.
Several times a year, my husband comes up to school and eats lunch with me in the teacher's lounge. And the one comment he makes every time is about how teachers have to be some of the most negative people in the world. But that's not true, is it? We wouldn't come to work every day wanting to inspire children and change the world if our hearts were those of negative people. We would never tell a parent that their child just couldn't improve. We would never tell a kid to just give up.
So why is that the attitude we show one another?
We've all had those students who think the world is out to get them.
"That girl's looking at me."
"He touched my pencil."
"My paper has a wrinkle."
It's exhausting. It's exhausting living in a world that's out to get you. It's exhausting believing that every new initiative is just "one more thing" and that administration "just doesn't get it."
So what if we didn't? What if we gave each other a little bit of grace and said, "I believe they're doing their best." "I believe this could help my students." "I believe we all want what's best for our kids."
What if we operated from a mindset of growth and possibility? From a vantage point of unlimited potential and boundless possibilities? Wouldn't that feel better?
I'm willing to try it.
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