“Changing the story…”

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Shared by Breanne Smedley

Today marks the end of the first semester at CRHS. On the last day of the semester, I like to give a survey to my students.

The questions include things like:

-What did you like the most about the course

-What did you like the least

-What would you change/what would you keep the same

And then it gets personal:

-On a scale of 1 to 10, how effective am I as a teacher for you?

And…

-What can I do to become a 10 for you?

I ask my students to be honest. I truly want to improve as a teacher for them, and if there are areas where I am not meeting their needs, I want to know.

Of course, I was happy to get some of these responses:

“Your teaching style is great! I can’t wait to return next semester!”

“I think you’re a great teacher, and understand people are at different fitness levels and make lesson plans for that. You do a great job already”

And I had some that were really hard to hear:

“I dislike the motors the class goes by. I’m only in the class to make myself proud and to get my good grade so I don’t appreciate being pushed forward when I decide to stop doing something.”

“I am really bad at doing the absolute best I can, and that can’t really be changed because it’s just a mindset I have.”

When I get feedback like this, my first response is to get defensive.

I try to think of all the times that I can discount that student’s response.

Don’t appreciate being pushed? I’m only helping you achieve your goals of “making yourself proud” and “to get your good grade”!

The last one was a kicker. Can’t change your mindset? That’s ridiculous, of course, you can change your mindset!

But, that last one got me thinking.

A few months ago, when Kristina and I joined ImpactClub and began sharing stories, we set out to build the vision and foundation of Mindfluent Leadership, while impacting our community.

I’ve found that sharing stories has done much more than that.

It’s transforming my mindset.

Because a few months ago, I had similar thoughts as my students. I now know them as limiting beliefs.

“Challenges don’t make me better, they frustrate me.”

“I can’t push myself. Once it gets hard, I stop.”

But that’s not who I wanted to be. So, I am rewriting the story for myself.

And story by story, my mindset has changed.

Stories of being a problem solver in the face of challenges. Rather than complaining.

Stories of pushing through the final reps of a workout. Rather than giving up.

Stories of choosing to find the good. Rather than focus on the bad.

I’ve come to find that I am the author of my own story. I get to decide what Breanne does, and what Breanne doesn’t do.

I’ve learned that you can change your mindset. It changes when you tell yourself a different story than the one you’ve been believing all these years.

It starts in the mind. Everything else will follow.

Now, it’s my challenge to share with my students how they can do the same.

 

#MindfullyEvolving

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