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Often I encourage my students to ‘take a risk’ or to not be afraid to make a mistake. FAILure is another way of saying ’embrace possibility’! So…why is it that putting an action plan into action feels so scary?
I realized that I was playing “What if = bad” instead of “What if = good”. My students do this all the time and it drives me to distraction. “What if I fail this quiz? I won’t get a good mark. I won’t get into ____ university. I won’t get a good job. I will fail at life. My parents will kill me.” Funny thing…I caught myself doing too. “What if my plan sucks? What if nobody wants to do it? What if it doesn’t work? Garth and Justin will kill me.” I sound just like the kids I’m hoping to encourage to take risks!
So, now I am reflecting on my habit of mind and putting myself in their shoes, but I’m playing, “What if = good”. “What if my plan rocks? What if it revolutionizes teaching? What if the impact is real? What if students get something profound?”
I’m taking the risk and putting the plan into action 🙂