Beyond What-Is by Chick Moorman
Looking at what-is in your classroom appears at first glance to be a healthy way to view your students and your classroom situation. After all, what-is is what is, and to deny that or pretend it does not exist seems similar to having your head planted firmly in the sand.
But hold on. What if focusing on what-is only serves to keep you firmly grounded in what-is ? What if paying attention to what-is creates an anchor that keeps you rooted in that place? What if that view prevents you from moving beyond what-is to the place you would like to be? What if what you focus on is only attracting more of the same into your life and the lives of your students?
If you continue to put your attention on what-is, you will only create more of what-is . The thoughts you think, the feelings you feel, and the attention you give to what-is will attract more of that into your life. That holds true for your relationship with your administrator, the behaviors you get from students, and the attitude you bring to your professional practice.
In order to attract something different or something more than what-is , you must direct your thoughts and your emotion beyond what-is to something different. This year, why not deliberately direct your thoughts to what you really want? Thoughts come and thoughts go. Let the unhelpful ones go. Focus on those that help you attract what you want. Concentrate on the ones that help you create positive emotions about your students, your classroom, and yourself.
Use the what-is you are presently seeing to decide what it is you do want. Then concentrate on that.
The process is simple.
- Decide what you want.
- Focus on it.
- Feel the positive emotion.
- Expect it.
- See it as already completed.
Create an emotional vision of what you desire in your classroom. See the end product in your mind. Feel it. Think about it. Talk about it. Act as if it already exists. Expect it with strong emotion.