(Essay Number 343) I gave my first test in Intermediate Accounting II (a genuinely hard course) a few weeks ago and had 18 percent A’s, 46 percent B’s, and 36 percent other grades. Pretty normal for a first test, but I genuinely wanted every student (even the A students) to start making improvements. So, I sent the students the following email to encourage them to change their inner stories. I think many of us hold ourselves back simply by the stories we tell ourselves. (Can you verbalize one story you are telling yourself at this time in your life that is holding you back from the success you want?)
**I am a person who loves quotes. One of my very favorites comes from the book "Wild" by Cheryl Strayed.
“Fear, to a great extent, is born of a story we tell ourselves, and so I chose to tell myself a different story.”
When it comes to the work required in this course, absolutely everyone tells themselves stories and those stories are often negative and hold you back. Now that we have finished our first test, it would be a good time to assess the stories you have been telling yourself.
“I’m just not smart enough to do well in this course.”
“I don’t do well in classes where the teacher cold calls on students.”
“I’m never going to make an A so why should I try.”
“I always make stupid mistakes.”
“I’m not a good test taker.”
“I don’t have the discipline to be well prepared for class.”
“The other students are just better at this than I am.”
“I must be the dumbest person in class.”
“I didn’t do very well in Intermediate I so I’m never going to do well in Intermediate II.”
I hear those stories all the time and they are nonsense. Nothing in your DNA says that you cannot do well in this course. Yeah, the course requires work, and I want you to read the questions carefully and think about what they are saying, but none of this is outside of your abilities. Change the stories you are telling yourself and you’ve taken the first step toward a better grade.
“This stuff is actually interesting and the class is almost fun. I never thought I would say this but I’m enjoying it.”
“Now that we’ve been together for a month, I am beginning to see what the professor really wants from us.”
“Perfection is not the goal. I just need to improve.”
“I am going to prepare better and that will make my learning in class more effective.”
“I do understand that this class must be a real priority for me and it will be from now on.”
“I won’t let anyone outwork me in this class.”
We are all human. We tend to focus on what we think are our weaknesses. Change the story you are telling yourself and you’ll change your life. As far as I’m concerned, the only story that is relevant is that you want to do better and you are willing to do the work to make that happen.
"Sometimes I
think that we, as teachers, are so eager to get to the answers that we do not
devote sufficient time to developing the question."
