This weekend I had to crank out a serious bike workout on my trainer to hit my goal weight for the week. During the ride I watched the movie Silver Lining Playbook which turned out to be an amazing movie that I was not the least bit expecting. It really made me mad I did not read the book first.
I digress. The ending of the movie is great. I am not giving away too many spoilers, but a bit of one that you would expect anyways in Hollywood movies. The final dance scene they score a 5.0/10.0 on their performance. Everyone is quiet and then the two main characters and family and friends go crazy with cheer. It is a magic scene for a variety of reasons. One dancing couple asks, “Why would they be happy with a 5.0?”
At this moment it hit me.
Don’t judge yourself by the work of others. Judge yourself by what you can achieve, your goals, and your dreams. If it is good enough for you, then that is what matters.
I am not saying that we settle for mediocrity. What I am suggesting is that you challenge yourself and work hard towards your goal or project and in the end the results will be what they are. You should be pushing yourself to new levels and learn to live with the results. If others do better or worse it should not matter.
Be satisfied with what you accomplish and realistically be satisfied with the process. Don’t just stop when you reach your finish line.
As the movie continues I learned another valuable lesson that related to education and life.
There are times when we just don’t know how to articulate our thoughts or ideas. It does not mean that we are not aware and don’t know, but we just don’t have the tools to be equipped to deliver the goods.
In life this can happen with expressing emotions, thoughts, ideas, or things that are bothering you. We know what it is, but we don’t know how to express it properly.
In the classroom the students hear and observe what you are doing as an educator. They know you care. They know what you are doing to be the best teacher, but they may never let you know. They don’t know how! How often do you hear from students later in life once they have realized and developed the tools/skills to let you know the impact you had on them? Give people time to catch up. They may not be where you want them to be RIGHT NOW, but give them time to get there.
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