Dear Educator,

Who do you want to be when you grow up? How close are you in thought and action to that theoretical person? If you are anything like most people, you don’t just recognize the difference between who you are and who you aspire to be, you feel it deeply. After all, how many among us are so fortunate to be the astronaut doctors from their childhood imagination?

We all have moments when we feel like we’re not living up to our potential. Maybe it’s a bad day in the classroom, a difficult conversation with a student, or a moment of self-doubt. These moments can leave us frustrated and make it hard to see a path forward. But there is, always, a path forward.

“Picture in your mind the able, earnest, useful person you desire to be, and the thought you hold is hourly transforming you into that particular individual you so admire.”

– Elbert Hubbard

The thoughts we hold about ourselves and our abilities have a profound impact on our lives. If we focus on the person we want to be, the qualities we want to embody, and the impact we want to have, we can begin to transform ourselves in those directions. Thought will translate to action, action into habit, and habit into profound change.

Make it a great day, dear educator, and remember to emulate that which you admire.