The first four chapters of The Art of Possibility by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander have been great. It is a similar message to some others books I have read recently that have changed the way I live my life. The Art of Possibility talks about how changing the way we view things can change the outcome of a situation. The story of the two marketing reps who visit the same region in Africa and send back very different interpretations of the situation illustrates this point well. The message we give ourselves determines how situations will play out.
The game mentioned in the book connecting the 9 dots with four straight lines is an exercise I do with my students. Each semester it is amazing to see how many students try to stay within the dots even though this is not part of the instructions. This puzzle is simple to solve once you have seen it done and is a great reminder of how we box ourselves in with our perception of how things need to be rather than opening ourselves up to all possibilities.
After reading Rosamund's story about her experience in the boat it reminded me of how being specific out messages we give ourselves has an impact on the outcome. In the last four years I have made a conscious effort to pay attention to my thoughts and the negative messages I give myself. I have learned that turning my self talk from negative to positive really does make a difference. I am not sure how it works, I just know it does. One example of this from my life was my daughter's graduation party. I don't have a lot of experience throwing large parties. I have hosted lots of family gatherings but I had never had a large party like my daughter's open house at my home. I told my self that this party was going to be excellent and I would not allow myself to think otherwise. I kept saying over and over that this would be a great party and everything would fall into place. The day before the party two of my sister-in-laws just showed up at my house to help me do clean. The day of the party my neighbor came over to help me with last minute preparation. I had not asked any of these people for help. When my grocery store was out of the potatoes I needed for a large casserole I was going to make I went home rather that run all over town trying to find the potatoes. A few hours later a friend called to say she had two catering trays of leftover potatoes from her daughter's party and offered them for my party the next day. I don't know how things work out when we think positively. I just know they do.
Chapter 4 on Being a Contribution gave me an idea for my classes next year. I teach at an alternative high school where all of our students have not been successful in a traditional high school setting. I really like the idea of asking students to list how they have been a contribution. When you are a teenager who is not successful in school it affects your self image. I have found that while my students my struggle with school they are some of the most empathetic and caring people I have ever met. Talking about contributions they make in their live may be a way to reinforce the positive accomplishments they are making to the world.
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