There's an article called "10 Things Extraordinary People Say Every Day" over at Inc. The content was meant for use in the business world, but I can easily see this being carried over to everyday life. It's encouraging to hear that stepping forward and saying these little things will brighten someone else's day. In the long run, you're forming a habit of being selfless, mature, and positive; eventually, it will change your attitude to match.
It's hard to change peoples' nature and attitudes for the better. But, it is possible. In my point in life as a wee kiddle I don't exactly know how to catalyze that; what the right words or actions are. The only successful ways I've seen changes in attitudes happen are through drastic events, like the death of a loved one, a conversion in religion, the birth of a child. But is there some way to bring a change without such a drastic event? Constant motivational talk, perhaps? Setting up a good role model?
How can we teach people to think differently about themselves and other people for the better? How can we create positive attitudes, selflessness, and maturity?
I'm a teacher in Florida. I have puzzled over this process. I realized that I had to change how I taught (I visited a remarkable school in 2005 where I saw techniques that I wanted to use) and yet it took me two years go make the transition. ... then another two years to learn how to describe the change to other teachers... then another three years to put together quotes that might (like acid rain) slowly an gradually erode the traditional mode of thinking about school. The result is Dr. Fischler's collection of commentaries about quotes. THe ebook is free and available at TransformTeaching.org I look forward to your comments. I'm very happy to see that Proud is turning into a blogster with heart. Her observations about "how do we make changes" is useful: How, indeed, can I inspire colleagues to take the road I've taken? It's lonely as a "transformed ex-teacher" and I want to find more "guides on the side."
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