For work at the moment we are reading “Flourish” by Martin Seligman. The book looks at Positive Psychology and creating your own Happiness. At the begining of Chapter 2 it recommends that you remember the face of someone who is still alive that did or said something which changed your life for the better. You are then to write a letter of gratitude to this individual and deliver it in person. You must then read your letter and discuss the content and the feelings associated with it.
Now I really struggled with this task. The person who first came to mind was my Mum. However she passed away over 17 years ago. The next person who came to mind was my Omie. Unfortunately my Omie is not doing so well and will likely not let me read the letter to her as most of the time when I visit she cannot remember who I am. And the last person who comes to mind is a dear friend who now lives in another state. So my solution is to use modern technology and read the letter over the Internet…
Dear Friend…
I have worked for many, many people in my short and interesting career. I have experienced many different leadership styles however none of them let me grow and mature into the teacher and person I have now become… quite like you did. On many occasions you pushed me and prodded me in the right direction. None more so than the day the ELF job was announced to the staff. I sat listening to the explanation of the job thinking I MIGHT one day be able to do that job. That perhaps one day (way into the future) I would get that job. If you hadn’t leaned forward that day and said “That job is perfect for you JA” I may never have applied. It was your belief in me that I could in fact do the job that prompted me to take the time to write my application letter. Before that day I did not believe that I was even a good teacher let alone a great teacher. Even as I went through the interview process still not 100% believing that I was the right person for the job. I had even convinced myself that I wouldn’t get the job because there were so many more talented people at school than me.
The affect your belief had on my confidence you may never completely understand. If I had never applied I would still be happy to teach in my economics classroom and I still would have incorporated all the wonderful technologies that I have discovered however I would not have grown to believe in myself quite the same way. I would still believe that how I teach is average not exceptional as I am now discovering. The more people I meet the more I realise that the view I had of myself and my abilities was just so way off base. For this I need to Thank You.I am now experiencing so many different things that it is hard to put in down in words. I am attending many conferences and presenting on everything from PLN’s to Multi-modal Presentations. I have even been asked to present rather than putting forward a paper and hoping to be selected. And I am now even proud of myself and my accomplishments.
I remember on nearly a daily basis that day when you leaned forward and said that simple sentence “That job is perfect for you JA”. I will be forever grateful of the belief you had and still have for me.
Thanking You Forever
Mrs Angell
Will update you in the future how the rest of the book goes…
Image by woodleywonderworks via Flickr