Greetings my friends. I hope you all are having a great start to your week, as I am quite aware of the difficulty that exists for many of us on Mondays. But for those of you that somehow can’t seem to muster the strength to start your week off in a positive manner, I have at least three reasons that should provide you with the strength to fight the Monday doldrums. While they have come to serve as the source of my strength this morning, I hope that they can provide you with a similar spark:
1) You’re alive, with purpose.
2) God loves you.
3) The Boston Celtics beat the Los Angeles Lakers last night to take a commanding lead of the 2008 NBA Finals.
Okay, I admit. That last one was a shameless plug that has absolutely nothing to do with today’s topic. Nevertheless, it has provided me with great joy. And for those of you that are Laker fans, don’t worry. You can just focus on the first two. Okay, enough of the small talk. Let’s get down to it.
In my opinion, one of the most underrated and underappreciated professions in this country is that of the teacher. And with the inappropriate blending of the bureaucracies of big business and politics into the sacred world of education, our teachers have not only become underappreciated, but in many cases, ineffective and devalued. Now, this is in no way a slap to those individuals that are teachers, as I have just recently made a formal departure from the profession, myself. However, in a society that has successfully been responsible for catchy educational quips, such as “A mind is a terrible thing to waste” and “Read to achieve,” we have inexplicably created a contradictory educational system that is promoted as a system of success, while at the same time, failing to provide the necessary tools to be successful.
Like you, in my years of schooling, I was often expected to demonstrate mastery of various skills through the satisfactory completion of tests. And while I would love to be able to say that I successfully passed each one, the fact remains, that I did not. And while I am still a supporter of tests being used as measurements of skills mastery, I sometimes wonder of the potential psychological implications that may exist with such failures. I am not sure about any of you, but at times, the fear of failing such exams often paralyzed me to a point of inactivity, as I was often afraid to publicly express inappropriate, or wrong answers. However, contrary to popular belief, this is not simply an educational issue, as it is a sociological one.
Everyday, in our society, our fears are perpetuated as we are often shown that there’s no glory or appreciation in being wrong. On our jobs, in our homes, and even in our recreational lives, we argue points, refrain from taking risks, and remain in our ineffective comfort zones as we remain stagnant because of our inadvertant fear of failure. Unfortunately, this is contradictory to the behaviors that yield success. As I have examined many examples of successful people in our nation’s history, one of the common denominators is that they each saw value in being wrong. As a matter of fact, in all of the lessons that I learned, I first needed to recognize that I was wrong. When you recognize your wrongs, it provides you with an avenue to improve, to gain more knowledge, and to progress. It is when you are always right when you become stagnant.
So, as you begin this week and continue on your path to greatness, realize that there is value in being wrong. Being wrong allows you to grow. Continue on your path to greatness, accept your wrongs.
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