In my last three posts, I discussed the importance of approaching each subject, teacher, and situation with an open mind, so you are able to do your best. Just as I tried to do with my own students, my hope is to encourage you to make the best of whatever situations you find yourself in, and to offer now, just as I did then, suggestions of how you might make things better for yourself without ever deciding that giving up on a difficult, disliked subject or disparaging or disrespecting a teacher is the answer. With all the advice from my last three posts in mind, you may now be wondering just what you can do with it all that will really make a difference, and how you can put having an open mind and approaching different situations differently into practice. The most important thing to remember is that an open mind is a positive one. Trying to put your best foot forward as much as possible, regardless of what you are facing, may not solve everything, and it certainly won’t make everything perfect. What it will do, however, is help you find the good instead of dwelling on the bad, and the more you do that, the more able you will become to face and overcome your challenges and build on your successes.
It is not easy to put your best foot forward all the time, which is one reason why the expressions “one step forward, two steps back” and “two steps forward, one step back” are so familiar. Try to focus on the steps you take forward – when you see improvement in a difficult subject because you tried a new study method, or when you ask for help from a teacher and find that it made a difference in your ability to solve a difficult problem – more than you focus on the steps you take back. When you do poorly on a test because you were not prepared, or because you didn’t ask for help or accept help that was offered to you, don’t just resolve to do better next time. Instead, figure out how you will do better by making a plan and sticking to it. Keeping your focus on the new study method you will try, or on studying ahead for future tests, or on asking for help not only from your teacher, but from someone else as well, will keep you from dwelling on where you went wrong, which will, in turn, help you feel more open to the possibility that you can do better.
Another thing to consider when trying to put your best foot forward is that even the most challenging situations have some good in them. Even your most difficult subjects have some things about them that you will find easier than others, and doing as well as you can on those will help you balance out what you struggle with. When the going gets tough, try to remember that you have those things to look forward to, and that aspects of a subject you find most challenging will not be the only things that affect your grades. The same can be said for your least favorite subjects. If you really stop and think about it, I’m sure you will find that there is at least one thing you like about them. Maybe it’s a certain topic, or type of problem, or project, or special event – maybe it’s something you’ve heard about from older siblings or peers. Just as you shouldn’t let negative things they might say deter you from making your own way in a class, so you should let the positive things they say give you added incentive to do it.
Seeing the good in challenging situations applies to teachers, too. In addition to being respectful of them and seeing them as people, try to find something about them you can relate to, and perhaps even like. Maybe it’s something directly related to the subject itself – maybe you find the way they lecture boring, but like how they present activities or projects. Maybe it’s something completely unrelated to the subject – maybe they’ve shared an interest or a part of their personality that you have in common, or maybe they’re from or have traveled to a place where you’ve been or would like to go. This might not be the easiest year to learn these things, and you might not have access to the extracurricular activities that could also provide ways for you to connect to your teachers, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. Any connection you can make, even in these challenging times, especially in these challenging times, is another thing that can help you put your best foot forward and keep you able to approach your teachers and their subjects with an open mind.
Putting your best foot forward by being positive and having an open mind every time you face challenging situations may not be easy, and sometimes, it may even feel impossible, but the more you strive to do it, the better off you’ll be. Believing you can approach difficult situations with a view to finding the good in them and building on it may not make everything bad about them go away, but learning to shift your focus from the negative aspects of a situation to the positive ones can make a difference – not only in your outlook, but also in your ability to succeed.