Learn How to Help Students Discover Their Potential

, , ,

When you consider the potential your students may hold, you can either view it from a need to change how they perform or how they think about performing. I know from experience it is easier to provide feedback and focus on aspects of how students are performing by discussing content not substantially addressed, while highlighting errors in academic writing. Yet if I want to make lasting changes in how students perform, I know my work with students needs to include helping them think about their potential from an internal mindset perspective.

As an educator, I want students to realize the powerful potential they hold every day, just by the thoughts they are thinking. To accomplish this goal, I try to remind them there is something they have available within which may determine how successful their future can be; and it is the power of their thoughts.

In order to explain how I help students learn about this potential; I will first help you tap into this power, which in turn will allow you to teach your students the processes you discovered.

The Essence of a Thought

If you examine the essence of thinking, it all comes down to a single thought. The reason I begin with a singular thought is simple, you have literally hundreds of thoughts going through your mind at any given time. What helped me, as I studied adult education, was to learn about the mind having neurons or nerve cells with information to be transmitted. Any information, data, or knowledge which needs to be stored and transmitted as thoughts is done so through neural pathways, which are connected to the neurons. This is a very basic definition; however, the brain is filled with billions of neurons and neural pathways, which means the capacity for thinking is limitless.

Thoughts Become Thinking

An individual thought is a singular piece of data, knowledge, information, or an idea. When thoughts are grouped together, you are thinking. Other words used in place of thinking may include daydreaming, formulating, planning, and so on. Thinking occurs when you are involved in a conversation, considering the past, or evaluating the future. You are thinking even while reading these words now. Your mind is processing the information and attempting to make a connection to the words and concepts introduced.

There is an important reason why you need to know about thinking, especially as related to your future. A thought by itself is not particularly helpful or hurtful. But a series of thoughts, or thinking about something, has the potential to be anything but helpful. Take for example a person who continually thinks about the past and just cannot seem to let it go. This may lead to feeling a sense of remorse or guilt, preventing the person from setting new goals.

What you think also has a direct impact upon your ability to successfully complete your goals, dreams, plans, and more. These thoughts project the essence of an inner voice, a powerful source which can be reasonable, unreasonable, believable, or unbelievable, depending upon your unique view of the world. This inner voice can also remind you of the number of successes and failures. If you choose to harness its power for support, you will become much stronger and better prepared for the future.

Four Steps to Discover Your Potential

Now that you understand the importance of thinking, you can learn specific steps to discover the potential power of your thoughts. At first you may need to follow all four steps, in the order provided, but with time you should be able to set a goal and immediately harness your thoughts towards achieving a successful outcome.  

Step One: Develop Focused Awareness

There are more distractions now than ever, trying to get (and hold onto) your attention. Between online sources, news, social media, streaming, and television, your ability to remember anything important has become much more challenging. All of this can overwhelm a person’s thoughts, including their senses and emotions. Successfully completing any of your goals will be much harder if your mind is always cluttered and overloaded with information.  

In order to tap into the power of your thoughts, you must become consciously aware of what you are thinking about long enough to conduct self-assessment, maintenance, and self-care. I refer to this as a time of “focused awareness” or allocating time in which you think about your goals, well-being, and personal development. It can also mean dedicating some downtime for yourself, by allowing time to unplug from technology to regain a sense of balance.

Step Two: Engage in Focused Concentration

Once you learn to become aware of what you are thinking, you can then concentrate on your goals, dreams, hopes, future, and whatever else is important to you. This is why routine concentration time, even just a few minutes to check in, can give you time to think through the details of each of your goals or dreams, the progress made, and what still needs to be accomplished.

One of the most important aspects of focused concentration time is the opportunity to reaffirm your positive beliefs. If you do not believe it is possible to achieve what you set out to do, then it will likely not happen. You must believe in your capacity to adapt and learn because if you do not, no one else will.

You can use the practice of focused concentration any time throughout the day, when you feel your mind is becoming cluttered, you feel doubts or fears, or you experience any other negative emotions. You can stop and reset your mindset by focusing on the best of who you are and what you are capable of achieving. Then think about the future and what you are working towards. This will help keep you on a mental path towards success.

Step Three: Prepare for Purposeful Action

Once you have an awareness of your thoughts, and taken time for focused concentration, you can then consider what action is necessary to turn your goals and dreams into a reality. At first you may not know how this will occur. But the more you concentrate and focus your thinking, the more you will find ideas or new thoughts coming into your mind. This is all part of the creative process and a benefit of clearing out the clutter of your mind.

Another helpful idea is to keep pen or pencil and paper close by, as you may find yourself coming up with an idea (or thought) when you least expect it. This is a process of your mind trying to interact in-between all the information being processed throughout the day. There were numerous occasions when I experienced new ideas at night, just before I was about to go to sleep, and might have forgotten them by the next morning if they were not written down. It is helpful to remember the mind is always active, and never shuts off, even when you are asleep. You may wake up and need to write down a new idea right away.

Step Four: Develop a Personal Mantra

The final step for discovering your potential is to develop a personal mantra, something that helps you concentrate and maintain a positive focus, while supporting the steps already taken. Begin your mantra with the words “I will” and add reaffirming words after it. As an example, I developed the following mantra, which you may also find beneficial.

I Will: Not Falter, Trust Myself, Not Give Up

I Will: Fail if Needed, Believe in Myself

I Will: Succeed

I Will: Be Strong, Look Forward

I Will: Try and Try Again

Here’s How to Help Students Discover their Potential

Once you learn about the potential available to you, through the thoughts you nurture, you can use these strategies with your students. I am not advocating using the four-step process with students, and instead, using the elements you find are helpful to change how they think about their performance. For example, if a student is struggling with their work, you can have a discussion about their study environment and offer tips for concentrating. If you meet with students via Zoom, or some other platform, you could offer suggestions for self-reflection as a means of ongoing self-development and growth.

I use elements from these steps with my students, regardless of the subject matter. For example, I recall a time when a doctoral student told me they were glad I was assigned to them as their dissertation mentor as I had a reputation for being a “motivational guru”, which was a nickname I used for many years with my motivational picture quotes. I want students to remember they have the power of their mind to use as a source of strength and resilience. I try to remind students about the power of their beliefs, especially those who are in an entry-point doctoral class and need a strong belief system to get started successfully.

I tell students they have yet to fully understand how much potential they hold and it all begins with their thoughts. I encourage them to believe in themselves regardless of circumstances, and as a result it can help them discover more about what they are capable of achieving.

For you and your students I want you to remember: Who you are is a direct result of the thoughts you maintain. Teach your students what they accomplish will be determined by their ability, or inability, to control what they are thinking. The true potential any student holds, as to making changes in how they perform, begins with a single thought. When you help students discover how to harness the power of their thoughts, their future potential becomes limitless.

About Dr. Johnson

Dr. Bruce A. Johnson has 35 years of experience teaching and training adults. The first half of his career was spent in the field of Corporate Training and Development, with his last role as Manager of Training and Development.

Then in 2005, Dr. Johnson made a transition into the field of distance learning. Over the past 18 years, he has been an online instructor, Faculty Development Specialist, Faculty Development Manager, Dissertation Chair and Mentor, and Certified Curriculum Author.

Dr. Johnson is also an inspirational author, writer, and educator. His life mission is to teach, mentor, write, and inspire others. He has earned a PhD in Postsecondary and Adult Education, a Certificate in Training and Performance Improvement (TPI), a Master’s in Adult Education, and a Master of Business Administration (MBA).

As a scholar practitioner, Dr. J was published in a scholarly journal, and he has been a featured presenter at an international distance learning conference, along with presenting at three faculty conferences. He has also published over 230 online articles about adult learning, higher education, distance learning, online teaching, and mindset development. Dr. J published three books related to higher education, including two about online teaching.

Getting Down to Business: A Handbook for Faculty Who Teach Business.

Transform Adult Education: Expert Teaching Strategies for Educators.

Transform Online Teaching: Expert Strategies and Essential Resources Every Educator Needs.

Come join Dr. J’s group, Motivation for Transformation:

• Any time of the day, visit this group to find your source of motivation, to be inspired and more importantly, have your mindset transformed: Motivation for Transformation

Dr. J offers transformative resources:

Please visit Dr. J’s Books page on his website: Dr. J’s Books

You can also find Dr. J on the following social media sites:  Instagram

/by

Discover Why a Resilient Mindset Will Help Sustain You

,

Do you take care of what you think about yourself, and pay attention to the words you use to describe yourself? Or do you allow present circumstances to dictate your current worth and value? When your career isn’t going as well as you have planned, what is your reaction? Your mindset has everything to do with your success, just as much as the career goals or plans you have established. You may have an effective career strategy in place and undermine the entire plan, simply by not cultivating a supportive mindset.

Consider this question: When you think of words to describe the qualities you need to face challenges in your career, what comes to mind? Perhaps you will consider characteristics such as determination, grit, perseverance, and other similar to those. There is one you should add to the list and it is resiliency.

This has to do with your state of mind and ability to not only face a difficult situation, but find a way to work through it, even if it means you are adaptable and willing to learn from a life lesson. It also means you do not allow circumstances to dictate your worth or determine what you believe about yourself as a person. When you are resilient, you may suffer a temporary setback, yet you always have a comeback.

This type of mindset is not emotionless, rather it is a practiced state of mind with a disposition not prone to worry or fear. You take control of your career, develop a plan for the future, and then monitor how and what you think. This disposition also gives you confidence in how you act while you are on the job, which your employer is likely to notice. Employers value someone who is confident, even during the most stressful of circumstances. Developing a resilient mindset can be done through continual mindset maintenance and practiced self-awareness.

Beginning Questions to Ask Yourself

As a mentor and educator, I work with those who are often struggling to overcome a sticking point in their present situation. It’s a feeling there is something stalling them from moving forward, and it may feel as if the cause is external circumstances when it cannot be resolved after attempts are made to enact change. But what I’ve often found is a solution is delayed because of misdirected or misguided efforts, without even being aware of it occurring. This can happen when a person is too close to the issue and cannot see it from an objective point of view.

First Question: The first question I ask a person who feels stuck or stalled and cannot move past this point is this: What do you want to accomplish? This seems like an obvious question and yet it gets to the heart of the problem quickly. This question redirects attention back to the original intent of what it is they wanted to accomplish before the sticking point was reached. I’ve found that a step back will sometimes alleviate the pressure to keep pushing forward.

Second Question: Another question I ask someone who is struggling to get past a sticking point is this: Do you hold any fears related to what you are working on right now? This is another important question to ask yourself as the pressure to succeed and not fail can contribute to writer’s block, mindset sabotage, and negative self-talk that will only serve to defeat what you are attempting to accomplish. Over time, this can lead to feelings of complete helplessness.

Self-Talk Make-Over

Whenever you are experiencing negative feelings or emotions related to any aspect of your life, this is the time to carefully examine what you are saying to yourself, about yourself, because those words can help or hurt your progress. Self-talk occurs almost subconsciously and it is done as a matter of routine. A person will establish patterns of reaction to events in their life and immediately respond in a manner about themselves similar to what has been done in the past. For example, if a student is used to mentally berating themselves about their progress, then every time they get a grade that same self-talk will occur.

I recommend keeping a self-talk log, either as something stored on your phone, in a Word document, or in a journal. The idea is to track yourself any time you find yourself mentally making an assessment or evaluative statement about your worth, personality, appearance, career, or anything else related. It won’t take long to discover patterns and you may even surprise yourself about what it is you are saying, words and statements you did not consciously pay attention to until now.

Once you have your self-talk log completed for a week or so, the next step is to decide what you do want to think about yourself. You want to use positive and supportive words to describe yourself. I recommend you develop a new list, a master list of words you want to use and develop as a matter of habit. Keep this list close by you throughout the day and focus on one or two of them from time to time. Whenever you find yourself faced with a challenging circumstance, refer back to your list of supportive words and select one or two to describe yourself. If you can continue in this manner, you will replace the habitual self-talk you’ve developed with words to support your growth, learning, and development.

This form of self-talk self-development is also helpful whenever you are required to take on new tasks, begin a new project, or face situations in which you feel you are unable to control the circumstances. You will have a positive attitude to begin with, rather than starting something new or different with a feeling of apprehension or concern. Even if you have to learn something new, whether it requires acquiring new skills or knowledge, you will find it easier to accomplish when your mindset begins from a positive frame of reference.

How You Can Develop Resiliency

You now understand that your mindset, or mental disposition, is a determining factor in your ability to address challenges, issues, and problems which arise in your career. When you start to question or doubt your natural abilities to address these situations, that’s when you can feel blocked, stuck, or stalled. Any time you are starting to feel less than positive about the events in your life, it is time to become AWARE.

Accept: You accept the situation as it is now and remind yourself there is something you need to accomplish. By stepping back, even metaphorically, you may be able to see the situation from a different perspective.

Worries: You take note of any worries or fears you may have at this time and address them head-on. Fear occurs when you try to take control of something which cannot be controlled.

Amend: You track and amend your self-talk list to include only supportive and positive words and phrases, remembering the value and worth you hold. Every person and every job have value.

Remember: You remember you are capable of learning, growing, and adapting to new situations. If you do not know all the answers when starting a new task or project, you have a capacity to find them.

Express: You express your gratitude for facing new challenges as this provides you with an opportunity to learn, especially to learn more about yourself and your ability to find inner strength.

When you learn to develop a mindset or disposition that is focused on your strengths, and you pay attention to the words you use when you are engaged in daily self-talk, you can set yourself up for success. It doesn’t mean you are going to avoid challenges or failures. But it does mean those times when you are asked to take on new assignments or projects, or you face situations which seem uncertain, you will have an attitude of capability instead of insecurity.

This is an attitude of resiliency, someone who believes within their own mind that they can face obstacles, challenges, issues, or problems and overcome them quickly. It applies to any new and uncertain situation or circumstance as it is all about your state of mind. What you think about yourself is directly related to what you believe about yourself, and it is conveyed in the tone of your communication, whether verbal or written. When you truly believe in yourself, and maintain a supportive mindset, then there is nothing that will stop you from reaching for and attaining the goals you want to achieve.

About Dr. Johnson

Dr. Bruce A. Johnson has 35 years of experience teaching and training adults. The first half of his career was spent in the field of Corporate Training and Development, with his last role as Manager of Training and Development.

Then in 2005, he made a transition into the field of distance learning. Over the past 19 years, he has been an online instructor, Faculty Development Specialist, Faculty Director, Faculty Development Manager, and Dissertation Chair.

Dr. Johnson is also an inspirational author, writer, and educator. His life mission is to teach, mentor, write, and inspire others. He has earned a PhD in Postsecondary and Adult Education, a Certificate in Training and Performance Improvement (TPI), a Master’s in Adult Education, and a Master of Business Administration (MBA).

As a scholar practitioner, Dr. J was published in a scholarly journal, and he has been a featured presenter at an international distance learning conference, along with presenting at three faculty conferences. He has also published over 230 online articles about adult learning, higher education, distance learning, online teaching, and mindset development. Dr. J published three books related to higher education, including two about online teaching.

Getting Down to Business: A Handbook for Faculty Who Teach Business.

Transform Adult Education: Expert Teaching Strategies for Educators.

Transform Online Teaching: Expert Strategies and Essential Resources Every Educator Needs.

Come join Dr. J’s group, Motivation for Transformation:

• Any time of the day, visit this group to find your source of motivation, to be inspired and more importantly, have your mindset transformed: Motivation for Transformation

Dr. J offers transformative resources:

Please visit Dr. J’s Books page on his website: Dr. J’s Books

You can also find Dr. J on the following social media sites:  Instagram

       

/by

3 Instinctive Thoughts You Must Stop to Discover Your True Potential

,

When you want to start a new project or begin work on a new goal, perhaps for something related to your job, is your first natural reaction to think you are capable and ready to get started? As an educator and career coach, I’ve found the natural reaction for most people is one of questions and doubt. The natural instinctive thoughts are related to fear and questions about capability and capacity.

When these instinctive thoughts begin, it sets the stage for feeling a sense of being limited and at risk for failure. Rather than working from a sense of empowerment and working towards the true potential a person has to learn, when new tasks prompt developmental growth, a person remains stuck in doubt. Yet if you can be on alert for instinctual patterns of self-doubt, it is possible to create a new set of empowering thoughts.

The Origins of Instinctive Negative Thoughts

Why is it the default setting for many of us, when it comes to questioning our ability to complete a task, is to think we cannot or may not be able to accomplish it? Why doesn’t the default thought process begin with a resounding yes? Perhaps it has something to do with being told to be cautious as a child, or being told only those who look and act in a certain manner are able to accomplish any task. It is not always easy to pinpoint the cause and yet it exists, a lack of self-trust in an ability to begin a new project, task, goal, or something similar, without having some form of doubt about being able to complete it.

Consider the last time someone in your workplace asked you to take on a new role or job duty. Did you automatically feel capable of performing what was required? Or if you were asked now, would you feel capable of seeking new work or additional responsibilities based upon your capabilities? The answers to those questions will help you understand what your instinctive thought patterns are and what you need to address. You may not know exactly how those thoughts began, or even how those thoughts have become sustained, but now you will know of their existence. What most people use as the basis for what they believe about themselves, as to what they are or are not capable of at any point in time, are the negative events which have occurred in their career.

What happens is those persistent or instinctive thoughts eventually become an engrained belief. Then any negative occurrences become evidence to support those thoughts about an inability to do something, rather than using it as feedback. Every person is capable of learning new skills and new responsibilities but it depends upon your thought patterns as to whether or not you will follow through with it. If you will believe in your own capacity to learn, and develop it as a practiced habit of thought, you will create it as a belief.

Instinctive Negative Thought Patterns

For those who have not practiced a pattern of thinking positive thoughts about their ability to perform well, they are going to find themselves stuck with recurring negative thought patterns. Every time there is a new challenge, the default thought is negative. If there is praise from anyone, be it a supervisor or co-worker, there might be temporary happiness but in the long-term, negative thoughts will always surface. All it will take is for someone to disagree with them or challenge them in some manner. Developing positive thought patterns requires time and practice, and more importantly, a strong sense of self-trust and self-belief.

3 Instinctive Thoughts You Must Stop to Discover Your True Potential

Instinctive Thought #1: I Can’t.

How many times has this come to mind? To change this thought, answer the question. Face it head-on. Why can’t you? What that does is to take the fear out of the question and give you back your control. You learn that even in the worst case, there are many ways you are able to find a way to turn this into an “I Can” situation.

The more you practice this technique, the more likely the instinctive thought will eventually become, “I Can”, as you know those words mean “I Can Be Prepared”, “I Can Learn”, and so many other similar statements. As you try it and find out it is true, you will repeat it enough times for it to become a belief.

Instinctive Thought #2: I’m Afraid.

This is another powerful statement which can derail a person’s progress and limit their potential. I recommend the same approach as the first negative thought, face it head-on. Why are you afraid? What are you afraid of now? Use fear as a means of becoming prepared, not as a statement to make you want to run away from whatever task you have in mind. Yes, you may be uncertain about the outcome of a project or task. But what you can rely upon is yourself and your capabilities.

You can use any sense of uncertainty to ask questions, obtain information, and allow yourself to become fully prepared. You can even imagine the worst-case scenario, if this helps, to help remove any sense of fear of the unknown and become prepared for the ultimate outcome. The point is to become proactive and face fear in a positive manner to change the instinctive thought into a positive perspective.

Instinctive Thought #3: I Don’t Know How.

Many people believe they cannot admit they do not know how to perform a task or some aspect of their job. Perhaps they are supposed to be the subject matter expert, the skilled expert, or they were hired because of their knowledge. This is a common myth as I have yet to find an employer that expects an employee to know all processes and procedures, and hold all knowledge, or every aspect of their job. It is better to ask someone for help or assistance than to ignore it and hope it is never discovered.

If there is something you need to learn, this is an opportunity to grow in your position or profession. The point is to believe in yourself and face instinctive thoughts from a positive perspective. Just because you do not know something does not mean you are going to get fired (I understand there may be exceptions), it means you should view this as the learning opportunity it provides. This will help you to develop a positive instinctive thought process.

Discover Strategies to Create Positive Thoughts

Even with the development of positive thoughts, you may have moments when you experience uncertainty and fear. The best strategy is to address it as soon as you experience it. The feeling you have is an indicator of what you are experiencing and if you allow it to continue it may turn into frustration, which can show up in your job performance.

Tell Yourself, It’s Okay to Feel:

For those of us who practice the development of positive thoughts, there are going to be times when fear or negative thoughts come up. If that occurs, what do you do about it? It’s as simple as telling yourself not to worry as it is okay to feel. You are a human being and it is not possible to eliminate negative thoughts completely. Even the seemingly happiest person you know can be experiencing moments of pain and fear. It isn’t a matter of what is felt, it is a matter of how you respond to those feelings. When you feel any form of negative thought, process it in the same manner as described above by facing it head-on. Don’t deny it or hide it. Acknowledge it and move on. There are many things in life you cannot control, from people to circumstances, and you are going to experience reactions at times which are less than perfect. When you do, acknowledge those reactions and get back to thinking positively about yourself.

Be Inquisitive:

Developing positive thoughts is about a practice of eliminating naturally negative thoughts. To do this, using the strategies provided above, you will find it helpful to become inquisitive. If you experience fear, you question why you are feeling this way and what it is you are afraid of either now or in the future. If you believe you cannot start or complete a task, ask yourself questions to probe further. In other words, never accept those negative thoughts as the final answer. The use of questions is the best way to explore, probe, and disarm negative thoughts.

Develop New Habits of Thought:

Don’t wait for negative thoughts to arise. It is time to develop positive thoughts about yourself now. For example, decide today that if you are given a new task or project, you will be ready for it. You will be ready for it because you will know to ask questions, you will determine what you know and what you need to learn, and you are aware of your capacity to learn and grow. You feel confident in your ability to take on new assignments and look forward to watching yourself prosper. As you continue to think these thoughts, watch what happens. These thoughts will become your personal beliefs. These beliefs will carry over from your career into your personal life as well. You will transform all aspects of your life simply through the power of positive instinctive thoughts. Instead of being fearful or doubtful about taking on new goals or projects, because you might fail, you will now see yourself as someone with potential, capacity, and an ability to succeed.

About Dr. Johnson

Dr. Bruce A. Johnson has 35 years of experience teaching and training adults. The first half of his career was spent in the field of Corporate Training and Development, with his last role as Manager of Training and Development.

Then in 2005, he made a transition into the field of distance learning. Over the past 19 years, he has been an online instructor, Faculty Development Specialist, Faculty Director, Faculty Development Manager, and Dissertation Chair.

Dr. Johnson is also an inspirational author, writer, and educator. His life mission is to teach, mentor, write, and inspire others. He has earned a PhD in Postsecondary and Adult Education, a Certificate in Training and Performance Improvement (TPI), a Master’s in Adult Education, and a Master of Business Administration (MBA).

As a scholar practitioner, Dr. J was published in a scholarly journal, and he has been a featured presenter at an international distance learning conference, along with presenting at three faculty conferences. He has also published over 230 online articles about adult learning, higher education, distance learning, online teaching, and mindset development. Dr. J published three books related to higher education, including two about online teaching.

Getting Down to Business: A Handbook for Faculty Who Teach Business.

Transform Adult Education: Expert Teaching Strategies for Educators.

Transform Online Teaching: Expert Strategies and Essential Resources Every Educator Needs.

Come join Dr. J’s group, Motivation for Transformation:

• Any time of the day, visit this group to find your source of motivation, to be inspired and more importantly, have your mindset transformed: Motivation for Transformation

Dr. J offers transformative resources:

Please visit Dr. J’s Books page on his website: Dr. J’s Books

You can also find Dr. J on the following social media sites:  Instagram

       

/by