I’ve been talking with students this week about attitude. This distance learning isn’t as easy as you might think. Teachers are spending scores of hours online working with their students either individually or in groups. Students are having to discipline themselves to stay focused without the aid of a teacher by their side. And, parents are stressed in trying to get their children focused so the schoolwork is accomplished. With the older students, they don’t get as much parental attention, so for some of them this experience is overwhelming. The problem for so many of them, though, is that they limit themselves before they start, simply with their attitude.
One of the most common things I heard this week (and it’s only been two days so far) is “I can’t.” I can’t do this, I can’t do that.” “I can’t find the assignment.” “I can’t get my Chromebook to work.” “I can’t take the test today.” “I can’t, I can’t, I can’t!” Whenever I heard a “can’t” statement, I challenged the speaker to add two letters to it and say “I can try” instead. Those two letters, if acted on, can change up everything. If someone says “I can’t,” there is nowhere to go from there. If a person says “I can try,” all kinds of possibilities open up, most of them good.
While it was dozens of times in two days that I heard that phrase from my students, the truth is that it’s not just students who use that phrase. We all do at one time or another. At least I know I do. Not only that, but the phrase has been around longer than any of us have been. I remember as a child hearing the “Uncle Arthur” story about a boy who always said “I can’t.” I don’t remember all the details, but I remember the part where Uncle Arthur said all he had to do was “knock out the T” and say “I can!” Made sense then, and it makes sense now.
Charles Swindoll—a Christian author, educator, pastor, and radio preacher who founded Insight for Living, a radio show that airs on more than 2,000 stations world-wide in more than 15 languages—says this about attitude: "The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company, a church, a home, [ a school]. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past and we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. . . . I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you. We are in charge of our Attitude."
How right he is! Our attitude towards the things we need or have to do makes all the difference in the world. If we think we can’t do something, then we won’t. But if we think we can at least try, then all manner of doors open to us. If a student is struggling with an assignment, and gives up, there’s really nothing a teacher can do to help the situation. But if a student struggles and tries, actually puts something on paper, then there’s something to work with. If there is effort, there is possibility.
The same goes for any of us. My conversations with students this week have made me take a look at my own life and the struggles I face personally and professionally. Over and over, I’ve challenged my students to eliminate the word “can’t” from their vocabulary. As I’ve heard myself say that out loud, though, I’ve thought about the times I, too, say that word, and I’ve vowed to make an effort to eradicate it from my vocabulary as well. It’s not easy. But it can be devastating to allow that attitude to prevail. So, as I’ve encouraged my students, I encourage you, alongside myself, to make an effort to say “I can try” instead of “I can’t.” I also urge you to claim the promise, one that is a favorite here on the Thunderbird campus: “I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13. We are in charge of our attitude, but it is only through His strength that we can make the attitude adjustments we need to enjoy a happy and successful life.
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