WK 2 Reading Response

This weeks reading of "The Art of Possibility," by Rosamund and Benjamin Zander truly opened my eyes on the boundaries that I set on myself. I set limitations and boundaries with many things that I do which leads me to fall victim to the world of measurement.

I recently started thinking about changing careers from teaching to acting or management. I am currently very blessed with a wonderful job and great students, however being an educator can be a financial struggle, especially when nevada teachers are looking at taking a 8% decrease in pay. It also does not help that the Clark County School District might not pay the salary raise for educational advancements. Raising and supporting a family of 3 can be difficult on a teachers salary. Lately I have questioned my true potential and whether or not I am limiting myself by being an educator.

I first moved out to Las Vegas, Nevada from Concord, New Hampshire because of my passion for performing.  Las Vegas has a lot to offer for performers and it was always my life long goal to be a performer.  I decided to take a job as a music educator as well to help me financially while I perform.  I found a great passion for teaching and I have accomplished many great goals that I set for myself, however my original goals of being a performer never left.  I have worked as a magician and found some great success in the business but I never fully committed myself to it.  There were always excuses that I made as to why I could not just follow my dream and make it happen.

The first couple chapters of the book explains that everything is invented and we should open ourselves to the universe of possibility.  These two chapters seem to speak to me as I have been questioning different job opportunities and limits and boundaries I place on myself.  I loved the famous nine dot puzzle example and how everyone initially assumes that they are confined to the dots on the page and do not consider the space around the dots to complete the puzzle correctly.  By opening up our minds and not limiting ourselves to the world of measurements can we reach our true potential.

I really enjoyed the third chapter of this weeks reading as well which talked about giving an A.  Grades can often be a measurement of how we compare to one another rather then an assessment of our true potential.  It was very interesting to read about the effects of starting students out with an A, and having them set individual goals by writing what they will do to earn that A.  The same principles of giving yourself an A applies to more then just grades at school, it also applies to life.  I plan on incorporating this principle into my life as well as my classroom, and I am interested to see how it changes my perspective on who I am and where I am headed.