Roresishms

A Virtual World of Live Pictures.

I started collecting what might be called ‘Motivation Spurs’ about ten years before I retired. I started using them in my classes to encourage my students to aim higher; Don’t accept second best. I did this by writing a new ‘Spur’ on the opposite side of the board away from where I was working and prominent enough to be seen by the entire class. Often, you would wear a different color to attract attention.

I chose ‘Spurs’ which I thought were relevant at the time, particularly to their studies. Here are some examples:

• Thinking is the hardest job of all. That’s why so few of us do.

• Recognize the opportunity, seize it and do something with it.

• Successful people do things that unsuccessful people don’t want to do.

What often happened during the lesson was that some event or situation allowed me to weave the ‘stimulus’ into my teaching. Here is one such example that I used before exam time.

The 4Ds of success are:

• Longed for

• Dedication

• Determination and

• Damn hard work

Many of my students wrote these ‘motivational stimuli’ in their journals. Years later, they would meet me and tell me that they still had them and had used them along the way for inspiration. I must add that the ‘Spurs’ inspired me, too, to aim high in everything I did.

In the last years of my career, I would give each member of my graduations a copy of more ‘Spurs’ to motivate them for the future. I called it “Go for the Gold – Thoughts to Remember ‘Math’ For”

You are a masterpiece of creation. We are all born winners. God did not create losers.

Perseverance: The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but a lack of will.

Persistence prevails when all else fails.

Develop the TNT habit – do it today, not tomorrow.

Do it now. You become successful the moment you start moving towards a worthwhile goal.

Enthusiasm: The sky is the limit when your heart is in it.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.

Courage: In the end, the only people who fail are the ones who don’t try.

The winner says: “It may be difficult, but it is possible.” The loser says, “It may be possible, but it’s too hard.”

The difference between the ordinary and the extraordinary is that little extra.

Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.

The harder you work, the luckier you will be.

In the midst of every difficulty lies opportunity.

There is an island of opportunity in the midst of every difficulty.

Mental Toughness: The ability to do what you have to do when you have to do it.

Teachers also need motivational cues to get them through stressful times in their career and to help them realize that they do make a difference. Here are a few that have impacted me personally.

• As a teacher, I touch eternity. We can never know where our influence will stop.

• I touch eternity – I teach. I play the future, I teach.

• The greatest gift we can give to others is not to share our gifts with them, but to help them discover their own gifts. (That’s what a teacher does.)

Over the years I have collected hundreds of these ‘Spurs’. You can too. The authors are mostly unknown to me. However, I am sure they would love to see them passed on to our children to encourage them towards a better life. Create your own list and use it to inspire your students. Can I leave you with one that ‘tickles me’?

A homeless man makes this comment to a friend as a new Mercedes drives past him.

“There, but for me I go!”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *