Last year was a challenging year for my wife as it was her first year teaching in a new school system and at a different grade level. As she returned to work this week to start her 19th year as a teacher, I was on the road facilitating a workshop and called her to see how things were going. She immediately started talking about all the positive changes that were being made over last year and seemed excited about the new school year. After some of the struggles from the previous year, she was much more positive that I expected and to be honest it made me feel more positive.
In Chapter 1 of the The Mandt System, we discuss a quote by Haim Ginott part of which says, “It is my daily mood that makes the weather.” The attitude and approach we take in a situation has a huge impact not just on how we respond to the situation, but it affects the way others respond as well. The challenge is to maintain as hopeful and positive attitude as we can even when faced with difficult situations. We’ve all seen situations where a person’s negative attitude has not only made situations more difficult for that person but also for others. As the commonly used saying goes, “Attitudes are contagious. Is yours worth catching?”
Doug ZehrVogt, Mandt System Faculty
