“Everything always works out for me.” This is one of Dr. Terrie Wurzbacher’s favorite mantras. An elite athlete, she used this simple saying time and again during a 300+ mile trek across Tennessee.*

Why? Because it works…

A story: A new teacher in Illinois fell in love with her students during her first year in the classroom, but because the school principal hadn’t visited her classroom to evaluate her, she thought her contract wouldn’t be renewed. So she brought her materials to his office, ready to say goodbye and look for another job.

The principal saw her and said, “We really want you back. Your students have scored higher on their achievement tests than any of our other students in the past 10 years. You’ve got to come back next year.”

Surprised and happy, the teacher replied, “It’s easy to teach when you have such a great group of kids…They were sharp, interested, motivated, and all of them had IQs of 150, 152, 153, and even higher.”

The principal asked how she knew her students had such high IQ scores. She mentioned a sheet of paper he had given her at the start of the school year with the students’ names and IQ scores on it.

The principal smiled and said, “Those were their locker numbers.”

Positive expectancy works! Because this new teacher thought all her students had high IQ scores, she treated them all year as if they were bright and motivated. She had high expectations and her attitude made all the difference. She believed in her students. She knew they could accomplish challenging work and they rose to her level of expectancy.

An inspiring story, isn’t it? It underscores the idea that attitudes are more important than facts. What a gift to us as writers! As the great motivational speaker Zig Ziglar says so well, “It’s your attitude not your aptitude that determines your altitude.”

So wherever our writing takes us today, let’s cultivate a can-do attitude of positive expectancy. Here’s another mantra I often say to myself to give me a boost: “I expect the best and the best comes to me now.” Write on!

*Be sure to check out the amazing Dr. Terrie Wurzbacher’s inspiring book, It’s Not about the Miles: Lessons from the Road.

Please help KWD grow by sharing: https://karinwritesdangerously.com/