Alliance for Catholic Education
Do I still get nervous in new social situations? Do I still worry about how others will react to what I do and say? Of course! But alongside my nervousness is a small yet confident voice that reminds me to focus on the good I know I am capable of doing.
I have always been a social individual-perhaps a bit shy in new situations and contexts, but someone who nonetheless loves meeting and working with others. While this has certainly benefitted me throughout my time in ACE, the mindset with which I approach social situations and groups has definitely been altered.
Most importantly, my confidence as I approach social situations has grown. My time teaching thus far has and will continue to see its fair share of failures-nothing too drastic, but legitimate mistakes nonetheless.
This goes for life, too; I'm far from perfect within my ACE community, faith-life, and various friend groups. Unfortunately, as I'm sure we have all experienced, we are occasionally judged, perhaps unreasonably or too harshly, for the missteps we take, even those that are accidental.
As an ACE teacher, though, I have developed the ability to not only recognize but also be proud of the good things that I am doing, even when it would be easier to focus only on the negatives. On days when I receive a negative email from a student's parent, do not get through all of my intended guided reading groups, or end a lesson on long division with students more confused than when the lesson began, I can say with genuine confidence that I am still a good teacher.
If we are to keep moving forward in the various aspects of our lives and continue improving, we cannot only focus on our mistakes but also on the areas in which we do an excellent job, or else the self-doubt we'd inevitably begin to experience would gradually tear us away from our passions. My newly developed ability to focus on the things I do well has instilled within me a quiet confidence in confronting new social situations and groups, however they manifest themselves. It can help to humbly embrace the constructive criticisms we receive while moving beyond those that would only serve to bring us down upon ourselves.
Before ACE, I am not sure I would have been confident enough to spontaneously step in for a struggling coworker during our school's accreditation presentation, ad-libbing her component so that nothing seemed amiss. I was intimidated by classrooms filled with middle school students, or even second graders. And I would never have looked forward to playing trivia-night host to a parish center filled with parents.
It's worrisome how others might perceive us, particularly when our vocation is as public as that of a teacher, but through experiences, along with meaningful conversations with mentors and friends, such worries have come to seem inconsequential as long as we do our best.
Do I still get nervous in new social situations? Do I still worry about how others will react to what I do and say? Of course! But alongside my nervousness is a small yet confident voice that reminds me to focus on the good I know I am capable of doing.
As we make our way through 2015, I hope that you, too, are able to recall the good that you do for the world when the fear of others' opinions starts to undermine your confidence. You may even wish to use a very deep and philosophical phrase I tell myself in such circumstances: "You've got this!"