Superintendent’s Chat

Richard McClements, Shonto Preparatory School

There is a popular expression about having proof to be convinced about something. That expression is, “I’ll believe it when I see it.” Our state, Missouri, is known as the “Show Me State.” It suggests that we need to keep our guard up and take nothing at face value until we have cold, hard evidence that we can verify. Dr. Wayne Dwyer, famous motivational speaker and writer, has a slightly different way of expressing his opinion on possibility. His is, “I’ll see it when I believe it.” I like Dr. Dwyer’s outlook. His point is that we need to vividly imagine something coming true, and the more we believe that it will, the more likely it is to eventually come true if we couple that vision with action.

There is a famous experiment about 5^th grade basketball players. One group was told to practice shooting foul shots for 30 minutes a day. A second group was directed to not shoot foul shots at all but to vividly imagine themselves doing so and making those shots. At the end of the experiment, both groups shot foul shots. There was little difference in the results. We see visualization of success repeatedly in professional athletics. The same could benefit every student. Imagine yourself being a successful student. The more you see yourself in that capacity, the more likely it will come true.