Being unreasonable is necessary.
Recently, I was covering some material with a group of students and abruptly deviated from the notes. The course is an introduction to a new career in healthcare and, in the midst of a lecture on professionalism, goal setting came up.
The front of a classroom is a pulpit.
Well, sometimes it is when I’m there, at least.
I was supposed to read the following:
Goals should be:
- Reasonable
- Measurable
- Written down
- Monitored for progress
- Set for all areas of an individual’s life
- Celebrated when reached, even if it is a small accomplishment
Considering what I stated at the start of this, I am certain you have picked out where the change was made.
When you stand in front of men and women who have made the choice to invest their time and money in higher education to have a better life–often coming from challenging situations or rough neighborhoods–repeating some drivel about setting the bar at a level you are confident you can clear is an insult to their commitment.
Giving credence to the concept of reaching only for what is at arm’s length is dangerous.
For some of them, the first thing their hand landed on might have been drugs or a weapon.
Great achievement requires grand vision.
The founding fathers didn’t settle for King George’s tyranny, they declared independence.
President Kennedy didn’t say “we choose to go to New Jersey,” he pointed toward the moon.
Bill Gates didn’t aspire to make a decent operating system, he set out “to get a workstation running our software on every desk and eventually in every home.”
Choose an unbelievable destination and drive on toward it as others doubt your sanity.
Pursuing a new direction will shake disbelieving heads.
There is nothing wrong with going after something different than everyone else.
Many in my students’ lives consider them crazy.
It’s a good thing.
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