Dots That Inspire
Daniel Ronken
Adler Graduate School
Dots That Inspire
The phrase ‘begin with the end in mind’ has been an often-repeated line from many professionals who claim to be goal-setting experts. The idea is that if you focus on the end goal from the very start, there is a higher probability of the future manifestation of this goal. That said, how would this strategy assist a teacher who is attempting to encourage a young, timid, and fearful child to take a risk while attempting to create a work of art?
Here’s the story from the book, “The dot.” Class is over and the teacher approaches one of her students named Vashti who is obviously visibly frustrated. The teacher immediately recognizes that Vashti hadn’t made the slightest attempt at drawing anything. In fact, the canvas was still totally blank! The teacher pauses and then makes the following light-hearted and benign wisecrack remark, “Ah, a polar bear in a snowstorm.” This gentle and non-judgmental comment by the teacher gets a snarky response from Vashti who pouts, “I just can’t draw” inferring that she is extremely discouraged.
Encouragement and Embracing Imperfection
The wise and thoughtful teacher suggests to little Vashti to simply make a mark (on a blank canvas) and “see where it takes her.” It’s clear this is not a ‘begin with the end in mind’ strategy. Instead, the teacher’s comment appears to be more of a message about faith, trust, and inspiration. There are many potential reasons why Vashti was literally ‘drawing a blank.’ Could it be that she has yet to learn about the courageousness of trying her best at something and knowing that being imperfect is totally acceptable? In fact, imperfection is more desirable because if a person goes through life with a perfectionist attitude in everything they do, it’s likely they’ll be wasting an exorbitant amount of time and energy and the end result would be exhaustion. By the teacher mindfully setting the stage for success and...
