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My vision is to become an elementary-level special education teacher. I would like to find a mentor who has followed a similar path as I have to gain insight into how to navigate the process while juggling other responsibilities in life. Ideally, this mentor would be someone who has started their career as a paraeducator and had the confidence to further their education while managing outside responsibilities such as running a household and raising children. Finding this desired mentor would allow me to learn what attitudes or personal and professional choices they have made that helped them stay motivated while reaching their goal (D'Souza, 2011).

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To bring out the best in myself as an educator, I must use what I recognize as my personal gifts, talents, skills, and abilities (D'Souza, 2011). I envision myself using skills I possess such as being well organized and having a creative mind to create a learning environment that is effective and efficient for my students. Using my ability to be nurturing, caring, and empathetic will enable me to reach my students and ensure that they are learning in a classroom that is accepting and welcoming of all children.  Having a sense of humor will help me to bring out the best of myself as a teacher because I will be able to laugh about the small inconveniences and stresses that come along with educating children rather than stressing over situations that may not be ideal.

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Building self-esteem will be crucial to becoming my best self as an educator. I will aim to build my self-esteem by focusing my energy on the things that I notice about myself that are positive rather than pointing out my flaws. I intend to make this a big part of my teaching career, especially when I first begin because I will need to remind myself that I will not be an expert the first time I step into my classroom. This also aligns with my need to acknowledge and accept the challenges that occur, as they are only temporary and will create an opportunity for me to grow as a teacher (D'Souza, 2011). To build self-esteem, I will remember to create joyful moments, respect the talents I am using to create learning experiences for my students, and give myself praise and proper credit when achievement is made.

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To paint a bigger vision of my future, I must develop a game plan based on my visions, values, goals, and dreams (D'Souza, 2011). While there are plentiful opportunities as an educator to make a difference in the lives of children, I envision my passion to make a difference reaching beyond the four walls of my classroom. Creating a plan will allow me to develop a purpose and passion outside of teaching, such as employing my desire to volunteer in my community in various ways like tutoring children, advocating for the educational rights of children and families, and spending time in Emergency Temporary Facilities for children, helping young students with homework assignments and reading skills. While focusing on my current goal of becoming a teacher, forming a bigger picture of my future and the steps needed to lead me there will help create my intrinsic motivation (D'Souza, 2011).

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To secure a job as an educator, I must move in the direction I desire to go in by creating my own opportunities. To do this, I must be willing to work hard and take the initiative to explore my options, and take the actions necessary to put myself out there. Doing this will require self-esteem, but using my vision to become my best self will encourage me to confidently make the calls and apply for the jobs I desire. Using my mentor and former colleagues will also allow me to network and make connections when it comes to creating opportunities for myself (D'Souza, 2011). Most importantly, creating my own opportunities will involve not being afraid of failure. Although there are many available teaching positions, I understand that I will not be offered every job I apply for. Creating my own opportunities will require me to see these lost opportunities as a chance to get prepared for the next one.

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Investing in my plans for the future will help me to gain an understanding of what I desire and will lead me to the steps I need to take to get there (D'Souza, 2011). Focusing on what I want out of my career as an educator will help me plan the path I need to take to accomplish the goals I set for myself. Beyond becoming a teacher and making a difference in the classroom, there are other possible areas of interest I desire to explore such as educational coaching and curriculum development. Seeing my desires in the bigger picture and planning the necessary steps to reach those goals will help me keep my vision aligned with my life as it changes along the way.

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For my vision to be successful, I must be willing to find the motivation needed to make a change. For me, change can be an intimidating thing. Part of my reason for going to school to become a teacher was my dissatisfaction with the status quo. Although returning to college was frightening, my desire to change was greater than the cost of change (D'Souza, 2011). To use this tip in my future goals, I must remember the motivation I had to make a change and exert the same effort when pursuing teaching opportunities or exploring passions outside of teaching such as volunteer work or different job opportunities within the education field.

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Tip 8: Motivate Yourself Using Loss Aversion

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Tip 8: Motivate Yourself Using Loss Aversion

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Rather than letting loss aversion hinder my goals as a teacher, I can use loss aversion to motivate myself to take action and rectify situations. In education, I may see a student who does not perform at their perceived capabilities as a loss, but instead of allowing this to create a barrier to my goal, I can use this loss aversion as a motivator to reflect on my teaching and the way I approach this student's learning. I can also use loss aversion in scenarios such as not being offered a position I desired. Using loss aversion in this situation gives me two choices of how to move on towards my future goals; I can either use this loss to make my own destiny, or I can assign that responsibility to someone else (D'Souza, 2011). Ultimately, I would use loss aversion to create my own destiny.

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What is Loss Aversion | Explained in 2 min

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Finding friends and colleagues in the education field to help me enjoy the process of reaching my goals of becoming a teacher, and succeeding at my vision of the teacher I wish to be will be an important and enjoyable part of my journey. Turning work into play by collaborating with fellow teachers and school staff to find ways to engage students, creating a positive learning environment through fun activities, and making time for laughter and pleasure will keep me motivated to continue on my path of achieving my goals.

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D'Souza, G. (2011). EQ from the inside out: Breakthrough tools & ideas for living a fulfilling life. Freedom, CA: Six Seconds.