As an educator, why do you do what you do? How would you answer the question, What’s your personal “why?” It may not be an easy question for everyone to answer.
Here’s what I wrote down a few weeks ago:
Every individual has a unique gift or set of gifts to bring to the world. As educators, we work to create the conditions for individuals to self-identify their gifts and release them to the world, leading to personal fulfillment, a life of happiness, and a better world.
The first part contains an important assumption––everyone has assets. This may sometimes be a challenge for us to see in the people (young and older learners) we cross paths with everyday.
But it’s an important assumption that provides the foundation for the work––creating conditions for individuals to identify those assets and contribute them productively to the world.
The final part describes what I believe to be the outcomes when we’re successful at the work. I often wonder what the world would be like if/when 7.5 billion people contribute their assets and how education and educators are a major force for setting the conditions for that to happen.
Futurist and entrepreneur Peter Diamandis my call my answer to the Why? question the beginnings of a massively transformative purpose or MTP.
Something that:
- Inspires and challenges.
- Is aimed at the mind and the heart.
- Can be declared with confidence and sincerity.
- Is uniquely yours.
- Is brief.
If I had to transform my original statement into an MTP, it might look like this:
Create the conditions for individuals to self-identify their gifts and release them to the world.
For the moment, I like it. I may change it across time as I think about the next stages in my life, but for now I’m pretty comfortable with it and believe it captures my purpose. Things like leadership, learning, personal growth and personal impact are all micro-motives that matter a great deal to me.
These micro-motives have only become clearer to me as my colleagues and I have become more focused on creating learner-centered learning environments in our schools and through the work with my colleague on the Shift Your Paradigm podcast. Learn more about what is fueling my MTP:
- What does learner-centered leadership look like? (Part 1)
- What does learner-centered leadership look like? (Part 2)
- What does learner-centered leadership look like? (Part 3)
- Putting learner-centered lessons into practice (Part 4)
What’s your massively transformative purpose?
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