How can you break free from the messages you, those closest to you, or society tells you?
How can you push yourself beyond what you thought possible?
On today's episode of Life's Next Lesson Plan Podcast, Rachel Rauk, that's me, high
school teacher for three decades, shares her vision for this podcast, along with a lesson
on creating your ideal life based on the powerful TED talk entitled The Danger of a Single Story,
and Malcolm Gladwell's book, Blink, The Power of Thinking Without Thinking.
Each episode will have an action step to help you manifest your dream life, but in this
class the homework is optional.
Hello and welcome back to Life's Next Lesson Plan Podcast, and thank you for joining me
for episode 3.
I'll reintroduce myself for anyone listening who doesn't know me yet.
I'm Rachel, a 51 year old divorced mom in Wisconsin.
I have a 17 year old daughter and a dog and a cat.
I decided to end my three decades long career as an English teacher after this school year
to actually explore new passions instead of just talking or dreaming about them.
Outside of being a teacher and a mom, my interests are career next steps, learning in education,
health and wellness, despite my love for pizza and N.A. Guinness, lifestyle and travel, and
storytelling.
One thing I hear often from retired educators is that the loss of identity is difficult,
especially for those of us who have been teachers our entire adult lives.
This podcast is a way for me to explore a new adventure while also staying rooted in
my education background by putting some of what I taught as a journalism teacher to the
test.
At the same time, my goal is to connect with others looking to take their next steps in
life, whether that be personal or career related.
To bridge my transition out of education, you'll find that this podcast follows a similar
structure to the classroom.
Twice a month I'll have solo episodes and twice a month I'll have a guest with me so
we can learn together.
Each podcast will have a brief lecture or lesson followed by an activity to engage you
in the episode along with some optional homework.
This will remind me of my school days where some students thought homework was an option.
It is my hope that by engaging in each lesson and completing the homework, you will learn
something new but also uncover ideas for your life's next lesson plan, however you
want that to look.
This podcast is not just for educators or midlifers though.
The ideas can apply at any stage of life for anyone searching to feel more fulfilled.
With that said, let's dig into today's lesson.
As the title suggests, today's lecture or lesson is on breaking free from the single
story, creating your own path with the book Blink and Beyond.
So today I'm going to combine two of my favorite concepts I taught in journalism class involving
making quick judgments or assumptions about others.
This also ties to my thoughts about societal influence that I outlined in episode 1 about
the transcendental ideas of nonconformity.
Before starting the interview unit in my beginning journalism classes, I used to show the TED
talk The Danger of a Single Story by Nigerian author Chima Manda Nagose Adiche.
In her articulate talk, Adiche discusses how a limited or one-sided narrative about a person,
a place, or a culture can lead to misunderstanding, stereotypes, and oversimplification.
Adiche begins by recounting her own experiences of growing up in Nigeria where her early exposure
to literature was dominated by Western authors.
She reflects on how this influenced her own writing and worldview and how she initially
wrote stories about things she had never experienced because that was what she thought literature
should be like.
In her talk, she then explores the impact of the single story in her life and in the broader
world.
For instance, she shares a story about moving to the United States for college.
And she's shocked when people are surprised that she speaks English and has a middle class
background.
That's because when they hear Africa, they had created a one-dimensional portrayal of
Africa, usually focused on poverty and war.
Adiche emphasizes in her TED talk that the problem with the single story is not that
it's necessarily untrue, but that it's incomplete.
By relying on one single narrative, we risk reducing complex human experiences to simplistic
stereotypes that distort our understanding of the world.
Ultimately, she urges listeners to seek out multiple perspectives and stories both about
ourselves and about others, which I'll talk about in a minute.
After this powerful talk, I would ask my students, where I taught in the affluent town of Maquan,
to create a single story of me.
This was usually very early in the year before they knew much about me, so they would share
their lists of assumptions, saying things about maybe my middle to upper class background,
my delightful childhood, my high levels of education, my current socioeconomic status,
and stories about how I likely grew up.
Well, after that list, I would then drop some big truth bombs on them about my real story
versus their single stories.
And we'll just say that the room of teenagers was always dead silent.
This lesson definitely opened their eyes to the way they immediately judge people based
on appearance and general assumptions.
We have really good talks about how when someone walks in the room, what are the first two
to three things they look at and what generalizations do they make as a result.
I'm going to go more in depth about this topic on Patreon and share another lesson about
writing a 300 word story using a template and how I created my own story as I wrote
with them.
Just a warning though, that one will be a juicy episode, which is why I need to put
it on Patreon.
I'll definitely be sure to let you know when that's ready.
At this point, I would sort of transition into just a little mini lesson about Malcolm
Gladwell's book, Blink, The Power of Thinking Without Thinking.
I absolutely love Malcolm Gladwell, his research is absolutely fascinating.
But this particular book, as you can imagine, Blink, explores the concept of rapid cognition,
which is making quick unconscious decisions based on limited information.
So how people make judgments in the blink of an eye, without deliberate conscious thought,
and how these snap decisions can be both beneficial at times, but often flawed.
Americans, he says in his research, are definitely the prime offenders of this.
So in his book, Gladwell has seven key themes and ideas.
The first one is about the unconscious mind.
Gladwell explains that much of our thinking occurs below the level of conscious awareness.
We just make split second decisions based on instincts and experiences that we've accumulated
over time, even kind of being unaware of why we make them.
These decisions are often referred to as thin slicing, where people kind of quickly identify
patterns and draw conclusions from minimal data, or again from their own life experiences.
His second idea is intuition versus reasoning.
So the book emphasizes the power of intuition, arguing that sometimes quick judgments can
be more accurate than those made after lengthy deliberation.
It's kind of like going with your gut feeling.
Gladwell presents examples such as art experts instantly recognizing forged paintings, or
a marriage counselor sensing trouble in a relationship with just a few moments of interaction.
I would argue that if you're a mom, there's some truth to motherly intuition as well.
His third idea is the power of first impressions.
Gladwell explores how initial impressions can often be more reliable than carefully
considered ones.
This is illustrated by examples like the way people form impressions of others, maybe
a teacher's first impression of a student, or vice versa, or how individuals react to
products or advertisements.
His fourth idea is the dark side of rapid cognition.
So while quick judgments can at times be accurate, they are also susceptible to biases and errors.
Gladwell discusses how unconscious biases like racial prejudices or stereotypes can
influence snap decisions.
So for instance, he explores the example of police officers making split second decisions
in potentially life-threatening situations, and how their implicit biases can sometimes
lead to tragic mistakes.
He has so many countless examples, so well researched in his book, to back up all of
these ideas.
This fifth thought is the Warren Harding error.
So one example Gladwell uses to demonstrate the danger of biased snap judgments is the
story of Warren Harding, who as some of you probably know, became a US president despite
being one of the least qualified candidates.
Gladwell suggests that Harding's appearance fit the stereotype of a president, leading
voters to make an ill-informed decision based on superficial impressions.
Interesting.
Sixth is the importance of context.
So here Gladwell highlights that the context in which decisions are made can drastically
affect the outcome.
He discusses various instances where the same person can make a very different judgment
in one context versus another.
So one of the most famous examples is the use of the 42nd rule in firefighting, where
experienced firefighters make snap decisions based on context and their knowledge of human
behavior.
And then lastly, he talks about the limits of expertise, so he points out that expertise
doesn't always guarantee better decision making.
In fact, in some cases, relying on expert knowledge can slow down decision making or
even lead to errors, especially when it prevents people from trusting their instincts.
So to sum all that up about the book, Blink, argues that rapid cognition or making decisions
in the blink of an eye is a powerful tool that we use in everyday life.
It can be a force for good, but it also comes with risks, particularly when bi-season stereotypes
influence our decisions.
Gladwell encourages us to become more aware of how our minds work when making snap judgments
and to recognize when to trust our instincts and when to be cautious.
The overall message is that while we should trust our instincts, we also need to be aware
of their limitations and the factors that might influence them.
So in the classroom, after this lesson on assumptions, I would talk about how we should
approach interviewing others in our school community.
This is usually their first opportunity to go outside the classroom and interview someone.
I want them to strip their minds of any preconceived notions of their peers, the custodians in
the building, their administrators, or other teachers that they might interview for their
first assignment.
So this is the part of the lesson where we're going to stop for a moment to reflect.
If you're the journaling type, feel free to pause and write on these topics if it's convenient
for you or you can always come back or just think about them in your head.
I want you to think of a time in your own life you may have been guilty of creating
a single story or judgment about someone or a group of people in the blink of an eye.
Were you right?
How might things have been different if you cleared your mind of any assumptions?
Now I want to switch to thinking about if you have done this to yourself.
Do you set goals for your life based on what others like you are doing or what society
expects you to do?
Have you created a single story for yourself?
If you would like more time to reflect on these questions, again feel free to pause
and journal a bit about these topics.
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Take your perks where you can get them.
In my own life I've certainly been guilty of doing this to myself and others at times.
I know as a first generation college student it was originally not in my plans to attend
a four year college.
I'm sure some people in my family can tell you I wanted to be a hairdresser.
I had created a single story for my life based on what I saw growing up.
Probably not surprising that it was my own high school creative writing teacher who insisted
on writing me a letter of recommendation for college and more than gently nudging me to
apply.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
Well in this case a career as an English teacher.
So speaking of teachers and class, we're at the homework section of today's lesson on
how to break free from the single story and create your own path using our knowledge from
blink and beyond.
So this idea we need to ask ourselves, are you living based on a single story of yourself
you have created in your mind?
If you listened to episode one, you know that episode at the end for homework we created
a vision board for an ideal life.
In other words, if there were no boundaries, what elements would you love to see in your
life?
If you looked at my vision board on social media, you probably noticed mine involved
a lot of warm weather and water.
So action items.
How can you break free from the messages that you or those closest to you or society tells
you?
How can you push yourself beyond what you thought possible?
So piggybacking off episode one, let's make our visions more concrete.
I'm going to suggest for homework that you choose at least one of these areas to be intentional
about.
It's one thing to dream it in our minds, but we all know that famous cliche that nothing
changes if nothing changes.
I'm definitely living this right now as I jump out of my comfort zone and into a new path.
So there are nine areas and again I think I'll talk about the two I have focused most
on, but definitely all of these have been going on in the last couple months for me.
So number one is to redefine your comfort zone.
So you can evaluate your fears, identify what makes you uncomfortable and why.
If you understand your fears, it can help you approach them more logically.
So if this is where you want to take action, you can start small.
I always live by baby steps.
So taking minor steps outside your comfort zone could look like speaking up in a meeting
when you would normally not speak, trying a new hobby or doing something for fun that
you've never done before.
You never know where it might lead.
Plus small wins will build confidence.
One area you might want to focus on is creating a vision.
So picture yourself achieving your goal.
Imagine the details, how you would feel, what you would see, how your life would change.
The action step here is to write it down.
First research suggests that goals are more likely achieved if they are written down.
We'll actually have an episode coming up on specific goal setting, but break your goals
into small achievable milestones.
Number three, face discomfort intentionally.
So this kind of goes along with number one, but this is a place where you can try new
experiences like a networking event, going on a solo trip, taking up an activity you've
always avoided but admired secretly.
And in this case, we're going to embrace failure.
So we're going to reframe setbacks as learning opportunities.
Because if we don't try, we don't know.
And if we try and we keep trying and we fail in between, but we never give up, we are successful.
See how I'm trying to talk myself into that?
Okay.
Number four, building a support system.
If there's always something you wanted to do, find a mentor.
Learn from someone who has already achieved what you aspired to.
Definitely did this one.
Thank you, Jenna Kutcher from the Gold Digger podcast.
This action step would involve surrounding yourself with positivity and engaging with
like-minded, supportive individuals and maybe doing a little bit of research on who is an
expert in an area you would like to pursue.
Number five is to take action every day.
Do one thing each day that aligns with your dream, no matter how small it is.
So practice affirmations for your action step.
Find yourself daily that you are capable and deserving of your dreams and tick one thing
off your to-do list.
Number six, develop a new skill.
Take a course or a workshop that push you closer to your dream.
Another action step could involve reading a book, attending a seminar, listening to a
podcast.
Personally love that one.
That motivate you to think differently.
Some great personal development books too that I'd like to dive into in future podcasts.
Number seven is to step into opportunities.
Say yes more often.
Maybe accept an invitation or a challenge that you would typically decline.
This also involves for an action step I can relate, not waiting for the perfect moment.
Just start.
You can always email someone you admire, apply for a dream job, pitch an idea that you've
been sitting on, but we're too worried and too vulnerable to reach out and achieve.
Number eight, stay patient and persistent.
So small wins are wins.
Momentum is momentum.
Keep pushing through self doubt.
A sub-big one.
Imposter syndrome is real.
And lastly, practice gratitude and mindfulness.
Ooh, we're in luck here.
I have an upcoming guest who's going to be teaching us more on this topic.
She has an absolutely fascinating post-classroom story.
So in this case, you reflect often.
Appreciate how far you've come, even when the journey feels tough.
Your action step is to try to stay more present, try to manifest and be mindful about the efforts
that you are making toward your goals.
So personally, I've been leaning hard into a lot of these, especially seven and eight,
as I have switched gears and have branched out of my comfort zone, experienced many moments
of doubt and keep pushing through one baby step at a time.
So remember, growth begins at the edge of your comfort zone.
Each time you step outside, you expand your boundaries and get closer to your dreams.
No one else can achieve your dreams for you.
And if no one else tells you, I believe in you.
Thank you for joining me to learn more about the single story TED Talk and Malcolm Gladwell's
book, Blink.
Next week, I'll have a guest here who will be ready to share more stories and teach another
lesson to help us through this thing we call life.
As a special thank you for listening, I've put a link in the show notes to editable slides
on setting up a small interview and photo assignment, modeled after the famous Humans
of New York website and books created by Brandon Stanton.
Teachers feel free to adapt them for a unit in your classroom.
It'd be a great icebreaker, or share them with someone who might find them useful.
If you'd like to subscribe to our email list for special offers, send us your email at
nextlessonplan at gmail.com.
To accompany this episode, I also have a separate set of slides just for our email subscribers
that teach photo composition techniques.
I typically used this lesson along with the Humans of New York interview lesson to capture
artistic candid photos of the interview subjects.
Simply email us and comment photo, and I will share the editable slides with you.
Pass this on to someone else you think might like them as well.
As I mentioned in today's episode, I will be recording some more personal episodes on
Patreon.
I'll be sure to let you know when that is ready.
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Give us a review, and until next time, Baby Steps, Friends, Momentum is Momentum.