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Communication Tip

...about intention

You are at this page because you linked here from the Communication Tip to read more about intention.

To follow this tip you must be willing to look at intention from the premise that intention equals result. This is a very challenging place to operate from.

For instance:

I said I wanted a certain new client. I did all the right things, yet the client declined. Why would I go through the motions, truly believing that I intended to get the new client, all that work, if my unconscious intention was to fail? For me it was to discover that I wanted to be right, that they wouldn't recognize "genius" if it bit them. H'm, in this case my ego-mind was more intent on being right than succeeding. 

Back to homework. Many teachers lie when they pass out homework and some students know it. What many teachers communicate non-verbally is:

"For those who want to do the homework here it is, however, if you don't want to do it I most likely won't make you do it. And, you know from experience, even if you do turn it in I'll allow you to do it in poor penmanship.

As a matter of fact, you can sometimes count on me to forget to collect it. Also, as you've noticed, there really isn't any immediate consequence for not turning in homework; you know that I do not call your parents and tell them you've broken the homework agreement you and they made with me."

For everyone's homework to be done consistently, to a satisfactory standard, one starts with intention.

That is to say, a teacher can honestly believe they are intending for everyone to do the homework, yet find out later that that's not what they were up to (read The Homework Story). Results other than envisioned always reveal another (unconscious) agenda.

If you have a student who is failing a good place to start from is to ask yourself what do you want to be right about rather than have the student succeed? Complete this sentence, "I want to be right, that...."

If you'd like to discuss this with the coach please do The [free] Clearing Process for Professionals first.

For more about intention check out the Communication Skills Tutorial for Teachers, or, imitation of communication.

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