How to Stop Feeling Like You Have Something to Prove
Realize that proving yourself won’t bring you much gratification
There was a long period of time where I had a chip on my shoulder and felt like I had to prove myself to everyone. I think we all have these stages in our lives, but guess how many people were impressed by that need to prove myself?
No one. When I tried to assert my intelligence in elementary school and my early stages of middle school by shouting out answers and not waiting my turn, the only person I was impressing was myself. I had to be a know it all, but no one else appreciated it.
There was no one who said “wow, Ryan is so smart!” or “crap, Ryan was right all along!” or “Ryan is right about everything!” No one ever recognized me for what I tried to prove to them.
Fortunately, natural maturation put me in my place, but I still have moments where I feel like I have something to prove — as a teacher, writer, runner, and Christian.
Every teacher wants to prove that they have good control of the classroom and good classroom management. As a new teacher, I know that very few new teachers have good classroom management and try to compare themselves to veteran teachers — and there are constant moments where new teachers, myself included, have a need…
