Merely a matter of common sense

1. ““EEll EExxiittoo eess uunnaa DDeecciissiióónn”” ((““SSuucccceessss iiss aa DDeecciissiioonn””))
bbyy DDaavviidd FFiisscchhmmaann
(Images from AMAZON USA)
English translation of excerpt ‘Mi Pigmalión’ from book’s pages 62 to 64
“My Pygmalion
I have previously commented on my childhood and the limiting beliefs that I had
internalized. I remember being 13 years old and performing lousy at school, especially
Math. As a result of the hard childhood I had lived, my defense mechanism for survival was
to escape reality.
In other words, I spent time daydreaming and did not pay attention. I roamed between
Jupiter and Venus, making sporadic stops in Mars. Nowadays, children who do not pay
attention are said to have ‘attention deficit disorder’, which is very common. Forty years
ago, when I did not pay attention and did not understand, I was called “stupid”.
I remember arriving home to my mother -- who had no patience and was explosive --
asked me about my homework, to what I responded silently, glancing at the horizon, that I
did not have any idea. I did not attend school, my body did; my mind was travelling in
space.
My desperate mother would first scream, and then she would help me with homework
showing to me how to do the problems. But again, as soon as she started explaining, I
started daydreaming. And so, she would wake me up with a thud or a shriek on my ear.
When she asked, with desperation, whether I had understood, I would respond ‘No’.
Since my mother could not endure such torture, soon after she hired a tutor to work with
me. At this point, I had already developed a series of limiting beliefs due to the situation I
was living. Beliefs such as “I am terrible in Math”. “I am not smart” or “I am useless”.
Four math tutors came through and quit after the third or the fourth class. They would
tell my mother that I had a severe problem. My mother seriously thought that I might have
limitations, perhaps was even retarded. Losing all hope in me and with very low
expectations on my academic achievements, she decided to hire the fifth and last tutor, a
red-headed young man by the name of Leslie Ackerman.

2. In contrast to the other tutors, Leslie put more affection into the job. First he observed
and realized that I did not pay attention. Then, instead of teaching me Math, he started to
lecture me on how to pay attention. Gradually, I realized that I was not present, that I would
“leave”, so I began making an effort to improve; I started solving math exercises and Leslie
promoted a positive Pygmalion effect.
He told me that I was very intelligent, very capable and that I was good on math. At the
beginning I mistrusted him since I could not believe what he was telling me; everyone had
told me that I was not very smart, and my mother even used the word stupid. But Leslie
believed in me and, bit by bit, I began to believe in myself. And so, I started doing much
better at school in all subjects, especially in math. This confirmed my new belief and made
it sink in.
During my sophomore year, I was transferred to the Honors Math class and ended with
excellent grades. From having limiting beliefs and being a mediocre student, I had adopted
empowering beliefs and become a good one. All thanks to one person who saved my life,
who believed in my aptitude, gave me confidence, and made me feel competent.”
(translated 2015 LA)