Want to take a test? Of course you do! It’s the 21st century in education; testing is all the rage. The test is about positive mindset and it’s simple. As you read this article, make a note of every word you read that rhymes with “YELLOW” (Feel free to write them down). Here we go.

A teacher might approach the school day with one of the following mindsets:

A) These kids are driving me crazy. I knew that they were going to be annoying today, and sure enough, they were. I bet tomorrow students are going to roll in late, sit like a bunch of slugs, and be rude anytime I ask them to do something. Don’t even get me started on all the ways I’ll get interrupted. It’s like a flippin’ circus here.

B) I’m going to have some fun today. True, some students will look at me like a freak but—meh—I’ll still have fun. I believe they’ll perform well today—I mean, we’re not talking Freedom Writers here, but better than yesterday. I can handle mellow rather than raucous. It’s going to be a good day.

Which of these two classes will have more interruptions, more disruptions? The answer: I don’t know and neither do you. For all we know, they could be the same. But that’s not the real question.

In which of these two classes will the teacher be more annoyed? This question we cam answer with some confidence. Teacher A. Why?

You notice what you look for in life.

Confirmation Bias. The Tetris Effect. Both these concepts are critical for us to understand. In short, by priming our brains to focus on a certain type of stimuli, we increase its ability to find such stimuli. And we are more apt to focus our perception on our existing beliefs (e.g., I already think Kurt is a jerk, so I’ll notice his jerk-like tendencies more often). Relatedly, in noticing one type of details, we may miss another entirely. See it for yourself in this video Awareness Test.

How often do teachers go into an experience expecting the worst? We meet with an administrator or dean looking for criticism. And conference with parents looking for blame. We surge our blood pressure looking for those mean punks in third hour to terrorize our souls. We draw our mental weapons, ready to duel the consultant who comes to our meetings.

This isn’t to say that we aren’t going to face criticism from admin, blame from parents, terror from teens, or consultant hocus-pocus from time to time. But are we also looking just as hard for the good in our colleagues, communities, and classes?

This is called positive mindset. And here are seven ways you can work on developing it daily.

1. Do Some Positive Mindset Prep

Before your next meeting, training, or conference set a goal of finding and writing down X number of positives that are helping the education of your students. Maybe it’s a caring colleague who has never lost her passion for teaching, even after 40 years. Maybe it’s an idea that could help minimize interruptions. Compete with a fellow colleague to see who can find the most positives.

2. Hand Out Goodness Awards

Make a weekly/monthly goal to bestow a “Goodness Award” to someone (staff member, student, etc.). Be sure to explain why that person has demonstrated a certain quality or goodness. Bonus: Between meetings, the current award holder must find the next award recipient.

3. Seek Daily Gratitudes

At a habituated time each day, write down three things for which you are grateful. Clearly identify why you are fortunate for each thing. Be sure to check out some of the research on the short- and long-term effects of this practice. To stoke your inner techy, you can even use apps like Gratitude365. For more, consult the guru of gratitude, Dr. Robert Emmons of UC Davis.

4. Avoid the Downers in the Teachers Lounge

I’m sure you can think of at least a couple fellow teachers who always have some gripe-of-the-century to bellow at anyone in earshot (find them in their natural habitat: the teachers lounge). If you’re feeling particularly mopey, it may be worth avoiding these folks. If you can’t (or shouldn’t), be extra vigilant in looking for the good qualities in each person. Remember: If you go into a conversation looking for someone to be negative, you will find it. Or make a note to do one positive for your students or staff for every one gripe or excessive complaint a downer says.

5. Conspire to Inspire

Create positive conspiracies. Place a student’s favorite candy bar on his/her desk before class begins. Enlist your class to give a fellow teacher random high-fives throughout the day. Mail a positive, thankful note to a parent about their student. Most importantly, do these random acts of kindness anonymously so that the recipient doesn’t know who initiated it. The anonymity will require the recipient to see everyone as a potential source of positivity.

6. Kick-Start With Mood Boosters

Say hello to a brighter day or meeting by starting each session with positive shares. Students write compliments to hand one another (or place in a box to be reviewed and distributed later). Staff share “great moments” they’ve had that day or week before getting on to the learning or business. Parents must list three things they like about their child before commencing with the conference. Play an inspiring or hilarious video or read a positive news story in the morning.

7. Finish Your Test (And Then Give Students One)

Remember I asked you to participate in a positive mindset test? It’s time for the answers.

List out all the words you noticed in this article that rhyme with GREEN.

What? Can’t think of any? That’s because I told you to look for the words that rhymed with YELLOW (there were four). But there were also four words rhyming with GREEN.

You notice what you look for in life. Try this on your students to teach Tetris thinking: 

Ask students to take a mental note of every yellow thing they see in the next week. Make sure that students know their “observation skills will be assessed.” Remind them to look for the yellow each day. On assessment day, have them list out all the green things they have seen in the last week. After they spaz out and throw things at you in disbelief, explain the concept of “seeing what you look for.” Lead a discussion on the benefits of seeking positive observations—with their peers, with their classes, and with their daily lives.

Note: Please don’t actually grade students on their observations. If you do so, you deserve to have things thrown at you—and for them to hit the target.

Positive Mindset in Practice

It’s important to note that there are still times in which criticism and judgment are necessary in education. Not every complaint is misguided. Not every day will be a Mary Poppins sing-along. Unrealistic optimism can be just as much—if not more—counterproductive to education as excessive pessimism. In only looking for positives, we may actually miss serious issues like bullying or violence.

Has the scale been tipped too far to the negative? Are we constantly setting ourselves up to only see the malice in every moment? Can we do more to find the goodness in every day, every student, every colleague and every part of our community?

Look for the green. You’ll find it. And you’ll love it.

This post originally appeared on WeAreTeachers