Giving Myself an A for 2026

In “The Art of Possibility”, Benjamin Zander and Rosamund Zander wrote about a technique that I found to be absolutely useful in lifting myself out of a shitty state. It’s called Giving an A. In the book, Benjamin shared about a story where he would walk into his music class and declare that everyone will get an A for the class. And the only requirement for getting this A is to write him a letter describing why they got the A. “Each student in this class will get an A for the course,” I announce. “However, there is one requirement that you must fulfill to earn this grade: Sometime during the next two weeks, you must write me a letter dated next May, which begins with the words, ‘Dear Mr. Zander, I got my A because …,’ and in this letter you are to tell, in as much detail as you can, the story of what will have happened to you by next May that is in line with this extraordinary grade.” There are numerous examples in the book — and online — so I’d leave you to find them if you desire.…