Break free from running on survival!

Do you feel like you have given out so much, for so long and you are running out of steam? Are you losing your passion for your role?

Working in schools in many roles for over 30 years, I totally LOVED every role. Working is a vocation, a passion and we do it to impact and change lives of so many children. What a privilege.

However, this can come at the expense of ourselves. It certainly did for me. My family came second and myself came third. I forgot to look after myself and over time, my body started to tell me that this wasn’t sustainable.

ACTION is required by you today if you relate to this. It may be uncomfortable, hard at times, annoying and others may not like it: but this is about YOU and what is best for you. Interestingly, as you take this action, others around you benefit from you becoming the best version of you!

As you re-discover your passion for teaching, you become more creative and energetic, more productive and fulfilled. Win win, right?

So how to do this?

The answer is in simple, small and achievable steps. Don’t try to change all your habits, routines and mindsets all at once. You are human and exhausted! Be kind to yourself!

ACTION- Let’s start small and seemingly obvious:

• Watch each day for the wins. This means noticing when a child suddenly understands that concept you’ve been plugging for days, when you complete your marking in the 45 minutes you allocated instead of the 2 hours it took last week, when a child gives you a smile on coming into class, when a parent says thank you….get the idea?
• As you spot these, you need to log them. Many of us journal- I’d highly recommend it. But these wins need to be internalized for them to benefit at your core.

Brendon Burchard says “Don't let stress control you. Take control of your stress by taking control of your thoughts and actions.”

Does this make you cross? Of course, there is stress working in schools, doesn’t he get it? However, as we look beyond our initial reactions of frustration and perhaps even desperation, let’s recognise that we all get stressed sometimes. Everyone does, right?

Today is about taking back some control and making adjustments in our life, to our habits and thought patterns, one small step at a time. Remember, be kind to yourself, as you are already on survival, and it’s about starting to gently fill back the tank.

TODAY: If you can change one thing today, see the huge impact you have had on so many, even a smile you shared, a door you held, a coffee you made for someone, and suddenly the day isn’t a complete wash out!