The Struggle is Real

This post is for the teachers who are STRUGGLING. This is not me being a Debbie downer or my attempt at throwing a pity party.

The truth is, that for many, teaching is HARD! If teaching has lost a bit of its sparkle for you…or you’ve lost YOUR sparkle, this post is for you.

Be gentle.

Be gentle with yourself.

As I am writing this, we are entering into a new school year. I’m ten years into this profession and each year the end of summer gets a little bit harder. The bright colors of back to school and bolstering words of district initiatives often has my worries feeling overlooked and burdensome.

Listening to My Fears

While thinking positively 100% has its benefits, making space for our so-called “negative” feelings has its benefits too.

So, I’m giving them a seat at the table. They need to know that I hear them and I appreciate them. I appreciate that they are trying to protect me and think they have my best interest in mind.

In reality, the fear (or negative feeling) is there because it’s trying to give you information. This information is something you’ve likely ignored in the past.

Oftentimes it means that boundaries were crossed or values were compromised. So your subconscious is trying to raise your awareness. It’s trying to help you AVOID running into that issue again.

It’s time we pause and listen to the information they’re trying to give us.

For example, one “negative” feeling that pops up for me is overwhelm. The voice in my head says, “I can’t do all of these things. You’re putting too much on my plate!” This voice MAKES SENSE…because I did do that – – for a long time. But I am learning to DO BETTER…by DOING LESS.

So what fears are popping up for you? What are the stories your brain is offering? What worries are you being presented with?

Write them out. Why does it MAKE SENSE that your brain thinks this way?

Working with My Fears

When I listen to my fears as simply INFORMATION, the fear my body registers starts to subside. I can identify what their concerns are and either remind myself how I am already addressing them…or create a plan to address them.

Step out of judgment and question to understand instead. What is the fear trying to tell you? What boundaries or values is it wanting you to center? What supports can you give yourself? What words does that fear need to hear to be reassured that things will be different?

Generally speaking, we can address our fears in two ways. The first is to incorporate concrete ACTION STEPS to support ourselves. What will we DO in order to create a different outcome? This is where boundaries, self-care practices, and/or reaching out for support come into play.

I brainstormed these steps through creating a “To Don’t” List – boundaries that I want to uphold to support myself. I also created a “Now What” list. This list holds the actions I’ll need to take in order to keep myself accountable to those boundaries.

When it comes to my example above (my overwhelm), I remind myself that I am addressing this concern with action. The action I am taking is to communicate and develop a plan with my partner and my family about how we divvy up our To Do lists at home. We check in with each other at the beginning of every month to see what is working and what needs to be adjusted.

Creating Your Own Affirmations

The second way to address our fears is to work on retraining our brain. We want to train our brain to think different thoughts and perceive things in a different way. Utilizing affirmations and positive self-talk is a perfect example of this.

Once you’ve done the work of listening to what YOUR BRAIN IS ACTUALLY SAYING TO YOU, you are more equipped to figure out what you WANT it to say to you!

You can use the initial thought – the one that has been subconsciously programmed into you – as a jumping off point.

I think, “This is too much. I can’t do it all. I’m not enough.” The overwhelm kicks in. Instead, I want to remind myself that I cannot do it all – – and more importantly, I WAS NEVER MEANT TO DO IT ALL.

Instead of letting your brain take over, identify what YOU WANT TO THINK instead. These are the thoughts that we want to practice. These are the thoughts that we want on repeat.

It will feel unnatural. It will feel clunky. But just like learning to ride a bike, it’s hella awkward at first! It’ll be smooth as butter over time…with the occasional pothole throwing us off 😉

Lean into the Process

I continue to work through this process. While I can write this all out since I am no expert, I can layout a rough outline. I’ve fallen off of that bike more than a time or two, BUT…

the important thing is recognizing that I WANT to ride the bike and that means that I will get back on it every time I fall.

So here is a simple overview of what this process would look like:

• I NOTICE the thoughts that are on repeat in my head.
• I get curious about what information they’re trying to give me.
• I brainstorm what ACTIONS will support me in addressing these fears.
• I rework the thought into a positive affirmation.

Be Intentional

It feels almost impossible not to get caught up in the whirlwind of all the To Dos, initiatives, and PEOPLE that pull at us from every direction. Being INTENTIONAL is the only way we will hold steady ground.

So this year, I’m going into the whirlwind with BOUNDARIES and a plan for CENTERING MYSELF.

If the images on this post have caught your eye, you’re in luck. I’ve put together a resource that will help you create YOUR OWN AFFIRMATIONS that are tailored specifically to you!

Click on the image to your right and get your own copy of the resource. It’s in Google Slides which means its editable AND I also threw in my own lists so you could have examples.

As always, I’d love to hear how the resource works for you. Shoot me an email, send me a dm, or tag me on insta.

We have more power than we know. Let’s find ways to take back our sparkle ✨ 🫶🏼.