How We React to Teaching Profession Affects Our Mood, Self-image, Life.

I’m not a newbie to negativity.

I was negative before, furious in my desire to diminish my self-worth based on the work I assumed I couldn’t do or didn’t have the experience to do correctly.

And yes, perfectionism helped to dig a huge hole I was burried in.

I was lucky to meet a mentor who shifted my perspective on many things and pointed me to the direction that I may choose to go if I want to be truly happy in anything I do. Such a transformation of viewpoint goes through ups and downs. You don’t stop stressing out all of a sudden, profession does not transform into an easy one, students don’t switch to a perfect behavior.

In fact, everything stays the same. Sometimes, you feel high when things go right, and you have a surprisingly easy day in a classroom. You are in this state of illusion that maybe the approach “Don’t worry, be happy” does work…until that Monday hits again and you need to tame the hurricane of students and their emotions while following your pace guide.

Here is the thing: what we do every day is merely our assumption of what needs to be done.

Whether you took 2 hours or 10 minutes to plan your next couple of lessons does not change the outcome: you spend your time working. The difference is what you assume about the time you need to spend, the resources you need to have, the tasks you need to do to be productive.

For some – it’s 5-6 hours. For others – it’s 30 minutes. The outcome is the same- you spend your time working.

Every time I make a mistake of going above and beyond for my students, I come back to the same conclusion: simplicity is the key, less is more.

I always tend to underestimate my students and overestimate my ability to help. This does not sound like a well-balanced functioning in a teacher’s profession.

This, in fact, is like bouncing up and down. You can’t focus, see clearly, or think clearly. Tons of work and frustration are followed by a refusal to do anything and the guilt, “I should be doing something for my work.” That’s not how it should be, right?

Teaching is not a brain surgery. It’s doable.

Why all this frustration? Why self-guilt?

And while I’m on a continuous learning curve of how to simplify my life and work smarter, not harder, bad days do happen. And that’s ok. I’m quite patient with how I learn what not to do and what not to be stuck in emotionally.

By the way, Angela Watson interviewed Jennifer Binis in one of her latest episodes “Why Teachers Are Historically Overworked and Undervalued (and how to disrupt the pattern”. I recommend listening if you want to hear information about why schools overwork and undervalue teachers, from a historical perspective.

The takeaway is this: less is more. Simplicity is the key.

Download this list of reminders that will inspire you to work smarter, not harder. –>

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