Share
Tweet
You are amazing
Volume 9: June 2023
JUNE
June's edition of the Wellbeing Edit is by Lucy Kelly, lecturer, and author of 'Reimagining the Diary - Reflective practice as a positive tool for educator wellbeing'. Lucy has kindly shared insights as well as practical tips.
You are enough
From my own experience and having worked with trainee teachers over the years, teaching attracts perfectionists. We’re good at celebrating others but, when it comes to celebrating ourselves, we find this difficult. As perfectionists, we’re more likely to focus on the black dot in the middle of the white page or to fixate on the 'Even Better If' (EBIs) rather than the 'What Worked Well' (WWWs).
We shouldn’t feel guilty about this. Our brains are hard-wired to zoom in on the negatives. It’s an evolutionary hang-up that stops us being eaten alive by a sabre-toothed tiger. Now, fortunately, sabre-toothed tigers are no longer a daily threat, so our brains find other possible ‘threats’ to fixate on.
For perfectionist teachers, these threats can be the EBIs and a dread of not being ‘good enough’ or ‘doing enough’. In a profession with no endpoint or off-button, and where there’s a lot of outside scrutiny (such as observations), it’s hard for perfectionist teachers to step back from the ‘to-do’ list and focus on themselves for a moment. To see that you are enough and that you’re ‘doing’ enough.
Diary keeping
Diary-keeping is a great wellbeing tool for us all and particularly when we are early on in our career. It’s ‘a place/space for us to rewire our brains' and our ‘negativity bias’.
In the pages of a diary, we can zoom out from those EBIs and the dreaded black dot and focus, instead, on the positives and our successes - however we define success, and however small those positives might be.
Turning the mirror on ourselves and consciously celebrating us and all that we bring to the profession is hard, believe me, I know, but it’s really, really important we get into the habit of celebration. Indeed, the more we see the positives, the easier it is to transition to a ‘growth’ mindset.
According to Rick Hanson, "the brain is like Velcro for negative experiences, but Teflon for positive ones’ (‘Do Positive Experiences “Stick to Your Ribs”?’). A diary gives us a chance to turn that Teflon into Velcro and create a surface for these positive experiences to stick to".
Furthermore, the diary is a physical reminder of us and our achievements. In those times when we’re struggling or not feeling enough, and we all experience them. You can return to your diary and show yourself that you are enough and that you’re doing brilliantly. You can remind yourself of the many WWWs you’ve accumulated over the weeks, months, and years.
"Viewing the diary as a celebratory comfort blanket is important because it motivates us to keep going. If we can physically see that we’re making progress towards our goals, whatever those goals might be, then it gives us the boost to take the next step"
It also helps us to be kinder to ourselves: it’s a reminder that we’re more than our ‘to-do’ lists and to invest in the other parts of ourselves that make us the wonderful teachers inside the classroom. We want you to stay in the profession for as long as you choose to but, more than that, we want you to thrive. I really believe that celebrating ‘you’ in the pages of a diary can help you to do this.
Tried-and-tested activities for celebrating yourself
Ta-Dah list
This activity works in the same way as a ‘to do’ list but, rather than listing what you haven’t done, you flip it and list what you have done. So, as you progress through your day (or at the end of it), write down everything you’ve achieved. You can decide on how small you want to go, depending on how you’re feeling.
It might be that, for you, getting the children to school on time is a big achievement (definitely me!), or it’s planning and teaching five lessons. Maybe it’s remembering to take a lunchbreak. The list is endless, but the purpose is for you to finish the day feeling a sense of achievement and accomplishment, rather than disappointment. You can keep these lists and then, at the end of the week/month, celebrate just how much you’ve done, both personally and professionally.
Goal for the day
At the beginning of your day, write down, draw, or audio record your goal for the day and then return to it in the evening and celebrate your progress towards meeting it. Remember, however, to be kind to yourself and celebrate what you have done, rather than what you haven’t. In fact, one of your goals could be to be kind to yourself, or it might be to leave school by 5pm and have a work-free evening.
Strengths
Keep a list of your strengths and add to it regularly. If you find it difficult to identify your own strengths (I certainly do!), then ask family, friends, and work colleagues to help you. For example, if your Head of Department emails you to thank you for your organisation skills, write ‘organised’ on your list. Return to these attributes when you need to because they’re a physical reminder of how great you are!
This list can also be helpful when preparing for upcoming interviews because it provides evidence for the potentially difficult question ‘What strengths would you bring to this role?
I'm awesome!
Use your diary to note down positive comments that colleagues, friends, family, and learners have said. You could even stick in little notes and cards you’ve been given. Go back to this repository when you need a reminder about your awesomeness.
This activity is an extension of the ‘strengths list’ described above but might also work in tandem with it. For example, ‘I’m awesome’ posts can help you to step-back and identify your strengths.
Want to learn more?
Reimagining the Diary: Reflective practice as a positive tool for educator wellbeing by Lucy Kelly
Please send this to a friend or colleague if you think they might find it find it useful too.
Until next time...
Lucy (and the Stepping Stones team)
Share this resource: