There’s something you *probably* don’t know about me, and to be totally real with you, it’s a little on the embarrassing side…but I almost let teacher burnout steal my career and quite possibly my life. Burnout in teachers is the number reason why they leave the profession. I hope by sharing my story that it will help anyone who is where I was..
So here it goes…
My teacher burnout story-
Flashback to 2018: I was pregnant with our third baby girl.. I had a loving family, a completely blessed life, a job I was suppose to love because it was my passion.. From the outside, everything looked picture perfect.
… that might sound like a metaphor, but it’s for real. If you were to ask even my closest friends, they would tell you that things were amazing!
In reality, I was sitting on the couch googling what a nervous break down looked like and if I should be looking into treatment facilities for my anxious thoughts before finally realizing where I was.
I don’t mean where I was as in, my house and on my couch, I mean where I was emotionally…This was my version of hitting bottom.
When most people hit bottom, they get stuck. They tell themselves that this is it. That someone who has an amazing life and can't appreciate it will never be capable of rising up and building an abundant, free, and actually being happy in life.
I’m living proof that’s not the case. In fact, just 6 months after hitting rock bottom, I was no longer just surviving, I was actually thriving! I was loving my career again and creating the reality I truly wanted.
3 Limiting Beliefs
- Once burnout starts, it won't stop.. This is really a lie that we tell ourselves because when you hit rock bottom, it seems like there is no way out. The truth is that you can absolutely overcome burnout and go from purely surviving to completely thriving!
- Everyone in teaching feels like this, it's just part of the job. Society has teachers believing that they need to give up their personal lives, their livelihood and anything else that isn't teaching related. This simply isn't true. Feeling burned out is not part of the job and the teachers who continue to teach for years and years are the ones who know how to set boundaries. They also continue to take time for themselves and the things they love!
- Burnout means you're weak. I'm going to call complete BS on this one.. in no shape or form does feeling burned out make you a weak individual. Most likely, it actually means that you are stronger than most. This is because you are giving more of yourself to others than is physically possible. Teacher burnout is perceived as a negative thing but in reality, it's a sign of how much passion you have for teaching.
Burnout in teachers is a real problem. Let's look at some strategies to help!
5 Strategies to Getting “unstuck”
- Positivity– As I mentioned earlier, teacher burnout can be a really negative place to be. The first step to overcoming it is finding little positivities throughout your day. These can be as simple as recognizing the smile on your child's face when you get home from work, a hug you get from a student or a kind gesture from a coworker. It's easy to focus on the negative things happening when you're at rock bottom. Make a conscious effort to find the happy things.
- Goal Setting– Start with simple goals, ones you can set with idea that it's almost impossible to fail at. Once you have mastered your first goal, move on to the next.. By setting goals and reaching them, you're wiring your brain to know that you can overcome obstacles. It will become a desire to want to succeed at them. The ecstatic feeling you get when you meet your goal will bring even more positivity into your daily life.
- Self Care– Take a look at your to do list.. are you on it? Nope.. didn't think so. More times than not, burnout starts to really take hold of our lives when we stop doing things for ourselves. And I don't mean that we make other people do stuff for us. Often times, we stop doing the things we enjoy because we are convinced that we don't have time for them. I even convinced myself that I didn't need to do them anymore. If you're suffering from burnout, take time each day and do something just for you. (5-10 minutes is all you really need to start with.) You can find a whole list of ideas here.
- Mindfulness– Mindfulness is so much more than meditation and yoga. Mindfulness is really just being present in whatever activity you are doing. My favorite way to practice mindfulness is keeping a gratitude journal. Start by writing down 5-10 things each night that you are grateful for. When I first started practicing this, a question that resonated with me was “what would you have tomorrow if you only had the things you were grateful for today?” This has always stuck with me. If you looking for a more structured journal that focuses only on gratitude you can find one here. Other options to explore in the realm of mindfulness are meditations. There are tons of apps out there that will guide you through them.
- Organization– When I was in the thick of teacher burnout, I had to take a step back. I had to look at the things I could do to change my situation. One of the major changes I made was how organized I was. I started creating systems at home and school that allowed me to be more prepared. It really cut down on my stress level. This definitely helped me avoid some of those burnout feelings.
Conquering Burnout in Teaching
When I think of the word “conquering,” I think of someone at the top of a mountain that has just worked the hardest they probably ever have in order to reach their goal. Think of burnout as your mountain. It's going to take work on your part. It's also going to take persistence, consistency and a plan. If you're serious about overcoming burnout, I want to help! The Teacher Haven community is a safe place where teachers come together virtually to start putting themselves at the top of their own to do list. It's amazing to see teachers going from surviving to thriving all with the help of my Happy Teacher's framework.