Mindfulness Blog for Educators: Overcoming Uncertainty & Doubt.
- Greg Hungerford
- Jan 23, 2022
- 4 min read
Updated: Feb 12, 2022
Our head and hearts hurt giving so much while the crisis of student needs continue. These realities demand our best recipe for staying steady and powering onward.
Tired? Worn down? Is doubt creeping into what you say and do? If so, welcome to the club of being human. Let's get this straight. The current school year is an onslaught of high demands and unyielding stress. Our head and hearts hurt giving so much while the crisis of student needs continue. These realities demand our best recipe for staying steady and powering onward.
Perseverance and confidence are key ingredients that can help us when feeling uncertain about our impact in schools.
"Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained."
-Marie Curie
Perseverance is a skill that came to me after many hard knocks while working in classrooms with students who struggled to communicate needs and lacked coping skills to stay safe. This took on even more meaning when I became an administrator. I added many more adults and students to care for each day. Perseverance taught me the benefit of having an attitude and mindset to keep on keeping on despite the difficulties of the work. Amy is a rock star in this regard to how she takes on the challenges of her day. She keeps going!
Confidence is a skill that I am still working on to this day. I have positive self-esteem and yet, this is different than confidence. I am realizing confidence is more about a humble awareness that I no longer need to be fearful of what might happen each day. Instead, I can depend on my mindfulness practice to keep me calm and brave. I can keep moving forward because I know the work in schools is so important.
Perseverance & Confidence: The Ultimate Ingredients.
Add a heaping cup of perseverance to your daily menu:
Perseverance is sticking with a goal or outcome even when you fail or it becomes difficult. This is a skill that takes practice and support from others. Here are some ways to add perseverance to your already incredible self:
Focus on effort versus just the end results. A focus only on end results can bring us down. We want to walk out the door knowing that we tried our best to help students learn well. We can take note of the words said and the actions offered during the day. Take some time to reflect and reassure yourself that you showed up and jumped fully into the game without hesitation.
Self-talk that is realistic and positive compels the mind to stay fresh and open. This can include comments that acknowledge our goals with students. For example, "Adrian did not know all the vocabulary words on the quiz, and he still did reach his benchmark for the week in math."
This is especially helpful when considering lagging social-emotional skills. For example, "Emilia had two crisis events this week , and she did use her break pass every time when prompted by a staff member." By adding the word "and", we use our language to focus on progress and possibilities.
Realize that mistakes and miscues happen. We are human and get second chances. It is what comes next that matters. If anyone knows about getting knocked down and getting back up, it is educators and providers!
Catch that negative thinking. Mindfulness asks us to be aware when our thoughts are full of "this won't happen" or "I can't make that work." Perseverance requires that we reframe our thinking to include words that inspire us to keep going. For example: "This can happen if I break it down into smaller steps" or "I can figure this out with help." Give it a try!
Stir in some confidence when a boost is needed:
Confidence is self-assurance in our skills, talents, and abilities. We use and value our training and education in framing what is offered to students and families. There is belief in working with others to accomplish goals through hard work and well... perseverance. Confidence is always within our reach with these three steps:
Connect with your reasons on why being an educator is important to you. What made you want to work with students and families? Why do you want students to succeed each day? When we connect to our "why", we recapture our zest and faith in self. Determination and courage to make an impact each day is founded in our values and beliefs. Take some to think about your why!
Be aware of what you are unsure about and do your best to prepare for when these events can happen. If technology issues always seem to throw you off when leading a group, do your best to get help and take the time to set up what you need in advance. When we pay attention to what is difficult for us, we bring the light of awareness to any situation. We make "friends" with what worries us and add some preparedness, tenacity, and poise to counter such emotions. You got this!
Stop and give yourself credit. This can be done with self-assured modesty. When something goes right, take the time to notice what you did to make it happen. That lesson plan took time and effort to differentiate. The phone call with a parent went well because of the time you took to build a trusting relationship. Mindfulness invites us to notice what it feels like in the brain and body when something works out because of our knowledge and intuition.
Our Journey Together...
Amy and I care about you. Deeply. Now is the time to dig deep and bring skillful awareness to what you are doing and can keep doing to help students, families, and yourself. Perseverance during difficult times and confidence in ourselves takes practice and patience. Go at your own pace. Be curious along the way.
Thank you for being on this journey with us. Let's stick together and help each other out.
We are so grateful to be a part of your practice.
Enjoy the ride...
-Greg & Amy
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