Teacher well-being is a critical component to teacher success, not just at school, but in the rest of their lives as well.
It is no secret that teachers are suffering high rates of exhaustion, overwhelm, stress, and burn-out. According to the National Center for School Mental Health, 50% of teachers have seriously considered leaving the profession. Teacher stress is linked with lower engagement and lower achievement for students. It is also costly, teacher turnover costs the United States up to 2.2 billion dollars annually.
Many of the issues that cause stress and overwhelm are out of the immediate control of teachers. School organization, leadership, climate and culture, lack of resources and staff, high demands and lack of support are among the issues that lead to today’s stressful educational environment. The result is lower feelings of personal fulfillment, happiness and life-satisfaction.
We all know its a problem, but what can we do about it?
This week we spent two days at the Iowa BEST Summit, where leading psychologists and researchers from around the country focused on strengthening mental wellness supports for educators and students.
This conference validated our belief that while we can’t control everything, we can learn to put our time and energy on the things we can control. We can take step to improve our personal fulfillment and happiness which can lead to higher life satisfaction.
Our country, including legislators and our school districts, must address organization factors that negatively affect teachers. Many of those things are not in our immediate control. However, according to extensive research, there are things teachers CAN control that move the needle towards higher levels of life satisfaction.
The ideas we share below at not “toxic positivity.” This is NOT about masking your feelings and pretending that everything is okay. It is about understanding that things are NOT okay, and then doing what we can to successful move forward and do what we need to do. It is about taking care of our own mental health, to the extent that we can, rather than giving up hope or waiting for the world to fix all of our challenges.
To that end, here are 6 things teachers can do to increase their teacher well-being:
Shift Your Mindset.
Positive emotions are often under our control and have an impact on our well-being. Focus your time and energy on things you can control and let go of the rest. You can control your own emotions, attention, physiology, motivation and personal behavior.
There are many ways to shift your mindset. Mindsets are contagious, so be careful who you spend your time with. Find something every day to be grateful for. When you have a challenge, ask yourself, “What advice would I give a friend?” Develop self-compassion and let go of the need to be perfect. Holding unrealistic expectations for yourself will always lead to dissatisfaction.
Find meaning to find motivation.
Personal motivation requires understanding our purpose. Why did you go into this profession? Look for the higher calling. Think of a time when you know you made a difference in the life of a student. Remember the times when you felt empowered and loved your work. Take a look at your personal skills and strengths. What do you have to offer the world? When you are using your gifts, you are likely to be highly motivated. Consider how you can bring your personal gifts and talents to your work in new ways.
Recognize your accomplishments.
When your to-do list is long, it is easy to beat yourself up for all the things you didn’t finish. This is a recipe for self-negativity. Instead, try to focus on all of the things you did accomplish each day. Teachers do hundreds of things each day and then berate themselves for what didn’t get done. When you add up your daily accomplishments, you are likely to be astounded!
Negativity bias often causes our brains to focus or even obsess over things that don’t go well. We can counteract negativity bias by focusing on the things that went well. You will gradually be able to train your brain to see the positive rather than the negative.
You can also recognize small steps towards a larger goal. You’ll be surprised at how many little things there are to celebrate!
Bring the joy.
Joy is connected to feelings of well-being as well as increased learning and even physical changes in our bodies.
What brings you joy? Focus on the joy in your life. Plan something fun with friends. Take time to work on a hobby. Watch a funny movie.
Plan at least one small thing that brings you joy each day.
Write it in your planner.
Bring joy into your classroom too. If you don’t bring the joy into your classroom, who will? If you are tired and grumpy and bored, you can bet your students will be as well.
We can never expect students to bring more to the room than we bring. What do you want? Engagement? Motivation? Energy? We set the tone in our classrooms. What we bring is what students get.
Find ways to bring in playfulness and fun into your classroom and watch things change for the better. For more ideas read our #1 most downloaded post 8 Simple Ways to Bring Joy to Your Classroom.
Prioritize self-care.
We all know the importance of self-care, but often put it on the back burner. You need to eat, exercise and rest. Sleep deprivation affects almost everything about our day- our energy, our attitude, and our ability to solve problems. If you do nothing else, try to get enough sleep. That alone will increase your sense of well-being.
Self-care doesn’t work when it is prescribed. Self- care is very personal. You need to decide what makes you feel good. Maybe it is green smoothies and yoga, maybe it is a warm shower and a good book. Maybe it is a cup of coffee on your morning drive or a walk in the evening. What relaxes you? What recharges your battery? Doing more of what feels like self-care to you.
Foster positive relationships.
When we feel psychological safety, engage in meaningful collaboration, and feel support from those around us, we do better in all areas of our lives.
Think about how you want to feel in your classroom and in your life. What would it take for that to happen? Then work backwards. Keep moving back a step until you get to things that you can do.
Think about how you want your students to feel in your classroom. Then work backwards. What would it take for that to happen?
Make it a priority to get to know people. Provide acknowledgement. Create opportunities to work with others on something meaningful. Belonging increases our ability to cope with challenges and helps to assure that we will thrive.
Teacher well-being is a complex issue with many elements that need to come together so that teachers feel happy and fulfilled in their life and work. We can’t control everything that needs to occur, but we can influence our own happiness in significant ways.
Our best,
Would you like more ways to stregthen your well-being? We have create a virtual workshop which addresses all of these issues and more. The workshop is open from Oct. 15 until Dec. 1st and available on-demand, 24/7.
It might be just the shot of support you need to bring energy and happiness back into your life.
Check out our Reignite Your Passion: Renewal and Rejuvenation for Teachers here.
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