Tag: inspiration for teachers

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Restoring Mental Energy

Tranquil Meditation scenery
Pixabay.com

Sometimes, no matter how much meditation, deep breathing, or mindfulness we pack into our day or week, our mental energy can be depleted.

To restore it without drugs, alcohol, caffeine or food, try one of these ways:

Find uplifting and positive activities

If f a Facebook or YouTube cat video makes you laugh, then watch it. Just in case you need a fix right now, here’s one:

If prayer or meditation gives you the needed relief, then pray or meditate.

If playing with your children does the trick, then play.

Some days, binge-watching Netflix can do the trick. 😉

Make a list of activities that are uplifting to you and make you feel positive about life.

Do what you love just like Bob Ross

(Here’s a link to Bob’s YouTube channel!)

Work aside (the one that pays the bills), what is it that you LOVE to do?

Baking, cleaning, organizing, reading, painting, running, walking in nature?

Some say you can’t choose what you do for a job and many say that the notion of “doing what you love, so that it doesn’t feel like work” is reserved for the few and the talented.

But each time you decide to do something (life, work, family) you are making a choice.

A choice to eat or not to eat the chocolate cake instead of an apple for breakfast. That’s not to say you have to beat yourself up about it. Admit your choice, and move on. But do realize you did make that choice.

Same with work. You CAN choose to take steps to better your situation. You can choose to be happy you have a job in the first place. Often that can be the catalyst to accepting what you have, and often it can be the catalyst for change.

You could start turning your hobby you love into work you love. It may take time, but it is possible.

If you are already doing what you love (teaching), then make every moment count. Do the things you love to do with your students, brainstorm with colleagues to make your school the best – the greatest – place to work and learn.

Mission for a purpose

Often, focusing on the “why” of our work can restore your energy.

For teachers, the why can be helping students understand grammar or math problems, influencing lives, ensuring students are taken care of, getting them ready for the real world.

For a factory worker, it can be that the microwave-ready veggies they put into the bags parents are purchasing helps the harried family have a fast and nutritious meal.

Restore with gratitude

writing a gratitude journal
pixabay.com CC0

When you are grateful for even the smallest things in life, you can quickly restore your energy. Writing down or saying out loud the things you’re grateful for today can increase your positivity.

Simply state: “I’m so happy and grateful that I have…

…food in my belly

…a job

…money for gas

…a nice home and family

…a healthy lifestyle etc.

Bringing work home

As teachers, we feel that we should be available 24/7, including nights and weekends.

After all, we do have summers off as well as time during the Holiday season to recharge.

You know well that it doesn’t work that way.

When you’re working 6-7 days a week, you’re doing no one any favors. Least of all yourself.

When you’re not happy, no one is happy.

We don’t even realize it ourselves that we project the unhappiness and exhaustion we feel onto everyone else as well – students, colleagues, and family alike.

Bringing work home won’t show as extra pay at the end of the month. Nor any less.

Instead, try to do all the work possible at school – at work.

Now, if you’re an English teacher like I was, there are times when you have to take a stack of essays home to read and correct. But it shouldn’t happen every night.

And if you’re like me, taking that bag of work home but not even opening it because you are so exhausted, well – that just creates more stress, because now you didn’t take care of it. (I wrote about the belief of how hard a task is here)

My solution was to have rituals in place, so that work was done at work, and home was for relaxing.

Cultivating a calm mindset is the key in managing the way your energy is expended.

That energy can be replenished with meditation. To feel calmer, happier, and more energized, click here for guided meditation written for Teachers by a Teacher.

I wish you a calm day.

Most sincerely,

Taru

Feel happier today — Order the full guide to listen to words of inspiration

Master your life to find happiness and fulfillment. Live in the moment, be present, be here now, and use your talents to create a clear and tranquil mind.

TRY IT! 5 DAYS of FREE GUIDED MEDITATION!

Just click here, enter your name & email to get started!

All done with the 5 Free Days? If you found the meditation helpful, imagine what 21 Days of Guided Meditation can do? Order now and Listen to Days 6-21 and continue to create calmness, happiness, and energy in your life.

Use coupon code Love2019 during the month of February to get $9.00 OFF regular price of $29.00! (That’s 31% off!)

Keep Reading the blog: 9 Tools to Get Enough ZZZs

©2018 Taru Nieminen – The Happy Teacher Solution

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Day 12 Inspiration and Ideas Abound

Photo by Austin Chan on Unsplash

Today’s Meditation

__________________________________________________________

“Teachers who are crazy enough to think they can change the world usually do.”

One of the most important aspects of creating the perfect teacher’s life is to remember, every day, the reason at the core of our being. The reason we started teaching in the first place.

Far too many people are confused about what they should be doing, in life and in their career. They want to be happier and more successful at work. They just don’t know how to achieve either.

Creating meaning and purpose

To have meaning and purpose in what you do, and to see results, — gives us motivation. Inspires us. In teaching, this often means finding the meaning and purpose. Sometimes we must dig deep to see it and find it. As Kevin James reminded us on day 10, he had “many teachers that were great, positive role models and [they] taught me to be a good person and stand up and be a good man. A lot of the principles they taught me still affect how I act sometimes and it’s 30 years later.”

Most days you have no idea what you might have said or done and how it might have helped a student. As you know, students rarely come to us and tell us: “Hey, you really helped me today. Thanks.”

When you have meaning and purpose in your work, you are more energized and find your work satisfying, and you find that teaching gives you so much enjoyment!

You want to have the energy and motivation to jump out and be ready for the day immediately, the second you open your eyes!

How do you find that motivation and inspiration, the ideas for the next day, the next week of teaching?

“When someone asks why anyone would ever become a teacher, remind them why it’s worth it. Every job has its ups and downs. But not every job can change a life.”

Remember, you are here for you and your students. As long as you remember that, things will work out. When you chose to start this journey of meditation, to make it till the end of the year, you chose to exclude the outside influence, bad habits, the people who do not serve you, all the distractions that didn’t allow you to operate at your fullest, your best self, your best as a teacher.

You’ve already figured out many things that have disconnected you from the world of teaching, and today, we are going to forge onward with finding the inspiration, the passion, your core motivators in doing what you do.

Finding what works for you

Remember, this meditation is merely guidance for you to find what works for you. What inspires one might not inspire you. What works for you, might not work for your friend. Modify the meditation, the pondering, and perhaps the praying you need to do to accomplish all you do in your teaching, in your day, and your life. Live, love, laugh. For some, that is all the inspiration they need.

Think about it, have you ever taught at a time you weren’t inspired, had no ideas? I bet every teacher has at one point or another. You just went through the day, uninspired, unhappy, tense, and with no goal.

You can make relatively small changes in what you do to make the day better, the week better, the school year better. Choose to be inspired.

Staying on track with teaching, being inspired, performing at your ultimate level are the aspects which bring value to you and your teaching. It gives you a sense of fulfillment. It’s more than money can buy. Knowing you’ve completed things, you’ve done well, is an intrinsic reward for a job well done. This reward gives you even more inspiration to do what needs to be done. But more importantly, it gives you motivation to do fun things. To enjoy your day and life.

Feel happier today — Order the full guide to listen to words of inspiration

Nurture your inspiration, find it in everyday occurrence, works of art, poems, music. Let family, friendship, and community inspire you. Inspiration can be easy, it doesn’t have to be a seismic shift in your doing and thinking.

When you are living a happy, relaxed, inspired teacher’s life, inspiration begins to occur effortlessly, you’re eager to work, you ignore outside influence, and you have a reason to teach. Look for the value teaching brings to you, your students, your family, your friends, all you do and say. It can be powerful.

TRY IT! 5 DAYS of FREE GUIDED MEDITATION!

Just click here, enter your name & email to get started!

All done with the 5 Free Days? If you found the meditation helpful, imagine what 21 Days of Guided Meditation can do? Order now and Listen to Day 12 and beyond to create calmness, happiness, and energy in your life.

Keep Reading the blog: Day 13 Active and Mindful Listening

©Taru Nieminen 2017   The Happy Teacher Solution