Educators

Vance Sims, LCSW

Being an educator can impinge on most of the areas of your life, as you probably already know. Here are some items to think about as you continue to make a difference in the lives of young people and, hence, so many families.
Stress Management & Burnout Prevention:
· Create strategies for a sustainable career: make room for important (not the urgent) in your life. Determine what is important in your life. Write them down. Now make room for them. You will have to eliminate some other things. You can’t create more time. My guess is that the urgent is crowding out the important. A question to ask: How do you invest in your students/classroom environment, that pays you back after your investment? Doing that work on the front-end typically pays off sustainably over the long haul.
· A piece of the above is learning to say ‘no'. Keeping your Life-Work balance in check will necessitate you saying no at work. It may slow your career path, but you will be happier, those you love will want you to be closer, and your career will probably last longer if you want it too.
· Taking care of yourself: What do you do for yourself? Those things don’t have to be huge, but they do need to be consistent and things/experiences that bring you peace and calm. The actual ‘things’ don’t have to be peaceful and calm, but bring you peace and calm. It might be a hot bath or indulgent chocolate and your favorite music, but they might include vigorous workout, going on a walk… but it needs to bring you peace and calm. Have you ever tried mindfulness or meditation? Deeply engaging in a spiritual or personal discipline like prayer, fasting, being alone (good luck if you’re a mom!). Getting good sleep. Science continues to discover how important sleep is to our mental and physical health.
· Seek help when needed. Educators are incredibly resilient, just like the students you shepherd. However, everyone in this life will have circumstances and situations that are overwhelming. Most people manage those overwhelming times in a matter of hours. However, when those moments last days, weeks, or months, seek help. If you have deeply trusted friends, that is what they are for (if you don’t have one or two, work at developing those). However, sometimes you need a professional perspective. This is not a sign of weakness or inability any more than going to the MD is when you have a fever and your throat is really sore.
Thank you for doing the never-ending work of being an educator. Your contributions to our society cannot be overstated – but please, please take care of yourself!