Gift Number One – Presence You are about to take some well-earned time off to spend with loved ones, recharge your batteries and reconnect. This is often easier said than done as we struggle to wind down, to switch off and be fully present. Presence requires us to dig deep and fully savour those precious…
Using Golden Rules to Protect Well-being
Working in schools can be overwhelming and all encompassing. It feels like there is always more that we could do and our work can feel never ending. It can also be difficult to disconnect and switch off. Thinking about work and the challenges we face at school can be all consuming. It is important to…
Change the Way You Look At Things
One of the key characteristics of highly resilient people is their ‘natural’ ability to reframe challenges as opportunities, to make lemonade out of lemons. I have used inverted commas for ‘natural’ because, whilst for many this is an intrinsic characteristic of optimism, for others it can be learned. Step 1 – Understand that Events can…
Finish Strong
The final term of the school year is a crazy time in schools. End of year reporting, class allocations, timetabling, budgets and planning for next year swamp us at a time when our energies are low and many of us feel we are running on empty. By the end of the year we are more…
Resilience Research
Why do many people turn out as well as they do despite adverse life circumstances? Instead of being crushed by adversity in their personal life, somehow use it as motivation to grow. Why do people at work, instead of becoming negative and resistant to change, simply accept what is out of their control and make…
Meditation to Calm the Mind
Many societies use meditation as a means of calming the mind from the busyness of everyday life. You don’t have to go to a rainforest, a health retreat or a temple to gain the benefits. Taking just 5 minutes from your busy day to focus on your breathing and calm your mind can have great…
Getting Better Sleep
Often the affects of stress are compounded by problems of not getting the sleep we require. Our active minds and negative self-talk can keep us awake or wake us during the night. Many people who suffer from insomnia start to sleep poorly for some understandable reason (e.g. a baby kept them awake, accumulation of stresses…
Improving Well-Being Starts With You
Staff well-being is a massive issue. Teaching is often listed as one of the most stressful professions. However, “fixing” staff well-being is not easy and requires focused attention by school leaders, systems, school councils and most importantly staff themselves. Here are 11 actions you can take immediately to start improving your own well-being. Take responsibility…
Overcoming Change Fatigue
Change just seems to be a constant in schools these days. Staff in many schools feel inundated by change and many are suffering change fatigue. Changes in curriculum, increased expectations and accountability measures, new administrative systems, pedagogical approaches and emerging technologies, just to name a few. It is not uncommon for staff in schools to…
See the Forest for the Trees
Successful people work well under sustained pressure. For some, pressure acts like a laser beam – focusing their energy and sharpening their mind to make clear and accurate decisions. For others, pressure acts like a fog that scatters their thinking and impairs their good judgment. The difference in how sharply you operate under pressure, pivots…