TL;DR:
- You can change your mindset if you choose to change it.
- Choose to be the main character in your story by taking control of the choices you make.
- Find time for yourself. Plan to begin and end your day for yourself.
- You are the blending of the top 5 people you surround yourself with.
- Get the right support through PD (podcasts, blogs, social media) or seek therapy support from a counselor.
You up for a few challenges to adjust your mindset? The reality is your mindset will influence your career, relationships, lifestyle, and anything in between. So, let’s stop pushing our thoughts and feelings under the rug and get our head on straight. You deserve it!
Your mindset will influence your career, relationships, lifestyle, and anything in between. Let's stop pushing things under the rug and get our head on straight - not only for your students' benefit but for yourself. You deserve it. Click To TweetAdjust Your Mindset Tip #1: Choose to be the main character of your story.
You hear it in movies all the time…a timid or shy main character in one of your favorite romantic comedies shares their feelings with an older and wiser character. You need to stop acting like a secondary character in your own story. Ever experience this special part of a great movie? Go check out “The Holiday” and let me know your movie review afterward!
I used to allow this advice to go in one ear and out the other when I would hear it in the past. However, as 2020 was underway, I underwent deep moments of reflection on this concept and it all began with asking who was really in control of my life.
You and you alone have control over the choices you make. However, when we provide others a vote in our choices, they supersede our role. They take away our voice. They take away our futures. So, the question is simple…do you choose to play the main character in your life as you move throughout your day?
If you do, then remember to strut your stuff because all eyes are on you and they are rooting for your happy ending! However, if you are not choosing to make yourself the leading lady or gentleman, it’s time to ask why. You deserve the bright lights, happy glow, and picture-perfect moment. Choose you.
Adjust Your Mindset Tip #2: Start and end your day with YOU in mind.
A person’s mindset is a tricky thing. I have seen a counselor for years. One thing she shared with me that has always held true is a person’s mindset is one of the only things you can never change. Rather, it takes the person to choose to change. Now, no one said influencing or inspiring another person to shift their mindset would be easy. Surely, even when you may be open-minded to a shift, it does not happen overnight. Nevertheless, change is possible.
One of the first ways I began my journey toward adjusting my mindset away from the toxic nature I once possessed into the person I am today was through choosing to take time for myself. I’ve had people tell me for years about the need to find time for myself throughout the day.
However, when I would close the laptop and put away my to do list, I never understood what to do with the time. Twiddling my thumbs at 8 pm is not going to shift my mindset. It was later that I realized that “time” was only the first hurdle and the activity was the second. What did I “want” to fill my time with when it was not dedicated work time?
It is when I began focusing on that question that I found the real happiness I desired.
Choose to start and end your day with you in mind. Whether it’s curling up with a good book at a specific time, grabbing your pup for a cuddle session before hopping in the shower before work, or jamming out to tunes to get your mind in the right headspace before taking on the day, choose you.
As teachers, we spend all day giving to others. And, in a perfect world, I’d love to recommend that you take a moment away each hour of the day with you in mind. But this process takes baby steps—so choose to take a baby step with me. Set a plan, right now, to begin and end your day for yourself and no one else. This may be an intentional 5 min or full hour—you choose. Let yourself refuel with the good stuff!
Adjust Your Mindset Tip #3: Surround yourself with your top 5.
You are the top 5 people you surround yourself with…haven’t you heard this one before too? Similar to the movie reference, this was another phrase I would hear on podcasts or presentations that went in one ear and out the other. But after the last few years of dedicating myself to improving my own mindset and helping educators take on this challenge for themselves, I know it to be more true than ever before. You are the blending of the top 5 people you surround yourself with.
Activity: For the next week, move throughout your day recording a list of the people you surround yourself with.
In doing this same activity this week, I noticed so many things. Within one full week, I surrounded myself with problem-solvers and solution-seekers. I am continuously around those who share their appreciation for me and those who deeply care for those around them. I’m around leaders and deep-thinkers. I’m surrounded by creatives and Type-A organizers. I am always close to unique individuals who feel confident in their own skin. I’m surrounded by dynamic change-makers.
And, every time I was near a negative Nancy or had a toxic individual enter my space, I found myself naturally choosing to leave the environment.
Now, in full transparency, I had no idea this was a pattern in my life. And as it occurred over and over throughout the week, I became aware I had no conscious intention to be so deliberate in removing myself from certain situations. However, clearly, the work I had been doing for the last few years has become a norm in my mind to ensure my mindset stays consistent. I like myself more when my mindset is influenced by the right people.
Will you?
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Adjust Your Mindset Tip #4: Get the right support.
Changing your mindset is a lengthy process and many of us enjoy quick results. It is often something I find educators begin to work on and then allow to fall to the wayside as they find other distractions to take their time. Therefore, enforcing routines to put yourself in the best position possible to reach success can be a major lifeline. So, get the right support.
How do you like to consume information? For me, the best support I ever put into place was listening to a mindset podcast in the morning as I got dressed for work. There are so many options out there for you to explore. If a podcast is what you think may work for you, test a few out before you fully commit! Consider the host’s demeanor or if you want to find a resource with featured guests on each episode.
Not much of a podcast listener? Consume support on your social media by following mindset leadership accounts or attend a virtual PD event to hear from LIVE speakers! The choice is yours, but incorporate this support into your routine. So when the going gets tough, you have a safety net already set up to support you.
As I’ve shared already in this post, I am also a huge advocate for therapy and counseling. This process is easier than ever! In an age with a major rise in virtual counseling, you do not even need to leave your house to get 1:1 support and coaching. The most challenging part is starting. I remember first getting involved in this type of work over 6 years ago. I found the experience so uncomfortable that I quit not 5 sessions in. After returning for “take two” almost 3 years ago, I found that if you lean into the process, an enormous amount of success can be gained. So take the first step by reaching out to your insurance to see what coverage options you have. You won’t regret it!
Adjust Your Mindset
Your mindset will influence your career, relationships, lifestyle, and anything in between. Let’s stop pushing things under the rug and get our head on straight—not only for your students’ benefit but for yourself. You deserve it.
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About Rae Hughart
Rae Hughart is a Middle-Level Math Educator in Illinois, the Chief Marking Officer for the Teach Better Team, and author of Teachers Deserve It (20) and Teach Better (19) books available on Amazon or Barnes & Noble. In 2017, Rae was honored with the Illinois State University Outstanding Young Alumni Award – inducting her into the University Hall of Fame. In 2018, Rae was honored again by winning 1st place in the Henry Ford Innovator Award for her work within educators communities to build unity between local businesses and schools. You can learn more about Rae or book her for Professional Development opportunities within the Teach Better Speakers Network.
