Take Five

I received this email from an educator recently which brings home the need for you to really listen to your body and heart.

“If you would indulge me, Luke. I found Term 1unbelievably stressful, frenetic and exhausting. Despite a wonderful Christmas break, I felt like I was drowning from start to finish. For the first time ever, I seriously considered my longevity in this career as nothing 'bad' had actually happened- and I was still stuffed!”

The bad news is the stressful term this experienced educator had endured. The good news is that the educator reflected and identified the accumulation of small stresses. According to THRIVE program this is Compound Stress.

It is recognising the small problems that come across our path solving them and then moving onto the next one. By the time you get to the end of the day you feel as if nothing has been accomplished.

What I would recommend is to continue to solve the problems as they arise, as these are the issues worth managing due to possible immediate negative outcomes.

However, more importantly, is to take the time to celebrate what you did accomplish rather than what you didn't.

Regardless of your day, take five minutes before you leave your workspace and not use the “To Do List” to measure your effectiveness. Even though you may not have achieved what your initial plans were, you did achieve something. This is worth celebrating.

Achievement is the A in Martin Seligman’s PERMA acronym for Wellbeing. Give yourself time to recognise your positive actions.

"The measure is not what we achieve for ourselves, but what difference we make for other people's achievements." By George.