Empowering Thoughts to Finish the Year Strong

What's going on everybody, I hope this finds you striving and thriving and doing absolutely amazing. My name is Brian Martin. I'm a second grade teacher, and hosted the teaching champions podcast. Now, earlier this week, I was working with a student, and I'm listening to them read, and they were absolutely crushing it. And this student was reading well above grade level. And the champion fluency was out of the park, in the skills and strategies that they were using was just blowing me away. And it was one of those moments where inside the classroom, where it seems as if everything else was blocked out, where things slow down, and it's just you and your champion. And you're taking that brief moment and, and you appreciate that champion so much, just a beautiful moment. There was also another moment this week, where I'm working with a student that's had some difficulties that's been hesitant to step outside of their comfort zone and apply this. And there was one day this week, that we were doing math problems on the board. And this child pushed back a little bit at first, but we talked it over. And we work together through some of the problems. And slowly this champions are to see that they could do the problem. And before I knew it, I would write a problem on the board, he would answer it, I would check it. And we would give each other a high five. And he begged for another problem. And we would repeat this process over and over and over again. Each time, this young champion who things don't come easy for was absolutely crushing it in the smile. And the excitement grew and grew and grew. And for a brief moment, everything was blacked out. And things slow down. And there was just joy and happiness and learning. And I only share these stories, because there's simple stories, there are things that transpire every single day in your class. And sometimes we see them. And sometimes, even though you're right there, and you're listening to your student read, or you're right there at the board, and you're working on problems with your scholar, the worry of everything else that's going on the endless to do list, the stress of the day, the fire that you put out moments ago, it's all weighing on you, and you miss out on grabbing those small moments of joy. And one other thing that I did with these moments, is I made sure that I made a conscious effort to remember them, and to spend a few moments at night, remembering them, we living that joy, that was right there in the moment. Because the week is filled with moments that to put it in simple terms may not be pleasant. And those moments are so easy to hang on to and take home with us. The thing is holding on to these moments, never makes us feel better at the end of the day, and never makes you motivated. When you hear that alarm clock go off in the morning. It doesn't make you motivated to jump out of bed and get back into the class. But I know for myself when I grab on to those moments of joy. And I make that conscious effort to think about them for just a few minutes at night. That that next morning, when the alarm clock goes off, that motivation to get back into the classroom is just a little bit more, that mental state that I'm in is just a little bit better. So be aware of what's happening around you. Because those small simple moments that are happening in your classroom each and every single day, they can truly have a huge impact on you. And this week, I want to talk about little bits of wisdom that I've heard lately that are good reminders as we head into April. And last time I read a book by John a cough called soundtracks and it was all about the thoughts that we hear in our head, that self talk those thoughts that we play over and over again in our minds and think about how pivotal self talk is. You can hype yourself out, you can get ready to face any situation, you can put yourself in a healthy, positive state with yourself talk. Or you can crumble yourself down and chip away at who you are by saying things such as you're not good enough, you can't do it, you're not worthy of it. And in his book soundtracks, Jon Acuff talks about strategies that we can use to change these negative thoughts into more positive ones. And one of his strategies is to pay attention to what other people say, there's a lot of wisdom out there. And things that are said in normal conversation, that we have paid attention to them. And we made a mental note or wrote them down, they can bring us huge benefits, you can incorporate them into your own self talk. And over the past year, I really tried to make a conscious effort to pay attention when other people are talking, and to really reflect on the words that they say, and I want to share a few of those reflections with you today. Now, some of these may resonate with you. And you might want to make a mental note of them. Or you might not, but think about some of the conversations that you have had recently. Or maybe think about something that you've read or heard on other podcasts. We want to take these great soundtracks, and we want to make them our own. And the first comes from an awesome guy who's a few years older than me, and a lot wiser than I am. And we were talking, and he was telling me about his grandchildren. And his one grandchild is too, and I made the comment about the terrible twos. And he paused. And he said, I really don't think they're terrible. And he went on to say, how he is found that every stage of life, there's joy to be had, from youth all the way up. Each stage is different. But there's joy to be found in every stage in our conversation ended. And I spent a lot of time thinking about this. And there's so much truth to it. Every stage brings with it unique life experiences and moments of joy. Every stage also brings his own unique challenges and obstacles. And the key is not to let the challenges and obstacles overshadow the moments of joy. And I think you can equate that to the school year, from the excitement of coming back to school, meeting your classroom family for the first time. And all those growing pains that you experienced as you try to form that strong classroom community, to the middle of the school, where the newness of the years faded off, and it's easy to get caught up and worn down from the daily grind. There's also so much learning that takes place in the bonds that were newly formed in the beginning of the year. They're strengthened and deepened. And then you get to the end of the year, where you're pressing to get everything accomplished, that you set out to do the uneasiness of finals. But there's also excitement of graduation and summer vacation, thrown in with some of the sadness of saying goodbye to your classroom family. And as we roll into April, I know for myself, there's another week of school, and then we have spring break. And once we come back, a few weeks will go by, and then we're really into that final homestretch. So I hold on to the words that my friend shared with me. There's joy in every stage. So try not to get caught up in the busyness to be weighed down by the stress and miss out on some of the pretty amazing moments. Because there's beauty in every stage. Another conversation that I had recently that really stuck with me, is from a good friend of mine. We were assistant coaches together for 14 years. And we spent a lot of winter nights on long bus trips for road games, breaking down everything under the sun. And he's moved on to become the head varsity coach, and I've stepped away from the basketball program. And he had a phenomenal season this year. And they made a great playoff run, but they ended up getting beat. And when you're a coach, and you put so much passion, and you put so much love into your team, it can be really hard when that season comes to an end. So I gave him a few days. And then I reached out just to do a little check in and see how he was doing. And what he said was one of the reasons why he's such an amazing coach. You know, of course, he would have loved to continue the team season and made that last push for the state champion. Ship. But he said, that didn't take away from everything that his team accomplished. He talked about how sometimes we can get so caught up on what wasn't done, what goal we may not have achieved a win, that we may not have gotten, that we forget about everything that we did achieve, how far you did come, the amazing moments that you had along the way. And he just expressed his appreciation for his team, their commitment, and all the great memories that they made along the way. And that conversation just affirmed. For me, my appreciation for him. And it was such a great reminder that we can get so focused on that end result. And if we fall just short of whatever we're trying to accomplish, it's easy for us to view it as something of a failure. And in doing that, we rob ourselves of the appreciation for what was accomplished, we rob ourselves of appreciating those special moments, we rob ourselves of appreciating the hard work. And that effort that took place. It was such a great reminder, as we near the end of the year, to really check yourself on what you consider to be a success for you. And for your students. You should have those big ol inspiring goals. But be careful not to rob yourself of appreciating everything that was accomplished along the way. And the third soundtrack that I always hold on to close, especially on those days where everything just seems to go wrong. Maybe the champions had a tough day, maybe your lesson just fell short. Maybe you had a disagreement with a colleague, there's so much that can happen over the course of a day. But in the end, no matter how tough the day was, I always remind myself tomorrow is not today, the sun's gonna rise, another day is going to begin. And it's a new star. So if you're having one of those days before your head hits the pillow, just remind yourself tomorrow isn't today. And the last soundtrack comes from a young elementary student. And if you haven't heard about this yet, it's pretty awesome. A teacher set up a motivational hotline where you dial this number, and elementary students give words of advice to booster spirits. So if you need a pick me up, if you need some joy in your day, dial this number 707-998-8410. And one of the great scholars on this message, give some timeless advice. If you're feeling nervous. He says, if you're nervous, go get your wallet and spend it on ice cream and shoes. Fantastic advice, and nothing else is needed to be set. And as we wrap up, remember, there's joy to be had in every stage. Don't be so focused on the end result that you diminish everything that you accomplished along the way. Remember, tomorrow is not today. And whether you're nervous, or you're experiencing any other unpleasant emotion, break out that wallet and get some ice cream and shoes. And my challenge for you this week is really pay attention to what those around you say. If we slow down. If we take time to listen. Then there's some deep inspiration out there from those around us. And James clear, the author of atomic habits says a body filled with junk food struggles to move well. A mind filled with junk thoughts, struggles to think well, so find those soundtracks that fill you up that make you stronger, that help breathe life into your day. Thanks for being here for supporting the teaching champions podcast. If you think someone would benefit from hearing this message, please share it with them. The teaching champions community supports we encourage we lift each other up. And always remember, whether you're from rural America to urban America, to Canada to Spain to Bahrain, we're all on that same team. We're all on that same mission. And we're always better together. Keep being amazing. My friends, and as we go into the week, May you step into your strength, may you step into your shine, and let's build our champions up. Have a great weekend.