One Tip for Staying Positive in the New Year
Winter break is over and educators are back to the grind. As the new year settles in this can be a very difficult time of the year for some. This episode discusses one simple way that can help you stay positive throughout the next few months.
What's going on everybody, I hope this finds you striving and thriving and doing absolutely amazing. We're back to the grind and locking in is January gets on its way. And I've always found that the next few months are always the toughest for me is that murky middle. And if you're someone like me, that just hits a little wall during this time of the school year, I have one tip that you can do to try and stay strong during these months. My name is Brian Martin, I'm a second grade teacher and host of the teaching champions podcast. If you find yourself struggling a little bit, during the next few months, there's one thing that you can do. You have to be deliberate, though. You have to be intentional. But in a lot of ways, it's something that is so simple, each and every single day, grab your joy. That's it, grab your joy. Because every day, there are special things that are happening all around us. Some of these things we're conscious of, but we just let them pass on by other special moments happen. And we're so consumed with to do lists, things have not been completed. We have those daily stressors that are weighing us down. And we miss out on noticing all of these amazing, beautiful things. So make it a point, to be intentional about noticing the great things that are happening all around. Make it a point to listen to the sounds around you set up patterns in your daily routine where you know that you're more than likely going to be exposed to something good. Every morning when I walk into my classroom, I turn on the lights. And I look out my windows. And they're pointed right at the school entrance. And I make it a point to look out and see the parents walking their children up to the door. And there's nothing better than to see the parents dropping their child off at the front door. You see the love that they have for the child and the hugs, the high fives the kisses. And it's just such a beautiful reminder right at the beginning of the day, that weren't trusted, with the most precious gift and other's lives. And that's a little bit of joy. And every morning, I step outside my classroom door and I do a countdown with the kindergarten students from the morning bow. And I give them high fives as they walk by. That's a little bit of joy. I listen as our school safety officer walks up and down the hallways. And he's constantly praising and uplifting the students in the school. And that brings a little bit of joy. After I drop students off at a special I walked down the hallway. I walk past classrooms and I hear my colleagues just crushing it. And it brings a little bit of joy. There's short conversations that you have with colleagues. There's those moments when you run into a former student. There's all those magical moments right within your own classroom that you share with your students. And these are all moments of joy. And often, we let them slip on by. We don't hold on to them. We don't embrace them. You see those negative moments. Those daily stressors, they're always going to be there. And we seem to be really really good at hanging on to them. But they never make us feel better. So as we get into the grind of January and February, let's flip the script. Let's be intentional about noticing the good. Let's be intentional about hearing the good. Let's be intentional about grabbing our joy. We've been blessed with another sunrise. Have an awesome day.
