inSpiration Mini-Series: Breaking the Habit Intro and Part #1

Welcome back friends! This week has certainly been a busy one, and to be honest one of mixed emotions for me. I'm enjoying my time going through my practicum, and I am learning a lot, however I had a moment this week when I lost confidence in myself and worried if I was good enough. 

This happened when I worked with a new student to test his literacy skills and advise his family what interventions I suggest. This student is struggling in reading, and I was looking forward to assessing his skills, but it was a while (since my graduate coursework) since I used one of the assessments (the IRI). The moment of panic came over me, I read/studied for two days like cramming for that college exam. I can now say I knew I was having a case of imposter syndrome, and I spent a full evening being upset with. myself. This was the first time I ran a session like this and I felt like I wasn't prepared. In hindsight, I know what I want to do going forward to be better prepared. 

Thankfully the next day on my way to work, I was listening to a podcast by one of my favorite educational innovators/leaders Dave Burgess. I realized that I have to take the same advice I’d give my students...Take the risk, fail forward, and step out of my comfort zone. In the podcast, Dave talks about how we should “keep an eye on the horizon, since the choppy waves in front of us often block our view,” and can make even the most fierce pirate teacher seasick. I realized this is exactly what happened to me. I allowed myself to create the waves in front of me, and sometimes that happens. The key for me was to allow myself to have my moment and then figure out a plan, keeping my goal in mind. The negative self-talk I engaged in can be a bad habit. 

It’s suggested that in order to break a habit we have to do the following things: 

• Avoid tempting situations
• Replace unhealthy behaviors with healthy ones
• Prepare mentally
• Enlist support
• Reward yourself with small steps

Let’s indulge in these the next few weeks with an “inSpiration mini-series” staring with avoid tempting situations. For me, avoiding my situation this week was impossible, I wanted to do it, but avoiding the mindset that I wasn’t going to do well was a situation I chose, and I need to avoid more often. Even if you're "stuck" and can't avoid a situation, you can work on adjusting your thinking to not give in to a negative mindset that will bring you down. I think the "tempting situation" is very often less about the environmental presence and what we have to do, but more about how we show up to the situation. For me, I spiraled into a place where I felt no matter what I tried, I wasn't going to do well, and that's how it felt in the end. Perhaps I should've approached it by thinking "I will apply what I know, and I'll make a difference, even if it's small because I'm offering a service." Valorie Burton shares with us asking how we want to show up and think about difficult situations as opportunities for service. This type of thinking would've helped me avoid the temptation to think negatively about my work. 

Let’s think this week about that negative space we often go to as teachers when we have self-doubt or “give up.” Next time we know the situation we will be in, we have to picture the stop sign, traffic light (or whatever image helps us,) and avoid going past it. Again, the goal at the end is what we need to focus on. As pirate teacher- leaders, we have to keep a weather eye on the horizon, especially if the seas in front of us are choppy.  Don't fall to temptation; we are stronger than that! 

Final thoughts: Keep working on your self-confidence, you are doing amazing things as an educator. Keep your goal in mind and don't let the choppy waves in front of you influence what it is you want. Keep avoiding the situation of being in a negative mindset (as best as you can) for new challenges. Look at is an opportunity to share your knowledge with the world!