inSpiration Mini-Series: Breaking the Habit Part #5, The Journey's End

 Welcome back my friends! It seems like we've been together for a long time in this mini-series with all the holiday breaks, but I a way, I'm glad. The extended time has given me the opportunity to genuinely reflect on my progress with each of the recommended steps toward breaking a habit, and to be honest with myself if I've tried it or not. There were times where I didn't get a chance to think about it much, however, the opportunities I did get allowed me to dive deeper into each step and work on it with a full heart and mind. I hope the time has done the same for you. We want to start to eliminate negative thinking about whatever goal we have and challenge we've faced. Since it doesn't happen overnight, perhaps the timing is more fitting than I anticipated! 

This week, let’s dive into the fifth and final way we can break some of the negative habits we’ve developed and explore new ones that will add to our positive energy. We learned these steps so far to help us get started: avoid tempting situations, replace unhealthy behaviors with healthy ones, prepare mentally, and to enlist the support of others. The final step is by far my favorite... reward yourself for small steps. Be honest teacher friends, how often do you reward yourself for the small steps you accomplish? In my physical therapist's office that I go to, there is a picture on the wall of someone looking out on top of a high mountain and the quote says "the best view comes after the hardest climb." This reminds me of my challenge I've been focusing on with administering assessments in reading to my tutoring students. I may feel like I am struggling now, but the view is going to be great once I get to the top and feel confident. In the meantime, I realize I need to stop along the way and appreciate myself and what I am working so very hard on. 

In my class my students have the opportunity to earn points for small steps such as following directions, completing work, and working cooperatively in small groups. This helps them achieve their overall goals academically, socially, and emotionally for the entire year, while in between they can earn things they enjoy such as picking their class job for the week or switching their job with a peer. I’m sure many of you have similar systems to help students achieve their goals. If we reward our students for small steps toward progress, why can’t we do that for ourselves? I feel as educators we put a huge amount of pressure on ourselves because we have high expectations for everyone.. even us! We don't need to lower our expectations, but rather slow down and think about what we are accomplishing, and not just what haven't yet. I admit this very hard for me, but I also believe that working on a positive mindset will help me grow.

When changing a negative habit into a positive one, every step is one worth taking, and leads to the larger goal we have in mind- which makes it all worthwhile in the end. We must keep in mind that for our students and ourselves, there is a bigger goal that is meaningful we want to attain, but we can and should celebrate the journey along the way.  If we don't, we may miss the small moments that could have a big impact on us in the future, and the joy that comes with overcoming the challenge. When we started this journey, I was reflecting on a challenging moment I had learning and administering the different assessments. Sure, I made plenty of errors and felt disappointed, however I didn’t take the time I should have to acknowledge what I did do correctly. I read all that I could about the assessments, I prepared and organized, I followed the directions as best as I could, and I made decisions based on my student’s needs at the time. That’s four positive steps I achieved! I realized I am farther along then when I started, and than someone who is on the same path as me who didn't even begin yet... I should celebrate that! I would’ve been much better off focusing on those first, then reflecting on what I could do better in the future. That is the mindset I need to achieve, and I know I need to keep working on. 

Now that I shared my journey and experienced all the steps to breaking my habit, I feel I’ve learned and grown a lot. My goals are to apply the five steps to decrease my negative mindset and self-talk when I am working on something challenging. I will try to avoid situations where the negativity might be increased, replace what I say with a positive outlook before I speak, prepare ahead of time as best as I can to be in the right frame of mind, rely on my colleagues and mentors who will help me stay on track, and celebrate the small steps along the way. I hope these steps have helped you to feel the same way! Keep rewarding yourself teacher friends; your milestones are worth it, and so are you!

Final Thoughts: Keep thinking of these steps as you face new challenges- they will be your guide to success. Keep giving yourself the same grace you give your students; you've earned it and deserve it. Keep in mind the larger goal you want to achieve- the bigger picture of what you are doing, and celebrate the accomplishments along the way. Finally, keep in mind you are not alone my teacher friends! There are so many of us out there and we are all here for one another!