How to Find Direction and Inner Peace as a Teacher

Day 14: Self-Care

Similar to yesterday as well as Day 8, today is about YOU; providing yourself with something YOU need for yourself. The journey to find inner peace and direction as a teacher means we have to put ourselves first. While the analogy of putting on your mask before others is likely overused, I will say, it makes sense. How can we help others if we don’t help ourselves?

I know I personally have tried to provide others the help they need as my own oxygen has become depleted.

I am reminded of the spring of 2009 when, at the school I was teaching, was down a teacher for the remainder of the school year. Our principal stepped in to teach, however, for our grade level, I was his back-up. I was the one he had to lean on when he couldn’t teach, when he had his actual job to do. I wanted so badly to prove myself, to support my team and to give everything I had yo our students. And then I started getting sick. My body was shutting down. I had a fever almost every day. At one point I was in the doctor’s office where they were trying to figure out what was wrong as all tests were coming back fine but it was clear my body was fighting something. While the doctor had brought in a colleague for a second opinion as my temperature rose and they were contemplating sending me to the hospital if they could not get my fever down, I received a text “I need you to cover my class.” It was from the principal. I reminded him I was at the doctor’s. He replied, “Well when you get back then.”

Trust me when I say, he was a great guy and he had his job to do as well, however he was so used to me being there,(he used to call me the the “mortar” of the school- you know keeping all the bricks together) he was used to relying on me.

I was literally depleted of oxygen. What we came to understand was that my physcial ailments were in fact caused by stress. The emotional and mental toll of my giving was making me sick.

Again, we can’t find inner peace nor can we me make it to our destination if we don’t take care of ourselves. Today is YOUR day. What are you going to do to take care of you?

I am actually going the doctor today, not reactively but in fact in a self-care sort of way. I am getting me my favorite fall coffee. And then, I will head into work!

Facebook Community Action Step:

Come back to the community and share what you did to take care of yourself today!