Rejuvenating Practices for Educators

Lead a Less Stressed Life

Jessica Valadie, Presenter

Maryland State Education Association ConferenceOctober 17, 2015

Stress is a part of the human experience

But we in the field of education are overachievers in this department….

Our 4 Goals for this session:

One:

Learn about 7 areas of wellness that are critical for

managing and reducing stress

Our 4 Goals for this session:

Two:

Identify the areas in which you have the most difficulty

Our 4 Goals for this session:

Three:

Talk about achievable solutions

LITTLE solutions (quick, easy to implement solutions with typically quick results)

BIG solutions (more time and labor intensive, but with even bigger results!)

Our 4 Goals for this session:

Four:

Create a personal implementation plan for one

solution of your choosing

7 Areas of Wellness

Any guesses as to what they are?

Take 90 seconds and jot down your guesses on the paper

you picked up on the way in!

And the 7 areas are….

1. Social Wellness – the ability to relate to and connect to other people.

This incorporates the ability to establish and maintain positive relationships with family, friends,

and co-workers.

And the 7 areas are….

2. Emotional Wellness – the ability to understand ourselves and cope with the challenges life can

bring.

Also included in this area is ability to acknowledge and share feelings of anger, fear, sadness, or

stress, as well as hope, love, joy and happiness.

And the 7 areas are….

3. Spiritual Wellness – the ability to establish peace and harmony in our lives.

Included in this area is the ability to develop congruency between values and actions and to realize a common purpose that binds creation

together.

And the 7 areas are….

4.  Environmental wellness – the ability to recognize our own responsibility for the quality of

the air, water, and land around us.

Also included in this area is the ability to make a positive impact on the quality of our environment, whether that is our home, workplace, community,

or planet.

(I also include being comfortable in your environment in here.)

And the 7 areas are….

5.  Occupational wellness - the ability to get personal fulfillment from our jobs or our chosen career field while still maintaining balance in our

lives.

And the 7 areas are….

6.  Intellectual wellness – the ability to open our minds to new ideas and experiences that can be applied to personal decisions, group interaction,

and community betterment.

The desire to learn new concepts, improve skills, and seek challenges in pursuit of lifelong learning.

And the 7 areas are….

7.  Physical wellness – ability to maintain a healthy quality of life that allows us to get through our daily activities without undue fatigue or stress.

The ability to recognize that our behaviors have a significant impact on our wellness and that

adopting healthful habits while avoiding destructive habits will lead to optimal Physical

wellness.

Let’s investigate where you might be out of

balance

Social WellnessDo you….

Regularly spend enjoyable time with family?

Regularly spend time with friends?

Have relationships with people who treat you respectfully and with kindness?

Find that you are open to meeting new people?

Find that you are able to stay open with people and not withdraw?

Emotional WellnessDo you….

Experience mood swings?

Find that you are irritable or short with people?

Feel agitated or unable to relax?

Feel overwhelmed, lonely or isolated?

Worry a great deal?

Emotional Wellness (con’t)Do you….

Feel sad or anxious?

Find that you are able to concentrate for reasonable amounts of time?

Have a good memory, or a poor one?

Feel that you able to make decisions?

Spiritual WellnessDo you….

Have a sense of hope for the future?

Have a generally positive or generally negative outlook on life?

Feel as though your life has meaning and purpose?

Feel that your life is in alignment with your values?

Have practices in place that allow you to connect with a sense of being part of something greater than yourself? (Meditation, prayer, gratitude, being part of a spiritual community)

Environmental WellnessDo you….

Have things in place in your home or workplace to save electricity, water, etc?

Have practices that conserve resources or replenish the environment?

Keep things like plants, photos, souvenirs from trips in the environments in which you spend the most time?

Spend time out of doors on a regular basis?

Occupational WellnessDo you….

Enjoy your job?

Find meaning in your job?

Have hobbies and activities you actively pursue that are not associated with your job?

Regularly give up personal time because of your job?

Intellectual WellnessDo you….

Read books regularly?

Read blogs, listen to podcasts, or take in other media about things that you find interesting?

Have a sense of wonder about the world around you?

Learn new skills or pursue new hobbies or interests?

Find that you are inquisitive when you meet new people?

Ask a lot of questions?

Physical WellnessDo you….

Know how much sleep your body requires, and do you get that amount on a regular basis?

Exercise regularly?

Eat mostly unprocessed, whole foods?

Rely on caffeine, sugar, or another substance to get through the day?

Stay current on visits to your primary care practitioner, as well as any specialists?

Get regular massages or body work?

Let’s figure out where your trouble spots are!

At this point, you may be able to eliminate one, two, or even three areas that aren’t significantly problematic.

Cross them off.

(Don’t worry if you have issues in every area, we will rank them in order of greatest difficulty to least difficulty in a moment)

Let’s figure out where your trouble spots are!

Now, look at the opposite end of the spectrum. Which area or areas immediately stand out as the most problematic?

(If you have multiple areas with a lot of issues – go with the ones that your small inner voice is telling you is the biggest problem. Some call that your intuition, some call it your “gut” – don’t argue with it.)

Rank your top three trouble spots from most problematic to least.

Ok, so I’ve got…issues. Now what???

Good news! Now we are going to focus on some

solutions!

BIG SOLUTIONS and little solutions

Big vs. Little

LITTLE strategies are those that are small, very actionable tasks that are a great way to get the ball rolling. Building upon small successes can lead to being able to implement BIG strategies!

BIG strategies are those that are more global, may take more time to implement, but will give you a lot of bang for the buck.

 

Social WellnessLittle

Put something on the calendar every month Coffee with a friend Movie Fun activity Food

BIG

Join a club or interest group that meets regularly

Set a goal to make one new friend per month You can meet people

anywhere! Work, grocery store, church, through a spouse, partner, or children

Fun Fact! Studies have shown that social isolation has a negative impact on the level of dopamine in your brain. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that has a large number of functions in the brain. It is associated with reward-motivated behavior.

Emotional Wellnesslittle

Hugs (physical contact)

Stop watching or listening to the news

Journaling

Build play into your life

BIG

Life Coaching

Therapy

Mastermind group

Fun Fact! According to scientist Barbara Frederickson, we need to experience three positive emotions to counteract the effects of one negative emotion.

Spiritual WellnessLittle

Practice gratitude! Happier App 5 things at 5 am Old school journal

5 minutes of silence

Spend time in nature

BIG

Start a meditation practice Transcendental Mindfulness Other

Find a church or spiritual practice that suits you!

Fun Fact! A clinical study from Duke University showed that individuals that attend regular religious services have better immune function than those that don’t.

Environmental WellnessLittle

Put a live plant (or a few) in your home, classroom, or workspace

Decorate! Photos of family, friends,

vacations

Make things smell good – but responsibly….

Use a reusable water bottle

BIG

Plant a garden

Take on a large decorating project – like a whole room!

Fun Fact! A NASA study confirms that plants can absorb volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and can improve the air we breathe.

Occupational WellnessLittle

Turn off the push notifications for work email on your phone (or…take the work email off your phone entirely!)

Set email hours

Consider who you eat your lunch with – and where….the teacher’s lounge can be toxic

BIG

Don’t be afraid to make a change! New school, new grade, new position in your system – or another system!

Consider a leave of absence or a sabbatical if your system allows it

Fun Fact! A study of customer service representatives that tracked the effect of their beginning of the day mood found that those that started out the day happy or calm tended to maintain that mood, and provided higher quality service. Those that started the day in a bad mood stayed that way as well, and had a greater than 10% reduction in productivity.

Intellectual WellnessLittle

Be curious!

Take in new information that interests you Podcasts Books Audiobooks Ted Talks/YouTube

BIG

Take up a new hobby

Do something outside your comfort zone Ask someone out on a

date Try an activity that has

always looked interesting but scares you a little bit

Fun Fact! A study of adults between the ages of 60 and 90 showed that at the end of a three month period, it was found that the adults who were productively engaged in learning new skills showed improvements in memory compared to those who engaged in social activities or non-demanding mental activities at home.

Outside my personal comfort zone….

I’m taking Tae Kwon Do for the first time ever at age 41….

Physical WellnessLittle

4-7-8 breathing

Change one small thing in your diet

Take a nap!

Take a walk!

BIG

Work out consistently find something you

ENJOY find the motivation

behind your reason – superficial reasons will only provide short term motivation.

Address sleep issues

Nutrition overhaul

Break a bad habit

Physical Fun Facts! Chronic partial sleep loss may increase the risk of obesity and

weight gain, and weaken the immune system, according to research reported by the European Society of Endocrinology, the Mayo Clinic, and the National Center for Biotechnology Information.

“Practicing regular, mindful breathing can be calming and energizing and can even help with stress-related health problems ranging from panic attacks to digestive disorders.” Dr. Andrew Weil, M.D.

Eating a diet of whole, unprocessed foods can reduce inflammation in the body, which is increasingly being shown to be a root cause of a number of ailments, including cancer, diabetes, depression, heart disease, stroke, and Alzheimer's disease.

Choose the area you are going to work on!

On the sheet you picked up on the way in, choose one area and one strategy you are planning to implement. Don’t forget to include your timeline!

Write your strategy for implementation on one of the sticky notes you picked up on the way in and place it on the corresponding chart paper.

This should be exciting and fun! If the strategy you have chosen fills you with anxiety or dread – choose something else. Small victories can provide a powerful sense of momentum.

Wellness is critical to having a fulfilling life.

“To insure good health: eat lightly, breathe deeply, live moderately,

cultivate cheerfulness, and maintain an interest in life.”  ~William Londen

Thanks for joining me today!

For more information related to having a happy and healthy teacher life, come join me at my blog:

teacherlife365.com

You can also connect with me on Facebook and Twitter, as well as via email:

Facebook: TeacherLife365

Twitter: @teacherlife365

Email: jessica@teacherlife365.com