3 Ways to Reframe Teacher Self-Care

I’ve heard from many of you and have seen a lot of posts on social media about this being one of the hardest school years imaginable.  

There are a few thousand reasons why this may be the case, and many of them are completely beyond our control as teachers.

Self-care is now getting a bad rap because some administrators are encouraging their teachers to “practice self-care” during these trying times, yet not supporting it’s integration in any kind of real or practical way.  

Instead of wading into that debate or waiting for your administrators to provide you what you need, it’s imperative when things are tough that you take care of yourself so that you can create the boundaries that YOU need to support yourself.

This is not because we’re letting others off the hook or that we’re in denial about our systems needing vast and sweeping change, but the fact is that we won’t be able to have the energy to demand these changes if we don’t prioritize our teacher self-care N.O.W. (Not Only on Weekends).

Because we’ve been so inundated with outside demands and prioritizing other’s needs over our own, reframing this may take some time.  So here are three ways to reframe the  standard definition of self-care to better survive this school year.  Each reframe is linked to a post so that you can dive more deeply if any of these ideas resonate with you.

REFRAME…

Self-care is selfish TO Self-care is selfless.

I don’t have time TO I will make the time.

I’ll get to it later TO I’ll schedule it now.

I know this concept isn’t new, but I don’t think anyone can tolerate something completely new right now.  I wanted to just take time to remind you of what you already know in case you needed the reminder or are struggling with giving yourself permission to create moments for self-care N.O.W.

I’d love to hear how you’re trying to incorporate self-care N.O.W. or if you are struggling with making this happen, hit REPLY and let me know what your biggest struggle is.  I reply to each message and would be happy to try to offer you some support.

And as always, if you’d like any support with this process, I have some openings in my 1-on-1 Teacher Wellness Coaching program.  Feel free to schedule a call so that we can see if we’re a good fit.

To teaching well,
Danielle

 
P.S.  If you’re looking for more a way to walk through the unknown of this school year, please check out The Path of the Mindful Teacher.  It’s packed with relevant and implementable ideas that are sure to support you in this year’s teacher journey.