Here's a dynamic of the soul that must be contended with: too much pressure makes us worse at our jobs, which in turns adds to our pressure.
I call this the Workload-Pressure Cycle. It's a recursive doom loop. Left undisrupted, it disrupts our souls.
It looks like this:
Thankfully, there are two ways in which the Workload-Pressure Cycle can be disrupted:
- First, habituate depressurization practices.
- Second, simplify your workload.
Let's talk about one depressurization practice that's so simple that it's almost always overlooked: think on helpful things.
Let's illustrate this with three examples.
An unhelpful thing:
My job is to be all the things that I sense everyone expects educators to be.
A helpful alternative:
My job is to promote the long-term flourishing of young people by guiding them toward mastery of whatever discipline or art that I'm tasked with teaching them.
An unhelpful thing:
I must be the best teacher. I must provide the best educational experience for my students.
(Note that “best” means scarcity; there can only be one. Best is comparative.)
A helpful alternative:
I must be a good teacher. I must provide an enjoyable and productive educational experience for my students.
(Note that “good” means abundance; all of us can be good. Good is plentiful.)
An unhelpful thing:
I can't fail in my job. It's too important.
(With this mentality, you'll hide from or cover up your failures. They'll squash you.)
A helpful alternative:
Failure is a part of becoming good at my job. What matters is that I learn and grow and reflect.
(With this mentality, you'll expect and share your failures. They'll strengthen you.)
The best path to swapping an unhelpful thought for a helpful one is to write the helpful one on an index card and tape it to your computer monitor.
When you see it, read it aloud to yourself.
Say it to yourself in the mirror each morning.
Within a month, you'll be different and better — and you'll have left ideas like “best” behind.
Best,
DSJR
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