Expected, Inspected, & Respected.
"We do not learn from experience … we learn from reflecting on experience."
-John Dewey |
"We do not learn from experience … we learn from reflecting on experience."
-John Dewey |
When my father had a stroke at 50 years old, I attributed its cause, at least in part, to the stresses of teaching. I concluded that in order to live a long and happy life, I would have to find a profession that was relatively stress free. Nothing is entirely stress free, but being an educational assistant was in a field I was interested in and was certainly less stress than being a teacher. I enjoyed the work and was content with my choice. I began to change my perspective on stress when I saw this TED talk by Kelly McGonigal, which led to a re-examination of my choices. She argues that stress is good for you if you can change your mindset toward it. She says that when you believe that stress is bad for you, it is, and when you believe that stress is your body's way of preparing to do its best, that's what it does. This mindset shift saves lives and makes you a better person! McGonigal says, If you’re anxious and your heart is pounding and you’re sweating, if you’re able to remember that: Okay, well this anxiety is distracting or distressing, but I also know that that anxiety, that heart pounding is my body trying to give me energy that in some way my body and brain are trying to rise to the challenge. Literally just remembering that five seconds when you’re experiencing anxiety can transform that anxiety into a physiological state that actually gives you more energy, that actually gives you more confidence. And being carefree is overrated anyway. Who wants to be free of care? I care a lot! McGonigal cites studies showing how high levels of stress are "associated with a greater chance that you would say you learned something interesting yesterday, a greater chance that you experienced joy, love, and laughter yesterday." Things that create meaning in our lives, are things that tend to cause stress in our lives as well. These videos are great, but if the subject interests you, I highly recommend her book, The Upside of Stress. I'm not too worried about burnout because I've changed my outlook on stress. Thank-you, Kelly McGonigal, for bringing that change and allowing me to take a leap into a life where I will have the opportunity to create meaning for myself and my students through teaching.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
David Wiebe
|