Finding Your JOY When You are Burned Out!

It’s hard to be happy when the norm is “how many things can I fit into this day?!” There are pressures from home and pressures from work. Then on top of that, we continue to overload and compare ourselves with the Pinterest teacher or the Magnolia home. We wonder why we don’t feel joyful when we cram all we can into each and every waking hour. We wonder why we come home feeling burned out, down and grumpy and tired.

The dictionary says that JOY is a feeling of great pleasure and happiness. Joy is healthy, joy relieves stress, joy heals, joy feels good, joy inspires, joy motivates, but MOST importantly joy begets joy and connects us to others.

So how do we get joy? Where do we find it? Well, if you really think about it...

Joy is a CHOICE! Joy begins and grows with one thing...gratitude.

I came to a point in life a long time ago where I chose to consciously choose JOY everyday. It is SO unbelievably sad to me to hear people when asked how they are, respond glumly and say in a sad, sarcastic tone, "Livin' the dream." It is NAILS on a chalkboard to me, people!!! I want to just shake them and say, "If you don't like your life, change it!" YOU are in control of YOUR life. And if you aren't happy, it is YOUR responsibility to find out why and make it better.

Even on my darkest days when teacher burnout is at its greatest, there is SOMETHING to be grateful for. And don't get me wrong, I have bad days. I will complain at times when things are a mess. But not EVERYDAY. I work hard to make sure that that is not my normal. And one way I do this is with a gratefulness practice. When you are grateful, it is impossible to be down. Please hear me, IMPOSSIBLE!

But, it's up to you to choose how you will feel gratitude. You need to find a way to do it daily. Here is a practice I use:

Grab a journal. One that is yours. It doesn't need to be anything special. A simple $.99 spiral notebook will do. Now open it up and make a list of 10 things everyday. I do this during my morning routine, but you could do it anytime. The trick with this, I have learned from a mentor of mine, Rachel Hollis, is not to choose the big things like my family, my marriage, or my house.  If you begin by using these things, you'll run out fast or repeat the same things over and over and your gratitude journal will have little effect. Instead, choose 10 little things that have happened in the last 24 hours, like the thank you note that was placed on your desk today or the compliment someone gave you in the hall at work. When you practice gratitude in this way, you begin to see the world in a grateful light and happiness is hard to deny.

So actually, it's pretty easy to begin to CHOOSE joy even when you are in the midst of teacher burnout. You begin by taking a step back, slowing down, and being present. Then, in that moment you choose to be grateful for what you have, who you are, and the little things around you. By thinking and acting gratefully, you FEEL joy. And the BEST part about it is when you feel joy, you SPREAD joy!! I know it might seem impossible, but there are an infinite number of simple things you can pick from every day that will help bring joy into your world and help you spread it to others if you are willing. So are you willing? It's ultimately up to you.

If you are ready to take this step and release teacher burnout for good, you are in the right place! Feel free to download my FREE Gratitude Journal and MAKE SURE you are on my email list and I will begin to send you strategies every week that you can work into your life and ultimately break that chain of teacher burnout altogether. My goal is to help teachers like you LOVE teaching again!

Cheers to JOY in the midst of chaos, in the crazy, in the ordinary! Cheers to making the most of every moment, to making a choice to choose JOY!

Always cheering you on!