The teachergram world can sometimes feel like a double-edged sword. In some ways, you can find a TON of creative ideas to implement in your classroom or strategies for marketing in your business. But in other ways, you can feel like you're not doing enough and that you aren't good enough.

Cue the comparison trap.

Even with the best intentions, you can't help but compare pictures, activities, followers, likes, and comments.  Know that you're not alone.

In the episode, you will learn:

• Why comparing in the teachergram space can be harmful rather than helpful
• 4 mindset blocks as a teacher or teacher-seller on Instagram and ways to shift your thinking
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Links Mentioned in This Episode:

• Brand Style Quiz
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Let's connect!

• TPT Store: The Southern Teach by Kirsten
• Website: thesouthernteach.com
• Instagram: @thesouthernteach
• Facebook: The Southern Teach
• Blog: The Southern Teach Blog
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Mentioned in this episode:

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Kirsten 0:01

You're listening to the creative teacher podcast a show for busy teachers looking for ways to engage, inspire and make an impact inside and outside of the classrooms. I'm Kiersten, a full time classroom teacher and part time business owner who is all about simple and actionable tips, strategies and resources that result in wins, big or small, to in each week, as I give you my best advice on classroom teaching, and starting and growing a teacher business. If you're looking for that extra spark of creativity, you've come to the right place. Let's dive in together.

Welcome back to another episode of the creative teacher podcast. This episode is all about mindset shifts that I want you to think about in order to stop the comparison game in the teacher Graham world. And this is going to be a tough one. Because even now I still have those negative thoughts, I still have to shift my mind and have positive affirmations on my own. Because sometimes I do get down and go through this hole of comparing with other people, other teacher printers, other teachers and what they're doing and what I should be doing. So I'm just going to kind of give you a little mindset shift for a few things and ways to reframe your thinking so that you're not thinking about comparing yourself to other people. Because and I'm sure you've heard this time and time again, your beginning could be somebody else's middle, don't compare your beginning to someone else's middle. Whether you're just starting on the teacher Graham world, or you've been on it for years, it is not healthy, to compare somebody, even if somebody is just brand new and is already has 10,000 followers and they have not had an Instagram as long as you have, you cannot compare yourself to others, you are in your own journey. Everybody is growing in their own way. So today I'm going to share with you four mindset blocks that you might have ever thought you might have thought these are four mindset blocks that I have personally said to myself. And I'm also going to share with you some mindset shifts ways you can shift your thinking so that you are more productive with your time and less negative towards yourself, you're treating yourself the way you should be treating yourself which is in a positive light and an encouraging light.

So here's mindset block number one, you might be thinking that, Oh, my products don't look good enough. So whether it's you know, maybe you're showcasing your TPT products on TPT. Maybe you're showcasing your classroom and it's just not bright enough or colorful enough or cute enough. It just doesn't look as good as what other people are posting. Those are some things you may be thinking to yourself. But what I want you to think about instead is what improvements can I make for my audience to make it more professional and appealing? Now, here's something to think about first is it is okay, where you're at. Even if one person likes that post, that grainy photo of you in the classroom, you're reaching somebody, you might have impacted somebody. So think about that. Don't be get bogged down by, this just doesn't look good enough. Think about what can I do for my audience to make it even better. Because if you've got at least a couple of people liking your posts, that is definitely a positive step in the right direction. So it's something that is kind of hard to think about. It's like, just two people. But that's not enough. And you have an audience, whether you have 10 people or 10,000 people, if it's just 10 people following you, there's a reason why they hit that follow button, they want to learn more about you. So just coming as who you are, is a really great way to just kind of affirm that you are okay, where you're at. But if you do want to see what you can do to make it more professional and appealing, think about what improvements you can make, maybe you might need to find some light in your classroom, or some light on your products, maybe you could add some pops of color, or just little tiny shifts to make it more appealing to your audience. Think about how you can improve for your audience don't think about what you look like compared to somebody else. You that's what you don't want to think about.

And then the fourth mindset block luck that you may be experiencing is this, I would do so much better with the swipe up 10,000 followers, while a swipe up might be tempting to you know, if Oh, it's a really great milestone I made it 10,000 followers, it doesn't let's kind of going back to, it doesn't matter about the size of your audience, as long as you, you have an audience, you can reach out to those people in a variety of different ways. So instead of thinking about, Oh, I bet people would be able to click more on my resources, if I had a swipe up. Think about it as this, what are ways I can attract my audience with out the swipe up. So not trying to focus on getting that swipe up and feeling like you're a failure, if you don't have that swipe up. There are so many different ways you can get people outside of Instagram, looking at your TPT resources or looking at your blog posts or signing up for your opt ins. So having an engaging posts, so just adding that, you know, engaging POST call to action in the caption, having it as your main link in your profile. So maybe you have a specific lead magnet or opt in or blog posts that you want people to read, just put it in the profile, or have a you know, Lincoln bio, some type of app or platform that allows you to put in multiple links, so that if people are interested in your posts, they can go into that main link, and then see all the other links in it. Think about doing an IG TV. So if you have a video that is at least a minute long, you can actually add a link, it's a clickable link in the caption of that IG TV. So that's a really great option is to have that video posted. And it has, it does have to be more than 30 seconds, I think it has to be at least a minute, adding your link, whether it's a blog post or a specific resource, maybe you're just showcasing, you know, an inside look into one of your resources, you can have that link in that actual caption, and people can click on it after they see it. So those are just some ways you can attract your audience without having to swipe up. So it is possible to have that happen.

So here's your creative action tip for today. What I want you to do is see when you start to think about what other people are doing and their successes, and you begin to start the comparing game. And you compare your Instagram to theirs, shift your mindset, I know it's easier said than done. Trust me, I go through this process as well. I've been there where I'm very confident in my Instagram account, then I see a post and it just kind of it just goes in a hole. But then I know when to stop and recognize and celebrate myself and shift my mindset back into a positive light. So just thinking about reframing your negative thoughts into something constructive, that will benefit you. And if it becomes too much, if you are just if there's a particular person that you're just it's you're just constantly following every move that they do every story, every post, then just something that you can do is to consider unfollowing them or unplugged, take a break off of Instagram, maybe that may be the solution you're looking for.

If you are looking for ways to improve your posts, and you do want to have a better understanding of the type of brand, you may be trying to go for that you're just not quite seeing what's there. And it's just not quite what you're thinking. I do have a brand style quiz that you can try it out for free. So if you go to the southern teach.com forward slash door style, even though it is for TPT store, it could be applicable to your Instagram as well. So you can kind of get a feel of what type of style you want to be looking for. Maybe if you're trying to think of a color scheme, that's a really great way to start. So thinking about what type of brand style you can incorporate to have some improvements to make your Instagram posts a little bit more appealing, a little bit more professional just getting a little bit more engagement into your posts. So just consider that. All right. Well, I hope this pep talk has helped and I hope that you're able to continue along in this Are you with me? I cannot wait for the next episode. I'll see you soon.

Thanks for tuning in to the creative teacher podcast. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode, feel free to subscribe and leave a review. I'd love to hear your feedback. You can also find me on Instagram at the southern teach. I cannot wait for you to join me in the next episode for more tips and inspiration. Have an amazing day.