Are you one of the millions of teachers who has felt burned out and fried? What if you could turn that sizzle into a spark that transforms your classroom and your life?

One of the hardest things to overcome is our challenges, and some of us will spend the rest of our careers running from the pain.  What if we could use our pain as fuel for our fire?

In the grand theater of teaching, every curtain fall is just a prelude to a grander act. This episode is here to remind you that every lesson, every student, every challenge is a chance to choreograph a masterpiece.

In this episode, we explore the transformative potential of burnout. We discuss reframing negative experiences as opportunities for growth and resilience, and share strategies for embracing discomfort and stress as catalysts for positive change. Through personal stories and collective experiences, we aim to inspire unity and encourage teachers to make meaningful shifts in their lives. Ultimately, this episode serves as a reminder that you are a resilient teacher, and we are all in this together.

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[0:00] Hey, hey, welcome back to episode 68 of the Resilient Teacher Podcast.

If you're a teacher who has dealt with burnout, well, you're here, so there's that.

But if you have ever dealt with burnout in the past or you're currently a recovering burnout survivor, you know how hard it is to dig yourself out of that hole.

But what if I told you that this is a canon event? Back in June, I posted a TikTok and then subsequently reposted it to Reels on Instagram that teachers fresh out of school for the summer either get sick, they get crippling anxiety with panic attacks, become couch potatoes, or just over plan their entire summer due to an overactive stress response.

And my belief is that that experience is a canon event and I can't interfere.

Well, I had someone in my comment saying that we've gone too far with normalizing this crap, that in no way that this should be a canon event, normalizing crippling anxiety or fear, when in reality, it's extremely unhealthy and not normal.

That I should stop normalizing the suffering. And I get where this person is coming from, absolutely 112%, because more than likely, this person has not followed me, doesn't know my mission is to help change this narrative.

And I want to be very clear.

Recognizing pain as a prerequisite for growth

[1:15] I do believe that this is a candid event, not in a way that's normalizing the unhealthy coping skills or any of those things, or normalizing the fact that teachers should have to deal with this, because if you know me, you know I want nothing more than to change the system of education and the way that teachers are seen and respected.

But I also recognize that pain is a prerequisite for growth.

If everything was simple, easy breezy beautiful cover girl, rainbows, sunshine, unicorns, ice cream sundaes, well, first, I wouldn't have much of a purpose with this podcast, but also, we'd all remain the same.

Every single bad thing that has ever happened to me and probably happened to you, too, that I never thought that I would get through, I did.

I'm still here. I'm still kicking, and I want to remind you that you made it through.

You did it, and in each one of those instances, you made it through with a lesson.

Whether you take action from that lesson or not, you came out knowing, okay, this situation leads to this situation and I don't like it, right?

It made you more resilient.

Do I think you should have to deal with some of the crap that we do as teachers? Heck no.

But I do believe that we can start to see some of our circumstances, our emotions, our patterns as keys to unlock growth and transformation. And when we can start to see that, then we start to expand our locus of control.

[2:40] As one of us becomes aware, more of us becomes aware. And so in this episode, I want to help you reframe some of the negative experiences that you've had in your classroom and in your life in a way that supports you making your individual change towards transformation, harnessing that as growth to propel you to make ripple effects, recognizing that your pain is a canon event that will completely transform your life and those around you.

This is an episode I hope you will be able to come back to time and time again and listen whenever you just need a pep talk to remind you it's all for a purpose.

So buckle up, and let's get into it.

Introduction and gratitude for listeners

[3:25] Before we get into this episode, I want to let you know, I am so glad that you found this podcast.

Seriously, if you're a first-time listener, this podcast is here to support and empower you. And if you're one of the thousands of teachers who comes back every week to listen in, seriously, thank you so much for spending your car rides to and from work with me or just those times when you need to hear another teacher friend to give you some validation that it's not just you.

I can't tell you how thankful I am for you guys to listen in and to message me and share this podcast with other teachers, because this is my mission. I'm here to help teachers break the burnout cycle once and for all. So if you haven't done so yet, it would mean the world to me if you just leave a rating or a review on your podcast player, or even share this podcast in your stories and tag me so that we can reach the earholes of more teachers who need this. And you can make this breadcrumb trail for all the teachers to pave the way for change. I think one of the things that I know is super difficult about the beginning of the school year is the mindset to just keep pushing. It seems like a shock to our nervous system at the beginning of the school year because we we hopefully.

Embracing the growing pains of the school year

[4:36] You know, more than likely, spent our summer recuperating. And oftentimes we can feel that just as we reach the I can breathe state, we're back to school. And I I want to tell you something.

There's always going to be growing pains. Throughout our burnout recovery journey, we are going to have those moments of, this is going to hurt a little bit.

Glennon Doyle is one of the women that I really look up to. If you've never had the chance to read her book, Untamed, it's phenomenal. But she said it best.

Life hurts, and it's hard. Not because you're doing it wrong, but because it hurts for everyone.

Don't avoid the pain. You need it. it's meant for you.

[5:16] And I don't know who said this, but Unknown once said, the pain you feel today is the strength you feel tomorrow.

And I think that's so true.

Do I think that some people will go around living the same pain over and over again until it's seriously too much to bear? Absolutely. Happens every day.

But every single bad situation or emotion or uncomfortable situation that I've been in has led me to where I am today, led me to this podcast, and to you so that you don't have to live same burnout year after year after year.

That pain that I felt in burnout, that personal and professional burnout that I experienced, led me to a life that I will push and pull and grow and transform every single time because I never want to go back there.

I never want to experience that type of pain again. Any little hiccup along the way, that's insight for me to say, whoop, getting close again, back up, take a breath, reflect, look in the mirror, what is the pattern?

Like, when I think about the pain, I think everybody thinks about it automatically as negative.

[6:26] But what if we started seeing it as insight? Like, for instance, if we never experienced pain or uncomfortability, would we have any reason to change? Like, when I think of this, I think about my weight.

I have struggled my entire life with being overweight.

Maybe for you, you've struggled your entire life with feeling taken advantage of or feeling like you're the only one putting in work or feeling burned out, right?

But I experienced negative emotions about my overall appearance, those moments in dressing rooms where things didn't fit, they didn't look good and just feeling like, what's the point of me trying on clothes when they're going to look awful?

I struggled with being physical for any amount of time and it was hard.

I felt like it was an uphill battle.

I would lose weight and gain it back and lose weight and gain it back because I was never truly seeing the pain as fuel to keep going and not stop. I could have easily said, you know, I'm going to be overweight forever. It runs in my family. It's too hard.

Any of those limiting beliefs that might have popped up, but no.

I finally chose to open my eyes and say, what is this telling me about what I want to do differently?

What is this showing me about what I want and who I want to be?

And in those moments of uncomfortability, that's what showed me that I needed to change.

[7:48] If I had never experienced being overweight, I probably would have continued to eat unhealthy, grab a box of Girl Scout cookies and pig out on my couch.

Like I would have never seen the impact that each individual step makes in the overall journey of being healthier and being happier.

Using pain as fuel for personal transformation

[8:06] It's in the pain that I think we uncover hidden truths about ourselves.

Those negative emotions about my appearance, the doubts that crept in, those moments that pushed me to see beyond what I was and strive for who I could become.

[8:23] It was one year ago today, the day that this is airing, that I decided I'm done with feeling this way. I am done with letting these excuses hold me back, and I'm ready to use this as fuel to my fire. Over the past year, I've lost 90 pounds.

And was it easy? No. No, it was not. But it was worth it.

I had to continuously look at myself and take one little step at a time.

It was worth it to see and feel all of those uncomfortable emotions so that I could take those steps. Maybe you felt that too.

Those instances where you've been stretched thin, where you've been reaching your breaking point.

Embracing discomfort as a catalyst for growth

[9:02] Remember, it's in those very moments that the path to growth begins.

That discomfort that you're feeling right now, that's a signpost.

It's telling you that change is possible. It's a reminder that while everything is not easy, it is entirely worth it.

We talked in Episode 66 about the magic of our mindset.

So if you haven't listened to that episode, I highly recommend you go back to it because I go pretty in-depth about this idea.

[9:28] But I think this topic goes hand-in-hand with reframing our pain, using burnout as a catalyst and reframing our stress.

Stress is often seen as this villain, but it's also really a huge indicator of our mindset.

It's not stress itself that really defines its impact, it's really how we interpret it.

It's called eustress. is the positive form of stress, the kind that fuels motivation, it gains energy, growth. It's the opposite of distress, right? And the main thing is that's different between these, eustress and distress, is one, you feel like you can cope with, and the other, you feel like you can't. Stress and pain, that's a natural part of our lives. Instead of fighting it or trying to get rid of it, we have to make it work for us and take action towards managing it. Good stress is what pushes you forward. Bad stress is what's compounding in your body and breaks you down. You kind of get to choose which category you're putting the stress in. I I mean, do you know anybody who's run a 5K without putting their body through stress?

But if you can run a 5K, you are pretty resilient.

It hurts to run like that. But it's not unhealthy.

It's just really uncomfortable while you're working through it.

But at the end, you can say you did it.

I can't say that. But I can say that every single bad thing that I've ever been exposed to in my life, whether I chose that path or it was handed to me, I made it through that.

And you have too.

Recognizing when stress becomes harmful

This is when stress stops being good. It stops being helpful.

It stops being motivating.

And it starts to compound within our bodies to damage that physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing.

That's why it's really important to check in with yourself and open your eyes to what is stressing you out.

What negative experiences are occurring and might be filling your container.

And then think, what's stopping your stress container from emptying?

Maybe it's overworking. Maybe it's too much caffeine, too much screen time, too much alcohol, maybe some other negative coping mechanism.

Maybe it's chasing perfection, unrealistic expectations, a lack of support.

We're all individuals. And I'll say it to the cows come home.

There is no cookie cutter solution to this problem.

Using pain and stress as opportunities for change

If you wanna turn your negative stress into a positive, I want you to try these three things to turn your distress into you stress.

Number one, attempt to see that stressor as a challenge versus a threat.

For example, you can feel nervous before public speaking.

That's okay.

Your anxiety, that's valid, but it's not life-threatening. It's not gonna last forever.

You have the power to overcome it and use that anxiety as fuel.

Or as teachers, we often struggle with student behavior.

Stop seeing that as a threat to who you are as a teacher or the effectiveness of your classroom, and instead see it as a challenge that you can overcome.

You see, reframing or switching the perception, that helps focus more on overcoming the challenge rather than obsessing about the emotions or the feelings that you have within it.

Adopting a Stress is Enhancing Mindset

There's a study that was completed in 2013 that showed evidence to support that if we can adopt a stress is enhancing mindset, the impact is positive rather than negative for our overall well-being. So over the course of a week, the researchers randomly assigned employees at a financial institution into one of three groups. So there was a stress is debilitating group where.

So 163 people watched videos that portrayed stress as useful, improving immunity, creativity, work quality, under pressure.

And in the control group, 61 people, they didn't watch any videos at all.

After a week, the researchers discovered that people who had watched the stress is enhancing videos believe that stress has more positive effects.

So in contrast, the people who watch the stress is debilitating videos, they thought stress had more harmful effects.

So in the second study, the researchers showed that people with a stress is enhancing mindset actually responded better to stress.

So during a public speaking test, the people that had those mindsets had more adapted physiological responses than people that had the stress is debilitating mindset.

So that was indicated by cortisol, right? People with that stress is enhancing mindset, they were also open to more feedback, a necessary step towards improving. So I want you to think about that.

Acknowledge when you've had way too much. And this is what I like to reference as listen to the whisper before it becomes a roar.

Now we are all going to undoubtedly experience too many things at one time.

Start seeing the individual stressors as what they are and start strategizing for those specific stressors.

And I want to encourage this. Take a day off. If it's too much for you, take a day off to recoup.

Don't keep pushing through when it's compounding.

You have to let your container empty out so it doesn't keep compounding and affecting your physical body.

So if you need a reminder that it's okay to take a mental health day, I highly recommend going back to episode 35 because some days we just need to put everything down and we need to take a breather.

We have to prioritize carefully pacing ourselves and have some moments of renewal.

Leveraging Pain to Grow and Make Change

Every moment of uncomfortability that taught me something about myself, that roar was too loud.

I couldn't ignore it anymore.

That pain point got so massive that I couldn't keep pushing it to the side. My people-pleasing, my overachieving tendencies, they kept leading me to burnout.

And one day, I was like, Something needs to change. I need to grow. And that drove me to take action, to start taking, to.

You wouldn't be listening to me right now. You wouldn't be searching for solutions. Every successful person over time leveraged that pain in order to grow. Because at the lowest points of your life, you have a choice. Either you sit there and you become a victim, continuously going through that pain over and over and over. Like you can run from the pain, but it's It's just going to make it worse. It's going to make it harder.

Or you can decide you are never going to go back to that, and you can take action.

If you don't face the pain, you'll remain the same. And that's awful.

That's awful to live the same burned-out year time and time again, but teachers do it all the time.

I'm not some magical unicorn teacher, but I refuse to go back to that.

I will start to feel that creeping in even now because my default programming wants me to overwork, wants me to overachieve, to prove myself.

And sometimes I have to say, nope, not doing that.

There's that pain, there's that limiting belief popping up.

Life does that. So you can grow. You have some hidden piece that burnout is showing you, something that needs to take action on. Maybe it's overwork. Maybe it's people-pleasing.

These patterns that have been showing up in more than just your teaching career, it just happens to be showing up here too to show you what needs to grow, what needs to change.

The collective pain that teachers are feeling because of unrealistic expectations, that's showing us what is broken in the system and what we need to change.

It was a lot more than I will probably ever share publicly, but I will tell you what, I am so thankful for that pain that I experienced.

Because I broke a curse that without that immense amount of pain, I never would have realized the patterns of belief that I was perpetuating or how truly strong and how resourceful I really am.

I never would have experienced that love and the beauty that is my marriage that I have now.

I never would have connected with my husband now through the similar experiences we had, and without the patterns of burnout that I had in teaching, I never would have found my passion to be here with you to share these lessons and these tips and these strategies that I know now.

Outside of you facing your own struggles, you can potentially save someone's life.

That's why I share other teachers' stories of burnout, too, because each story is not only a connection piece, but it's a realization. You're not alone. But it's also showing you what you can do differently that might work for you to harness this and change your circumstances so we can all grow together and make the change for more teachers and for our students. That's, the big picture. It's not just about you, it's about collectively, for our schools, our communities.

So as you navigate the challenges of being an educator, consider this. Every moment of difficulty, every emotion of pain, they are not roadblocks. They're guideposts. They're showing you a way to a stronger, more resilient you. Just like my own journey with weight loss, every step that I take towards embracing discomfort, acknowledging those feelings, understanding those patterns.

You can start to see all the hiccups as stepping stones. You can start to use the pain that you feel as a moment to realize, Hey.

Reflecting and Taking Action for Change

And in doing that, you're paving the way for others.

Your colleagues are going to see the change. They're going to want to know what you did differently.

You're seeing these patterns, and you can teach your students in more ways than just your content area.

And you can make a plan. You can set a goal, and you can make a difference in your life and the lives of the students you teach.

Tony Robbins said, change happens when the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of the change.

And that's what this whole episode is here to remind you.

Next week, we're going to dive into an episode with a teacher who's not an influencer.

She's not going to sell you anything, but it's real. It's raw.

It's her experience and how she used this podcast and her inner strength and resilience to set a goal, a professional learning goal, and crush it so that she didn't return to burnout in a way that she reignited her passion for teaching.

So if you're not already subscribed to the podcast or following along on your favorite pod player, make sure that you do that.

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