Have you ever sat down and had the thought how do some teachers not burnout? How do they seem to get everything to go their way? Why do they get the best classes and live a great life? And what do they have that I don't?

I know that I have. If you're feeling that way, the number one thing that those teachers have that you don't is a fine-tuned mindset. With back to school season upon us, I'm here to let you know that just because you don't have the mindset right now, doesn't mean it's a lost cause!

In this episode, we will discuss the science behind changing your mindset and bring you actionable tips to making this year a burnout-proof back to school season with 3 powerful mindset hacks.

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[0:00] Hey, hey, you're listening to episode 66 of the Resilient Teacher Podcast.

I know some of you may not want to hear it, but it is back to school season.

And there's like pretty much two different types of teachers, generally speaking.

Number one, you got those teachers who are stressed the F out because they really love the freedom of summer and just soaking all of that up.

Maybe they find it challenging to transition from that more relaxed schedule back into the demands and the responsibilities of teaching.

And these types of teachers often find stress arise due to maybe feeling overwhelmed by the workload, the responsibilities that come with the start of this new school year.

Maybe they fear that they're not adequately prepared or they don't have enough time to plan effectively.

Maybe they worry about facing the potential challenges, the uncertainties that come with teaching.

But then you got those teachers who are completely stoked to be going back into the classroom.

They're gung-ho, they got their outfits and their lesson plan for the whole year and they see it as a brand new start.

Maybe they have even done back-to-school shopping all summer long, and they're just ready for the moment when their doors can open and they can just decorate their classroom.

And you know what the number one thing is that's different about these two types of teachers?

Mindset: The Key Difference Between Stressed and Excited Teachers

[1:12] It's all in their mindset. Because think about it, both teachers are going back to school.

Both teachers had summers off, but the one thing that's impacting their overall back-to-school experience is a matter of perception, a matter of outlook.

Here's the thing, some teachers might naturally feel more stress due to their personality, their teaching experience, external factors, and others might approach the new school year with a more growth mindset, seeing it as this opportunity for personal and professional development.

And hey, I am not here to tell you that you are wrong for how you feel.

Feelings are just neutral, and it's totally valid either way that you feel right now.

But if you're here and you wanna know how to make this year and this back to school season burnout proof, then this episode is definitely for you.

Because we're gonna chat about the science behind why we feel the way that we feel, the three mindset shifts you can make, and the action steps you need to take.

[2:07] In order to create a more burnout proof back to school season.

So let's not waste any time and let's get into it.

The Emotional Rollercoaster of Going Back to School

[3:07] I think going back to school is such a strange time of the year because even if we got tons of rest over the summer, set some boundaries, just felt completely rejuvenated, back to school brings a lot of emotions, like a lot of emotions.

For one, you may get completely nervous with the back to school nightmares for weeks before or you might feel fine until you finally take that first step into the building after break and you're like, whoa, okay, cortisol and adrenaline, I see you.

And we've talked about this reaction back in Episode 9, so I want to encourage you to go back and listen to that.

But I also want to give you something this school year that really shifts how we go about experiencing a lot of this, especially because like every emotion we have during back-to-school season, like I said before, it's completely valid.

I've done it all, too, but I'm going to make a broad guess here.

You probably want to experience more joy and less stress.

You want to manifest the life of your dreams, and I specifically say manifest because it's It's such a trendy word right now, but it's so much more than this magical way of thinking that just plops a million dollars in your lap.

People will say, I'm manifesting a million dollars.

Eh, that's not exactly how it works. I first want to get a little bit nerdy with you to hopefully shift your mindset into being able to live your best back-to-school life and be burnout-free this school year.

Understanding the Reticular Activating System and its Influence

[4:28] In our brains, we have what is called a reticular activating system.

It's basically this network of neurons that sits at your brainstem, and it consists of this primitive part of your brain that produces emotional arousal and that well-known fight or flight response.

This part of the brain evolved early on, and it offers us protection from all kinds of natural threats to survival.

And what it does is it acts like a filter to filter out information that's necessary or unnecessary.

So how does it consider what is necessary and unnecessary? Well it's basically using your current belief system to find things in our reality that validate those belief systems.

Or in other not-so-scientific words, it reveals to us our reality and what we believe about wise.

So, if you have a very negative belief about life, it's only going to collect and remember data that validates those negative beliefs.

[5:26] So, if you want to be a happy teacher, but you believe that the job is hard, because you know sometimes it is, but you believe that teaching is like the hardest job in the world, your reticular activating system is going to remind you and filter out all of those experiences that validate that teaching is the hardest job in the world.

And what's crazy about this is that system is going to then affect every single action that you take.

So it's all intertwined. So what happens is your brain, like we've talked about in the past, is always looking for patterns. And so it's going to seek that information that's going to validate your belief system.

[6:04] And it's housed inside of your subconscious mind or the part of your mind that you're not even looking for because your belief system is important to you.

The best way that I've heard this explained is your name.

Your name is really important and it's who you are. So think about your name for a second.

You could be in a loud grocery store, a hundred people around you, a really busy, loud airport and someone calls your name.

[6:30] They're like, Britney.

You immediately hear it. You're like, huh? Of all the noise and all the chaos around you, you still hear your name. Or for me and a lot of other moms out there, a kid says mom and you'll see like 20 other moms look to see who's calling them. And that's because your identity is embedded in your belief system. And that reticular activating system did its job. It filtered out everything else in order to hear your name. And so when we bring up this concept into teaching, We all know that one teacher who is a huge negative Ned or a negative Nancy, right?

We all know him or her. That one teacher who will find every negative piece of any situation at the school, like completely unable to see the silver lining in any situation.

And even bringing this up, it makes me think about a time when I was deep in burnout.

I was going through a divorce, like when my kid's dad had a broken leg, I couldn't drive or walk.

Honestly, the situations constantly were happening and I felt like life just sucked.

My kids in my class were awful. My life was awful. Everything was awful.

I literally felt like it was just falling apart around me and I started reading these self-help books and I came across one about positive thinking and mindset.

And to be straight with you, I was super skeptical.

[7:48] Like how could changing my mindset possibly make any difference in the face of all the challenges that I was experiencing, right?

I mean, I was literally at rock bottom. And as I started reading more books and getting into neuroscience, I began to realize changing my mindset did not mean that I was going to ignore or suppress how I was truly feeling or the crappy experiences that were being thrown my way.

It wasn't about like pretending everything was perfect or practicing toxic positivity where I just dismissed my feelings as if they didn't matter.

[8:23] No. I was dealing with was tough and there were a lot of things that I did that led me to that point. and instead...

It was about acknowledging my difficulties and acknowledging my true feelings while choosing to respond to them in a more constructive and empowering way. And because I don't know about you, but I don't want to just sit back and experience challenges and feel like crap. Like, I realized I had more say in what I did with those experiences and how they shaped me More than just accepting them changing my mindset wasn't about ignoring those hardships that I faced. It was about building, Emotional intelligence and finding strength in the face of adversity it was about recognizing that I had the power to shape my reactions and.

[9:15] The lens through which I viewed the world I had the power to change the filter the reticular activating system in my brain.

Changing Mindset and Shifting the RAS for Positive Experiences

[9:24] And I started looking at all the blessings.

With the divorce, yeah, it was over and it was a rocky divorce, but I got the chance to start over and to try something new.

I got to raise my girls in a household that was positive and uplifting.

I got to see my true friends come and pick me up for work every morning or my mom come to like spend time with me to take care of the girls.

I wasn't alone. I was getting to rebuild the life with the people that I wanted to be in it.

In my classroom, yeah, my classes that year were incredibly challenging, but oh my God, they were so much fun.

There wasn't a dull moment ever. I was never bored. I got to try out new things and see what worked.

And that year taught me a lot about myself as a human, as me, because even though I was at rock bottom, I could rebuild and I was stronger than I ever knew that I could be.

I made goals and I crushed every single one of them. I met my husband.

And so all in all, I learned to be more self-compassionate. I learned to be grateful.

And I learned to be hyper clear on what I want to do and live and experience.

And we can all do that.

We can all change the filter. We can reboot the system.

If you're a teacher that has the negative bias right now, your school's crap, your job's crap, your life is crap, then your brain is literally seeking that.

When on the other hand, if you have a more positive outlook, you could be in the same crappy situation, like your tire goes flat, and instead of being like, this crap always happens to me, you're like, huh, must be a reason I got a flat today.

Or thank God my flat tire didn't blow out on the highway going 90 miles an hour.

Just as the software upgrade enhances that performance and functionality of our phones, changing our mindset and training our RAS can significantly improve the way we process information and how we experience the world around us.

And so before the upgrade, our default setting or our subconscious mind might have been clouded by negativity and limitations.

However, with a mindset shift and by training our RAS, we're installing a new operating system, one that prioritizes positivity, growth, gratitude.

It's like installing an antivirus program that filters out all the negative and then it accentuates the positive.

This new mindset allows us to focus on what we truly want and filter out the things that we don't want.

This is we can customize like our phone settings just to prioritize certain notifications and filter out the rest.

And did you know that according to one study, our brain takes 11 billion bits of information at any given time and then our RAS focuses on the top 40 things that confirm or reinforce our beliefs.

And that's crazy because if you have a positive RAS, it's filtering through 11 billion bits of information and finding the things that confirm that life is rainbows and butterflies and unicorns.

But if you have a negative RAS, it's doing the right opposite.

It's looking for all of the bad to reinforce that way of thinking.

So as we train our RAS, it's going to start to function like an advanced search engine, seeking out that information and experiences that align with our upgraded mindset.

Continuous practice for a positive mindset and RAS training

So just as a software upgrade requires those regular updates and that maintenance, our mindset shift and our RAS training, that requires continuous practice and continuous reinforcement.

We have to be able to fine tune our system to start looking for what we actually want, not what we don't want.

By consciously directing our attention and our thoughts towards positive aspects of life and what we actually desire, we're essentially influencing the RAS to prioritize that information that aligns with our goals and our desires.

So that's why I've said in the past, awareness is huge because we have to be aware of our belief systems, our values, our ways of thinking about the world in order to really start to make the change that we want to see.

And so in order for us to be burnout free this school year, I don't think mindset alone is going to suffice. I've said it before and I'll say it again.

In order for us to sustain our careers as educators, we have to get three things.

We have to have support, we have to have systems or strategy, and we have to have the mindset.

But mindset is the one thing that most people will throw on the back burner.

It's hard to actually open up your eyes, to break apart your locus of control, to see what you can do to change your reality.

Because like I said, manifesting your best life isn't some magic wand solution.

It's so much deeper than that.

So let me give you three ways that you can shift your mindset and start to manifest this burnout-free school year.

Clarity, solution-focused thinking, gratitude, and positive affirmations

So the first thing you have to do is you have to get clarity.

Setting these clear and specific goals, that's essential for activating your RAS, for upgrading your system.

Because what happens is, when you become very clear, you can truly see your goals and you can start to break them down into these achievable steps and focus your energy and your attention on those steps.

When we adjust to have a more solution-based way of thinking, instead of just dwelling on these challenges and these obstacles, we want to train ourselves to look for solutions, for possibilities.

When you encounter a problem, just ask yourself, what can I do to overcome this?

Or what resources can I tap into to find a solution?

And in order for us to have solutions to our issues, we have to have goals.

We have to know what it is we're striving for. I think so many people go around living life from this idea that they just have life handed to them and they have no say, but that's simply not true.

When you say, hey, I want to lose 50 pounds and you set that as a goal, your brain starts to look for ways to achieve that goal.

It starts bringing that up in your brain. It starts filtering out things and somehow you'll realize like 15 people you know are also on a wellness journey.

You realize, hey, you built a good healthy eatery right down the street from your house a few months ago and you just realized it was there because your brain has a new lens in which to start looking.

It's all about staying consistent in taking the action towards that goal.

But once you type your goal into the Reticular Activating Search Engine, it starts to filter.

It starts to define those opportunities.

And then it's up to you to take those opportunities. The second thing I want to tell you about that will help you train your RAS is gratitude.

And you hear people say all the time, remember to count your blessings, but there's real science behind how that can help you train your RAS to find those more positive experiences.

When you experience or you practice gratitude or appreciation, you're reinforcing that RAS to filter the information around you more efficiently, which basically means you see and you experience more of the things that matter to you.

So in this scenario, you might notice more and more grateful experiences or things to be grateful for. This is why.

The RAS doesn't distinguish between positive and negative thoughts.

It just knows what you're giving attention to right now and what's important to you.

And if you're one of those people who thinks, well, how can counting my blessings work?

There was a study to show that gratitude journaling plus therapy works better than just therapy alone.

The researchers randomly assigned the study participants into three groups with all three groups receiving counseling services, the first group was given an additional task of writing one letter of gratitude to another person each week for three weeks.

On the other hand, the second group was asked to write their deepest thoughts, their feelings related to negative experiences.

And then the third group didn't engage in any writing activity.

They just solely received counseling. And the results of this study are revealing.

When comparing the participants who wrote about negative experiences or only received counseling with those who actually wrote those gratitude letters, it was found that the latter reported significantly better, mental health both four weeks and 12 weeks after.

And so this finding kind of suggests that the practice of gratitude can be beneficial not just for individuals who are already mentally healthy and well-adjusted, but for those who are also facing mental health concerns. The combination of psychological counseling and gratitude writing yields even higher benefits than counseling alone, which highlights the potential of integrating gratitude practices into, therapeutic interventions. Because again, it's creating a point of reference for your RAS to find and filter out more gratitude, more positivity. The last thing I want to recommend to support training your RAS are positive affirmations. I think people sleep on positive affirmations because they feel like they're lying to themselves. But the truth is, when you're stating positive affirmations repeatedly, you're, consciously directing your attention and your thoughts towards specific positive statements. So this repetition is sending a consistent message to your brain, reinforcing those positive thoughts and beliefs, and as a result, your brain starts to form and strengthen neural pathways associated with those affirmations. So, thank you so much for joining me today. I hope you enjoyed this video. I'll see Here's how positive affirmations impact the RAS. It leads to what is considered.

So, it filters out distractions and focuses on information that aligns with your affirmations.

Number two, it has confirmation bias. The brain has a natural tendency to seek evidence that confirms its existing beliefs and filters out the information that contradicts it.

By repeating those positive affirmations, you're essentially creating a confirmation bias towards those positive thoughts. Your brain starts to notice and then emphasize experiences and information that support your affirmations.

Further, it's strengthening those neural pathways that are associated with those beliefs.

So emotions have a powerful impact on memory and learning. So it makes that positive affirmation more deeply ingrained in your neural networks.

And with consistent practice, positive affirmations become an automatic response.

Your brain no longer needs a conscious effort to activate those neural pathways associated with those affirmations.

That automatic reaction is what ultimately trains your RES. It's focusing on that positive and aligning with the beliefs and the thoughts expressed inside of those affirmations.

So it's important to note, you know, the effectiveness of positive affirmations, it depends on belief, it depends on repetition, and it depends on your emotional connection.

The more you believe in the affirmations, the more you repeat them with genuine intent, the more significant the impact on your RAS and neuroplastic changes are going to be in in your brain.

Through this process, you're rewiring your brain to adopt a more positive mindset and enhance your overall well-being and your personal growth. If you're like, Brittany, that sounds great.

I just don't know where to start. I do have a free resource that can help you craft your own.

You can grab yours for free at teachingmindbodyandsoul.com slash affirmations or you can grab the link in the show notes. Here's what I want you to know.

Embracing Stress and Burnout in the Back-to-School Season

Do you want to be burnout free this year? Is that your goal?

Then don't push down the feelings that you're feeling right now at the beginning of the school year. Your feelings are valid.

It is completely okay for you to feel stressed out, but that is a direct insight into your subconscious mind, into your reticular activating system.

Subconsciously, your RAS has been trained to find that stress, but you don't have to sit back. You don't have to live the same burnout year after year.

If you're not happy with the way your life, your teaching career is going, or you just never even knew this existed, sit back and think, what's my bias?

What is my belief system? What default setting do I have that I'm constantly validating that maybe I haven't even been aware of?

Because if it's constantly an uphill battle, maybe that's your current programming.

And maybe you need a software upgrade. Maybe you notice that one teacher who's got it all together.

It seems like everything goes right for them. They have the best class every year.

They get the most grants for things in their classroom. They have the best life.

They go on the most amazing trips every summer. and it's like everything falls into place for them.

Programming Your Brain for Success and Taking Action

And it starts with you taking action to program it with what you want. I don't think that manifesting your best life or any of that is this magical, fictitious thing. It is brain power, which neurons and stuff, that's pretty magical, but it's more scientific than that.

You have more control than you realize. I want to challenge you today to do 3 things for yourself. No. 1, I want you to set a goal for a great year and take solutions-based actions. Don't just sit back. Don't just passively expect or wait for it to arrive. Do the dang thing. No. 2, I want you to create affirmations that are going to validate that solution and that goal. No. 3, I want you to practice gratitude every single day. Create it into a routine. I personally like morning routines because it sets you up for that in your day, but, start just consciously programming your RAS and your brain to create the patterns you want to see and start to see how great life can be, how great your teaching career can get. I want you to remember you are a resilient teacher.

We're in this together.

Together, you've got this.