Fewer Things, Better: The Courage to Focus on What Matters Most

by Angela Watson

At any point in time, you can decide to stop repeating to yourself how exhausting everything is and let go of excuses for why your life could never be any different.

Wise words

If you’re enjoying the work and going beyond what’s expected by choice, it’s not really work. It’s something you’re choosing to do because you like doing it and it’s meaningful.

Or, maybe you could invest a few hours during the week to figuring out how to share the workload with another teacher, so that eventually you’re only doing part of the planning work.

Or maybe you could stay late one day at school and organize your materials so it’s easier to find and repurpose similar activities, instead of reinventing the wheel during your planning.

And whatever you choose, if you want to be happy, you have to embrace that choice.

The language you use in your self-talk and conversations has a significant impact on how you feel.

And you should never make important decisions based on fear. A fear-based mindset will convince you that you can’t question or deviate from The Plan. It leads you to feel like you can’t bring your whole, true, authentic self into the building … and teaching and learning become a robotic, passionless experience for everyone in the classroom.

When you were hired, someone saw potential in you to be great. You have extensive training in this field, and you got the job because you brought skills and expertise to the workplace.

We do not have to stand by and watch the love of teaching and learning be crushed.

Place your emotional, mental, and physical health as a top priority even when every message you hear from above is discounting your needs. Grab every single chance you get to close your door and do what’s best for you and your kids.

You are worthy of better, and change is possible for you right now.

So, the expectations in your school do not have to define who you are as a teacher or how you spend your time. You can choose to define these things for yourself.

What, specifically, do I believe is required of me? Who is requiring this? Why are they requiring this? How can I meet the requirement in a way that works better for me and my students?

You’re using your professional judgement, leadership skills, and expertise to find better solutions that improve working conditions for the entire faculty. You are refusing to passively allow a bureaucracy to steal your enthusiasm for your work.

Being a team player does not mean saying yes to everything you’re asked to do. It’s about knowing when to go along with a good attitude, when to quietly subvert the system, and when to demonstrate leadership skills by speaking up and confidently saying no.

I believe there are three components to discovering and standing strong in who you are as a teacher. We’ll work on developing each of the components together in this chapter: A sense of self-worth based on your inherent value as a human being (not based on how hard you work, your students’ test scores, or what it says on your teaching evaluation) An understanding of your own unique teaching style and how it evolves over time Self-reflection skills which enable you to learn from feedback and grow, while still honoring who you are as a person and a teacher

That’s because the problem isn’t other people thinking you’re better than you actually are. They’re not wrong about your competency. The issue is that they think you’re better than you think you are. Their view of you is higher than your view of yourself.

Your self-image is not aligned with who you really are and what you’ve been able to accomplish.

If you want to have the confidence to do fewer things better, you have to be yourself unapologetically, without letting others’ expectations define you.

One way you can build your confidence is by choosing to notice and focus on your accomplishments. Find those small wins and celebrate the light bulb moments. Notice your own progress even when you're not yet at the goal. This will help you start to realize just how valuable all of your day actually is.

This is not optimistic thinking — this is realistic thinking. It’s reality. It’s exactly what you did. You show up, day after day, and work these little miracles all day long without even realizing you’re doing it. You’re probably so focused on everything you didn’t do that you don’t realize how much you’ve actually accomplished. I am urging you — stop for a moment. Be present. Truly recognize the impact you have made.

You don’t have to constantly work hard to become a better teacher (or partner, or parent). You’re not becoming anything. You’re simply releasing all the habits and patterns that aren’t actually you.

Resist the pressure to base your worth as a teacher on the results of your evaluation. If your students’ test scores don’t improve fast enough, that does not mean there’s something wrong with you, or that you’re not good enough at your job, or that you didn’t work hard enough.

Something in this situation is triggering feelings of self-doubt. I’m feeling a bit like a fraud right now, and questioning whether I'm good enough for this job. But just because I’m thinking and feeling this way at the moment doesn’t mean that my doubts are reality or that I need to give any consideration or credence to them. I’m just going to observe that it’s happening, and let those thoughts and feelings pass on their own. They always do! I know deep inside that I am enough, and my efforts are enough. And, I am getting more skilled and experienced at my job over time. The only thing I need to focus on is showing up as my essential self. My true self is just the person my students need, and that’s the very best job I can do.

How can you use their feedback to your benefit as an opportunity for growth? What’s the grain of truth in what the person’s saying that is worth holding onto, even while you disregard the part that isn’t helpful? Do you have a solid rationale for WHY you’re making the choices you’re making? (If so, practice articulating it; if not, dig deeper to uncover whether your choice was the right one, or if this is an opportunity to go in a different direction.)

While it’s not always easy, the happiest educators I know are those who prioritized finding a school that is aligned with their methodologies. I see far too many teachers burn out and assume the problem is the whole profession, rather than just a conflict with their district or school or perhaps even a single administrator.

Even when you were clearly wrong in the past, you don’t have to get stuck in shame and guilt. We all have regrets about things we’ve done in the classroom. If you didn’t feel like you’d made mistakes, that wouldn’t mean you were perfect. It would mean you’re not growing or reflecting on your practice.

You’re not them, and if you try to be, the best outcome you can hope for is to be a mediocre copy. It’s far more effective (and sustainable) to be the best version of yourself.

Idealizing other teachers or blindly copying them doesn’t work. Neither does entrenching ourselves deeply in our separate camps, pitting ourselves against one another’s “wrong” approaches.

“People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel.” I think that should be our guiding principle as we uncover our own unique teaching styles and philosophies. It’s less about having perfect lessons and flawless classroom procedures, and more about how we make kids feel. Do they know we believe in them?