A while ago I really struggled to see out of the busyness and overwhelm of my teaching life and I thought things would be so much better if I could just improve my happiness.
Sometimes we can get so caught up with the problems in our lives or at times of crisis, that we just can’t see out of the mess.
So when I was ready to make some changes and I started to think about my life, I just didn’t know how to become happier.
Does happiness ever elude you?
This was a time that I felt very low – like I was under a dark cloud, and it was hard to feel happy about anything in my life.
Have you ever felt like this? Or are you feeling like it now?
There might be something that’s so difficult happening in your life right now that it’s too hard to think you’ll ever feel happy again.
I was like this.
You would think that in our modern society with so much available to us, people would be happy, but statistics say that this is not the case.
I had a wonderful teaching job. A beautiful family. A comfortable home. Delicious, healthy food and so much more. Why wasn’t I happy?
But I had become overwhelmed with the difficulties and problems at school that I couldn’t focus on anything else.
This post shares what I’ve been learning recently. It discusses why we shouldn’t be tricked into thinking life will be better or easier or even more gratifying if we are happy all the time.
It also includes some strategies that you can do to intentionally change your situation and improve your teacher happiness even in difficult times.
Happiness is just an emotion
We first need to understand that happiness is just one of the many human emotions that make up who we are; including the other emotions we feel, often on a daily basis, like fear, anger and sadness etc.
These emotions will always be part and parcel to being human.
But as adults, it’s our responsibility to learn to control and manage our emotions – all of them, and this should include our happiness.
While we are quite capable to do this, I don’t think we are as good at managing some of our emotions as one would expect.
So, let’s concentrate on what we can do to become better at this.
Are you ready for some happiness training? 🙂
When you really get down and think about it, do any of us really know what makes us happy?
What makes you a happy teacher?
Studies have found that the things that WE often think make us happy, actually doesn’t.
You would think things like making lots of money would increase our happiness, or losing some weight, would make us ecstatic.
Others think that different people will make them feel happy.
But these things actually don’t.
I’m writing from the view of a teacher’s life obviously. And oftentimes as educators, we can feel that if the problems at school were solved we’d be much happier – like reducing the massive workload or minimizing all of our responsibilities.
You might also be thinking that you’d be far happier if your class were better behaved or if the many frustrations of being a teacher were alleviated.
But studies show that actual things that make us experience happiness DON’T COME FROM OUR CIRCUMSTANCES.
I find this information quite interesting, as I, like many others, would probably believe that our ‘lot in life’ (whether it’s difficulties at school or at home) is a huge contributor to our personal unhappiness.
This has found to be untrue.
So, what is it that helps improve your happiness as a teacher?
Well, research tells us that only 10% of our happiness is based on our life circumstances and that big 40% is based on our own INTENTIONAL ACTIVITY.
Happiness comes from intentional activities
This means that WE are in control of our happiness through our own purposeful actions.
So in times of crisis or our personal life difficulties, or any time in our life, WE are the change agents. WE are the ones who can make intentional choices about what activities will be added to our daily life to make us happy.
The idea that we hold so much power over our own happiness can be a bit daunting when you think about it.
No longer can you blame your circumstances or other people for being unhappy in life. It’s up to us!
So what can you do to improve teacher happiness?
The first thing that I needed to make this shift was to realise that teaching was just my job and to also stop letting it take over my life.
This is a big task, but I did start by setting myself clearer and more healthy boundaries and to start managing my stress.
Related article: Tips for Teachers: How to Stop Thinking About School
I found that implementing stress management techniques stopped the drain on my body and helped me with the overwhelm that was depriving my happiness.
Read here for some helpful articles about stress management you can implement too:
- Why is it so Important for Teachers to De-stress?
- 3 Powerful Stress Management Tips for Teachers
- 5 Easy Ways to Relieve Teacher Stress
Practical Strategies to improve happiness for teachers
In my research on happiness, I found some really practical ideas to help us from the Centre for Confidence and Wellbeing who offer some great suggestions which I’ve included here. (These were developed from research undertaken by the BBC).
Check these out:
- Get Physical – exercise for 30 minutes, three times per week
- Count your blessings – at the end of the day reflect of 5 things that you are grateful for. Read my post here about the wonderful impact gratitude journaling has on teacher wellbeing
- Talk to a friend or your partner – have one hour of uninterrupted time in conversation
- Plant something and keep it alive, even if it’s just in a planter box
- Reduce TV time – cut your TV time in half, if you can
- Smile and say hello to a stranger at least once per day
- Phone a friend – contact one person you haven’t seen for a while and arrange to meet up
- Have a good laugh at least once per day
- Treat yourself and really enjoy it
- Kindness – treat someone with kindness at least once a day
- Spend time on hobbies – spend your time on something stimulating and enjoyable
- Achieve goals bigger than yourself – do something worthwhile by helping a friend or doing charity work
- Worry less – don’t obsess about how you feel. This can be beneficial to remember in times of crisis or difficulties in life
- It’s just a job – don’t allow your work to take over everything else in your life (a good tip for workaholic teachers)
Do you see anything here that you could add to your life?
I know there are some really helpful ones that you can start right away.
But, you might think these all sound a bit too easy, or just ‘easy to say’ and not so easy to do.
Or you might think that none of these things will make you happy.
If you’re really struggling with your happiness, and overwhelm is just taking over your life, I would strongly suggest seeing your doctor to get your health checked out. This will rule out any subclinical reason for your low feelings. (This is what I had to do before things improved for me).
Then, if you know that you have eliminated any other health concerns like depression, you’ll be conscious that you DO have the power to make the change in your life to improve your own happiness.
N.B. Just so you know, some people are more naturally happy than others, and you probably know some people that are always bubbly and happy. Every. Single. Day.
Sonja Lyubomirsky from the Department of Psychology at the University of California does confirm this and tells us that “50% of our propensity for happiness is based on a genetic set point.”
Even if this is true, the power is still with you to change your life for the better.
I know we are all different, but it sounds like we need to adopt some regular things into our lives that will make a difference for us.
Try some new ones out and test them for yourself.
Another easy happiness activity
Another easy activity that can help you identify what makes you personally happy is to use some focussed questions.
I did this exercise recently, and it was truly enlightening to see all of the amazing, and often small things, that I had overlooked in my life that make me really happy.
Why don’t you give it a try for yourself?
Questions to get you thinking about your happiness:
- What does happiness look like to you?
- What does happiness feel like?
- What makes you happy?
- I feel happy when…
- Smells that make you feel happy?
- Sounds that make you feel happy?
- Sights that make you feel happy?
- Tastes that make you feel happy?
- Every day I could do this to contribute to my happiness?
- I’m happiest with the touch of…
Write your answers to these questions down and review them regularly to remind yourself of all the wonderful things to celebrate in your life.
I hope these tips will help you to rise up from any dark cloud you may be under and get you to focus on what’s is good in your life.
PIN THIS FOR LATER!
Good luck my friend.
Michelle x
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