Is minding your mind kind?
I’m sure that this week’s post will not appeal to the majority of you, but hey, it’s my blog, right? The beginning of each semester, especially week’s 2 and 3 are stressful for me. The first week of class is introductions, many students add my class late, and everyone is getting their books for classes.
Weeks 2 and 3 are when everything revs up. Full lectures, quizzes, etc. And even though I’ve successfully taught for 16 years now, I still have anxiety, especially during these weeks. This has been especially true since the pandemic took us out of the classroom. On top of that, I also wasn’t on campus last fall, as I was on sabbatical. This means that I haven’t been teaching INSIDE a real classroom in almost 3 years (I get a little heart palpitation even as I type these words).
People deal with anxiety in lots of ways. Some positive, others not so much:( Today’s ARTICLE focuses on an attorney who deals with the same types of anxiety as I often do, especially early in the semester: speaking in front of people. The article focuses on mindfulness and there are some great nuggets here so I hope you’ll give it a read (or maybe two). Our ability to “test” thoughts we may be having (I’m going to fail in my presentation today, which will mean I’m a failure”) and determine if they are in fact true is key. The other nice section is the manner in which we respond to negative thoughts, fears, etc. Our tendency is to quickly react, which creates all sorts of problems. This isn’t the way it has to be, however. The extent to which we can create space in between those thoughts (I’m going to do poorly and thus I’m a failure) and how we react to them offers the opportunity to not allow anxiety to rule the moment.
Anyway, I know that most of you reading this rarely have anxiety, but it’s always a helpful reminder for me.
Thoughts?