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FROM BURNT OUT TO FIRED UP
TABLE 2.1: EXAMPLES OF SELF-LIMITING BELIEFS VERSUS BELIEFS OF SELF-EFFICACY FOR EDUCATORS Self-Limiting Beliefs (Negative)
Self-Efficacy Beliefs (Positive) I can show up to every situation in my classroom with integrity and honesty.
I can’t ask my colleagues for help. That’s a sign of weakness.
It is courageous to ask for support from my fellow teachers and administrators and those who care about me.
I can’t make time for myself; I have a lot of planning to do. My students are more important than I am.
My self-care is important. I need to take care of myself to be my best self for my students.
My efforts are never good enough. My classroom isn’t as creative as my neighbor’s.
I am doing the best I can for my students. That is enough for me.
As a teacher, I am not [creative, firm, fun, connected, fit, knowledgeable] enough.
I am proud of my efforts to be the best that I can be in the classroom.
In order to be loveable, I need to [be more fun, be more social, achieve more, work longer hours, be funnier, be more serious].
I am worthy of love and belonging, just as I am.
For example, imagine that you hope to one day teach grade 3, but you’ve always been a middle school teacher, so you do not have the experience to teach at this level. A grade 3 job comes up at your district. If you have positive beliefs about your ability to fulfill the role (that despite lack of experience, your passion and dedication would make you an ideal candidate for the job), you might be more likely to apply and possibly get the job. If you have a negative belief system founded on your supposed inability to pull off teaching grade 3, you probably wouldn’t apply (and, subsequently, you’d have a 0 percent chance of actually getting the job). Your mindset and belief system can have a significant impact on the outlook you adopt in life and on the opportunities that arise as a result.
Shame Shields Our limiting beliefs often stem from maladaptive survival mechanisms (Wadsworth, 2015). Evolutionarily, when we humans find ourselves figuratively alone, the reward circuitry in our brain screams at us to smarten up and find our way
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I always have to be strong in front of my students. They are counting on me, and I can’t let them down.
