John Waddey
No doubt about it, successful people are hardworking people. This is true of the landscaper, the banker, or the teacher. It is also true that successful, hardworking people need some hobby or pastime to rest and recreate their mind. Repetition, sameness, and boredom have a way of numbing our mental faculties. Without a break or a change of scenery, we become like a dull knife, or like the old fellow who complained, “The harder I work, the behinder I get.”
The solution for mental and emotional fatigue varies from person to person. You know what works for you. If you don’t know, then it’s time to experiment to find out. Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Read good books, books that appeal to your interests and excite your mind. Read books that allow you to become absorbed in their message so that you can temporarily forget the burdens and routine of your work.
- Exercise. You might enjoy jogging. It is great for relieving stress. Even long walks are restful.
- Take time at the end of the day to lay down everything related to your school work and watch your favorite TV show or movie. You may laugh or cry, but either way you won’t be “grinding your gears” over the burdens of the day. With a good movie you can soar far into the past or future. You can sympathize with the unfortunate or walk among the great ones of the human race. All the while, your mind is freed from the demands of your profession and able to refurbish its tired cells.
- Enjoy a good concert or stage production.
- Spend time outside! Your choice of recreation might be golf or tennis, or you might enjoy working in the garden. Make time for such things.
- Use your vacation time. Take a trip, visit friends or family, or your old home place. See the many exciting natural wonders of our land, the historical sites. You will come home with your mind rested and refreshed. Almost certainly you will have learned things that will make you a better teacher.
- Now and again spend a day doing nothing but resting and relaxing. Our mind is like our muscular system. It can grow weary and tired. It needs an opportunity and adequate time to rest and renew itself. A hike in the hills, a lazy day at a beach, a day of fishing, a few extra hours of sleep are like medicine to the mind. Not only will you be rested, you will find yourself far more productive when you get back to work.
- Spend time with family and friends who make you happy. A happy teacher will almost certainly be more effective than one who is sad and forlorn. A happy countenance is contagious. It will put your students in a more receptive mood for learning.
Successful teachers know not only how to instruct students, they know how to take care of and manage their lives so they will be mentally and emotionally strong and healthy. Put competence and a refreshed and happy mind in a single package and you have a wonderful combination. You will have a teacher who loves his or her work; one who leads has the necessary energy to successfully lead students toward their goal. You will find that the kids will enjoy, appreciate, and respond favorably to that teacher.
M. B. Grier some it up thusly, “All work and no rest takes the spring and bound out of the most vigorous life – Time spent in judicious resting is not time wasted, but time gained.”
So…what do you have planned for the holiday break?
John Waddey is a public speaker. He is an editor and the author of 50 books. He has traveled and spoken in 23 foreign nations. He is the father of four children.
