Do you find it hard to keep up with all the "seismic shifts" in educational trends, and the new expectations put upon us teachers seemingly every couple of years?   Do your perfectionist tendencies give you anxiety about learning how to do things differently when you just felt like you got a handle on the previous "trend"?  You may be doing a lot of worrying for nothing.    When it comes to expectations at work, one size does NOT fit all.

Are you able to "leave work at work" mentally?  As teachers, we usually have to bring home work to finish, but are you doing it to your detriment?  Even if you don't have actual work to grade, are you still spending too much time thinking about the day?   Shifting mental gears from work to home can help....but how?

Do you have a hard time letting go of a day that didn't go well?  Do you turn the events over and over in your mind well after work is finished?  Do you question your skill as a teacher when your expectations for the lesson don't match the outcome?  We all make mistakes in this profession.  How we deal with them is crucial.

When you leave work, are you able or unable to shift gears into a non-teacher mindset?  Do you replay your day, criticizing yourself for what you could have done better?  Are you turning your 8-hour work day into a 16-hour work day mentally?  Let's talk about the difference between having a job and having  a calling, and which direction you are leaning.

Does the idea of really being yourself with your students make you nervous?   Would you like to develop closer relationships with your students but you fear their rejection if you open up more?   Do you feel that the priority of "taking care of business" dominates how you relate to your students?    Opening ourselves up and being authentic can pay off in big ways, not just for you but for your students.

Do you often think that if you just had another job, your stress would plummet?   Do you sometimes dread going to work?  Do you struggle with the idea that you spent your college years training for this job only to discover that it is killing you most days?  There are ways to continue to teach and minimize your stress if you are struggling with the idea of sticking with the job.

Do you sometimes feel like you're beating your head against a wall when it comes to getting your students to do homework?  Do you find yourself saying things like, "when we had homework as kids, we just did it!"?  Do you feel that your kids are lazy and they just need to "suck it up"?   There are reasons why our students don't always achieve to our standards even though they seem intelligent enough to do so.  Looks can be deceiving.

Do you or your students dread projects?   Do you struggle to come up with ideas for projects that the students will enjoy?  Did you personally hate doing projects when you were a student?  Projects don't have to be tedious or frustrating.  Giving your students choices and appealing to their personal modalites can go a long way.

Do you sometimes (or often!) feel like you aren't doing enough?   Do you fantasize about winning awards for your teaching and wonder if you'll ever get there?  Do you compare yourself to teachers you know who are just on fire professionally?   It's one thing to strive to be better.  It's another thing to sabotage your own success by unrealistically comparing yourself to others.  Just because you aren't lighting up the world of education doesn't mean you aren't a great teacher.

Do you have a group of colleague friends at work?  Have you tried mingling with different colleagues only to come away feeling awkward or uncomfortable?  Maybe you just haven't found your "tribe" yet.  Getting to know a variety of people at work can lead to strong connections that help us manage this demanding job.