The Next Level Teacher Podcast

This episode marks a milestone—Episode 100 of The Next Level Teacher Podcast.

So I asked myself a simple question:If I could teach every teacher in the world just one thing… what would it be?

The answer might surprise you.It’s not a classroom management strategy.
It’s not a behavior system.
And it’s not another productivity trick.
It’s this:You have more control over your experience in the classroom than you think you do.
Not because you control your students or the system—but because you can learn to work with the most powerful tool you bring into the classroom every day:
Your brain.
In this episode, we explore how the thoughts your brain practices shape your daily teaching experience—and how small shifts in focus can dramatically change how teaching feels.
Same classroom. Same students. Same circumstances.But a completely different experience.
In this episode, you’ll learn:• Why two teachers can have completely different experiences with the same students
 • How your brain determines what feels stressful in the classroom
 • Why joyful and calm teachers aren’t just “naturally positive”
 • Simple ways to start training your brain for more peace and resilience
 • Small daily practices that can transform how teaching feels
🎉 Celebrating Episode 100 🎉

To celebrate 100 episodes, I’m offering $100 off my course Calm in the Classroom where I teach these exact skills in depth. Click HERE to get the tools!

Use code 100 for a limited-time discount.
👉 Learn more: brennanelsoncoaching.com/calmteacher

Episode 99: How to Calm Your Teacher Brain Chatter

Do you ever replay a difficult classroom moment over and over in your mind?
Maybe it’s something a student said, a parent email, or a moment in class you wish you had handled differently.
Hours later—sometimes even after you get home—you’re still thinking about it.
In this episode, we’re talking about the brain chatter that keeps teachers stuck in those loops of rumination and stress.
In the previous episode, we talked about how rumination often masquerades as “processing,” when in reality we’re just replaying the same moment again and again. Today, we take that conversation one step further and explore how to quiet the mental chatter that creates those emotional spirals in the first place.
You’ll learn why your brain keeps offering those repetitive thoughts (hint: it’s actually trying to help you), why rumination keeps teachers feeling tense and exhausted, and what you can do to gently interrupt the cycle.
When you understand how your brain works—and learn how to guide it with more intention—you can stop feeding the mental loops that keep you stuck and start creating more calm and clarity in your day.
In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why your brain replays difficult classroom moments on repeat
• The difference between processing emotions and ruminating
• How rumination feeds stress and keeps your nervous system activated
• Simple ways to interrupt the mental loop when your mind won’t let something go
• How presence and awareness help quiet the brain so you can actually solve problems
• Small daily practices that help retrain your brain for calm
This episode is a powerful reminder that your brain is not the enemy—it’s simply running on default settings that were designed to protect you.
But when you learn how to guide your thinking instead of automatically believing every thought your brain offers, you can create a much calmer teaching experience.
Because the truth is you don’t have to listen to every negative story your brain tells you.

Episode 98: You’re Not Processing Your Teacher Stress — You’re Replaying It

What if the reason teaching feels so heavy isn’t because of what happened today… but because your brain keeps replaying yesterday?

In this episode, we’re talking about the difference between ruminating and actually processing emotions—and why so many teachers stay stuck in stress without realizing it.

Teachers are natural problem-solvers. So when something goes wrong—a difficult student interaction, a tough parent email, or a lesson that flops—our brains go straight into analysis mode. We replay it, dissect it, and try to “figure it out.” It feels productive… but often, it’s just practicing distress.
In this episode, you’ll learn:➡️ Why rumination feels like emotional work but actually keeps stress stuck
➡️ The key difference between thinking about your feelings and feeling them
➡️ How unprocessed emotions pile up and make teaching feel heavier over time
➡️ Why processing emotions is faster (and kinder) than ruminating
➡️ A simple way to recognize when you’re looping vs. releasing

If you’ve ever found yourself replaying a classroom moment at 1 a.m., this episode will help you understand what’s really happening—and how to finally let it move through instead of living rent-free in your head.

🎧 Tune in to learn how to stop practicing distress and start creating emotional relief—one feeling at a time.

Episode 97: Teach Like an Olympian
You Don’t Have to Be an Olympian to Rewire Your Brain 
What if the key to becoming a calmer, more confident teacher had nothing to do with classroom management strategies—and everything to do with how you train your brain? 
In this episode, Brenna shares an inspiring story from Olympic gold medalist Eileen Gu, who credits much of her success not just to physical training, but to mental training—intentionally shaping how she thinks under pressure. 
And here’s the powerful truth:
You don’t have to be an elite athlete to benefit from this same process. Teachers can use neuroplasticity—the brain’s ability to rewire itself—to create more calm, confidence, and joy in the classroom. In this episode, you’ll learn: 

What neuroplasticity really means (in simple, human language)
How your daily thoughts are shaping your teaching experience
Why teachers are especially vulnerable to stress-based thinking patterns
How to train your brain for patience, emotional regulation, and resilience
Why thought work is just like building muscle—small reps done consistently
How to stop living on “default mode” and start living intentionally

If you’ve ever thought: 
“I’m exhausted.”
“This is too much.”
“I don’t have enough time.”
“My students are impossible.”

This episode will show you how to gently retrain your brain—without toxic positivity or pretending teaching is easy. 
Your brain is the most powerful tool you bring into your classroom every day. And when you learn how to use it intentionally, teaching doesn’t have to feel so heavy.  
🔗 Resources Mentioned 

Calm in the Classroom
Learn how to use your brain to work for you instead of against you.
Visit: https://www.brennanelsoncoaching.com/calmteacher
Use code PODCAST for 25% off
30-day money-back guarantee 

Episode 96: Your Brain Believes What You Repeat — Not What’s True

What if the biggest thing shaping your teaching experience isn’t your students, your schedule, or your school… but the thoughts you practice every day?

In this episode, Brenna explores a powerful truth from psychology and neuroscience: your brain doesn’t believe what’s objectively true — it believes what you repeat. Whatever you rehearse in your mind becomes familiar, believable, and eventually shapes how you feel, how you act, and the results you create in your classroom.

Using the self-coaching model — thoughts create feelings, feelings drive actions, and actions create results — Brenna shows how repeated thinking can quietly reinforce stress, overwhelm, and self-doubt for teachers. 

She also explains why visualization and intentional thought practice can literally rewire the brain and create new emotional and behavioral patterns.

You’ll learn how your brain filters your classroom experience through the stories you tell yourself, why negative default thinking feels so convincing, and how to begin training your mind with purpose instead of letting it run on autopilot.

This episode is for teachers who:✴️ Feel stuck in negative thought loops about teaching
✴️ Want to feel calmer and more confident in the classroom
✴️ Struggle with overwhelm, anxiety, or self-doubt
✴️ Are ready to take ownership of their inner world
✴️ Want to create a more intentional teaching experience

Your brain is always learning — the question is what you’re teaching it.
🎧 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
✅ Why your brain believes repetition more than truth
✅ How thoughts create emotions and drive your classroom behavior
✅ The role of visualization in rewiring your brain
✅ Why default thinking leads to stress and intentional thinking leads to agency
✅ Simple steps to begin practicing new thoughts on purpose
✅ How small repetitions create powerful change over time.

Teaching doesn’t have to feel driven by stress and self-doubt. When you learn to manage your thoughts intentionally, you create a calmer, more empowered classroom experience — from the inside out.

Ready for More Help?

⭐ Free Mini-Coaching Session ⭐
Feeling Stuck? Bring any problem or challenge you're facing at school to a complimentary one-on-one coaching session with Certified Life Coach, Brenna Nelson. Click HERE to find a time that works for you!

📧 Weekly Teacher Tips 📧
Want weekly inspiration? Sign up to get weekly inspiration and teacher mindset tips to help you better navigate the ups and downs of life in the classroom! Click HERE to gain free access!

😠 How to Deal with Difficult People Masterclass 😠
Struggling with that "one" person at school? Not sure how to navigate a toxic situation? Dread interacting with that overly zealous parent? I've got you covered. Sign up for my "How to Deal with Difficult People Masterclass" and approach those tricky situations with calm, confidence, and clarity! Click HERE to learn how to show up as your best self (even when others don't)!

Episode 95: When to Push and When to Rest — A Skill Every Teacher Needs

Teachers are constantly walking a tightrope between pushing through and burning out. One voice says, “Try harder.” Another says, “You need to stop.” But how do you know which one is right?

In this episode, Brenna explores one of the most important emotional skills a teacher can develop: learning when to push through productive discomfort and when to honor real limits.

You’ll discover why the question isn’t simply push or rest, but why you’re choosing either one. Brenna explains how fear, guilt, and “shoulds” often disguise themselves as discipline or self-care — and how awareness helps you choose with intention instead of reacting on autopilot.

With relatable classroom examples and coaching-based insight, this episode helps teachers build discernment, emotional intelligence, and self-leadership so teaching can feel more sustainable and aligned with their values.

This episode is for teachers who:👉 Feel torn between trying harder and needing a break
👉 Wonder if they’re being lazy or genuinely exhausted
👉 Want to grow without burning out
👉 Are ready to make choices based on clarity instead of fear

There is a middle path between hustle and collapse — and it starts with awareness.
🎧 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
☑️ Why wellness advice often misses the mark for teachers
☑️ How to tell the difference between emotional resistance and true exhaustion
☑️ When pushing yourself leads to growth — and when it leads to burnout
☑️ Why rest can be an act of courage, not weakness
☑️ How self-awareness creates sustainable teaching
☑️ The key question that helps you decide: push or rest

Teaching will always have challenges — but it doesn’t have to be fueled by guilt, fear, or constant depletion. With the right skills, you can lead yourself with intention and build a teaching life that feels steadier and more sustainable.

Ready for More Help?

⭐ Free Mini-Coaching Session ⭐
Feeling Stuck? Bring any problem or challenge you're facing at school to a complimentary one-on-one coaching session with Certified Life Coach, Brenna Nelson. Click HERE to find a time that works for you!

📧 Weekly Teacher Tips 📧
Want weekly inspiration? Sign up to get weekly inspiration and teacher mindset tips to help you better navigate the ups and downs of life in the classroom! Click HERE to gain free access!

😠 How to Deal with Difficult People Masterclass 😠
Struggling with that "one" person at school? Not sure how to navigate a toxic situation? Dread interacting with that overly zealous parent? I've got you covered. Sign up for my "How to Deal with Difficult People Masterclass" and approach those tricky situations with calm, confidence, and clarity! Click HERE to learn how to show up as your best self!

Teaching is demanding — but what if some of the stress you feel every day isn’t coming from your students, your admin, or your workload… but from your brain?

In this episode, Brenna shares a powerful truth: your brain’s default settings are designed to look for danger and problems — not peace and possibility. While this once kept humans safe, it now keeps many teachers stuck in cycles of overwhelm, anxiety, and emotional exhaustion.

You’ll learn why your brain naturally focuses on what’s wrong, how this affects your emotions and nervous system, and why it becomes harder to problem-solve or respond intentionally when you’re stuck in fight, flight, or freeze mode.

Using relatable classroom examples and a memorable metaphor, Brenna explains how unmanaged thinking can create unnecessary suffering — and how you can begin stepping out of that pattern with awareness and simple mental skills.

This episode is for teachers who:➡️ Feel emotionally drained by the school day
➡️ Notice constant stress or anxiety around emails, evaluations, or student behavior
➡️ Want to feel calmer, more confident, and in control of how they show up

Are you ready to stop reacting and start leading your life with intention?

There is a better way to teach — one that feels lighter, more sustainable, and more aligned with who you want to be in the classroom.

🎧 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
✅ Why your brain’s default mode makes teaching feel harder than it has to be
✅ How negative thoughts create emotional overwhelm and limit problem-solving
✅ What happens when your nervous system stays in fight, flight, or freeze
✅ The difference between unavoidable challenges and unnecessary suffering
✅ Why resilient teachers aren’t born that way — they build skills
✅ How managing your mind can transform your teaching experience

💛 Ready to Feel Calm and Confident in the Classroom?
If you’re ready to stop metaphorically “sitting on the tack” and start leading your classroom with clarity and calm, Brenna’s course Calm in the Classroom: Modern-Day Solutions to Teacher Stress, Overwhelm, and Anxiety is designed to help you do exactly that.
In this course, you will learn how to:✨ Manage stress and emotional overwhelm
✨ Regulate your nervous system
✨ Show up confidently in difficult situations
✨ Build resilience no matter what your classroom throws your way

🎉 Use code PODCAST for 25% off
Visit: brennanelsoncoaching.com/calmteacher

You don’t have to keep suffering through teaching. There is a better way — and it starts with learning how to manage your brain.
Ready to uplevel your teacher life? Click HERE to learn how!

In this episode of The Next Level Teacher Podcast, we’re talking about something many teachers unknowingly postpone: joy.

If you’ve ever caught yourself thinking, “I’ll feel better in June,” this episode is for you.

Teaching is demanding, emotional, and deeply meaningful work—and joy doesn’t magically appear when stress disappears. Joy is something teachers can intentionally create, even during busy and imperfect school days.

In this episode, you’ll learn:✨ Why so many teachers unintentionally postpone joy until summer
✨ How your thoughts—not your circumstances—create your emotional experience at school
✨ A simple breakdown of The Life Coach School Model and how it applies to teaching
✨ How to reframe daily tasks (like grading) without pretending teaching is easy
✨ Three daily practices that help teachers intentionally create joy—without adding to their to-do list
✨ Common mindset traps that keep teachers stuck in stress and how to step out of them
✨ Why productivity doesn’t equal joy—and what actually does

You’ll walk away with practical tools you can start using today to feel lighter, more grounded, and more connected to what matters most in your classroom.

✅ Want support practicing this in real time?
Join me for a free coaching call, where we’ll apply these tools directly to your real teaching challenges.

👉 Sign up here: www.brennanelsoncoaching.com/free

💛 Take This With You:
Joy isn’t accidental. It’s intentional.
And as teachers—the people shaping future humans—you deserve to feel it now, not just in summer.

In this episode of The Next Level Teacher Podcast, we’re talking about something that quietly makes teaching feel harder than it already is: pre-suffering.

Pre-suffering is what happens when we emotionally suffer over things that haven’t happened yet—worrying about lessons going wrong, difficult student behavior, parent emails, administrator observations, or even larger concerns outside of school.

While those concerns may be real and valid, constantly worrying about them doesn’t prevent problems or prepare us—it only doubles our stress and drains our energy in the present moment.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
👉 What pre-suffering is and why teachers are especially prone to it
👉 How worrying ahead of time increases anxiety and reduces effectiveness in the classroom
👉 Why pre-suffering doesn’t prevent problems or make them easier to handle
👉 How anxiety shuts down problem-solving and creative thinking
👉 Practical ways to return to the present moment and regulate your nervous system
👉 Simple actions that help break the cycle of rumination and worry

Staying grounded in the present moment is one of the most powerful ways to reduce teacher stress and create a more sustainable teaching experience. 

You don’t need to stop caring—you just don’t need to suffer twice.
✨ Want support breaking the cycle of worry?
Join me for a free coaching call where I’ll help you work through stress, anxiety, and overthinking in real time.
👉 Sign up here:  www.brennanelsoncoaching.com/free
Spots are limited, so grab a time that works for you.

In this episode of The Next Level Teacher Podcast, we’re talking about the kind of conversations that can hijack your entire day as a teacher.
You know the ones:
➡️ The email that makes your stomach drop.
➡️ The coworker or administrator whose name alone triggers tension.
➡️ The hallway you avoid to prevent running into that one teacher.

The interaction may only last a few minutes… but lingers emotionally for hours.

In this episode, I’m sharing a personal story about a professional relationship that once left me feeling small, defensive, and emotionally drained—and the realization that changed everything.
In this episode, you’ll learn:🌟 Why certain interactions feel so overwhelming (and why it’s not a personal flaw)
🌟 How your nervous system plays a role in difficult conversations at school
🌟 Why “just don’t take it personally” doesn’t actually work
🌟 The internal skills that help teachers stay calm, grounded, and confident—even when the other person is tense or difficult
🌟 How to stop handing your peace over to someone else’s mood or reactions

If you’re a teacher who feels emotionally hijacked by certain people at work—students, parents, coworkers, or administrators—this episode will help you see those interactions differently and give you a more empowering way forward.

🎓 Want more support?
I created a masterclass called Dealing With Difficult People, designed specifically for teachers who want to feel steady, confident, and in control of themselves at work—no matter who they’re dealing with.

👉 Learn more and sign up HERE:
www.brennanelsoncoaching.com/difficult
 The goal isn’t to avoid difficult people—it’s to become steady inside yourself. And that’s a skill you can learn. Get started here.