Sometimes, and it’s usually when we really need it the most, self care seems like overwhelming and daunting work. Sometimes it’s the last thing we want to do. So we continue to perpetuate the cycle of self-sabotage by putting these tasks off or ignoring them altogether. There are many factors that may impact our willingness or ability to practice self care

1. The Six Gaps: Elena Aguilar identified six areas that we need to be mindful of when trying to determine why we aren’t able to accomplish a task, to take action, or to do what we need to do. According to Aguilar, if we want to move toward accomplishing something we’ve been unable to accomplish thus far, we should take some time to reflect and identify if we have a gap in any of the following areas:
   • Knowledge: the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject.
   • Skill: the ability to execute the technical elements of a task.
   • Capacity: the time and resources to do something.
   • Will: desire, intrinsic motivation, passion, or commitment.
   • Cultural Competence: the ability to understand, appreciate, and interact with people from cultures or belief systems different from one’s own; the skill to navigate cross-cultural differences.
   • Emotional Intelligence: the ability to be aware of, manage, and express one’s emotions; the ability to recognize, empathize with, and manage other people’s emotions.

Many times, we may experience overlap between more than one of the areas listed above. If we have a knowledge gap, we may also have a skill gap. If we have a skill gap, we may also have a will gap. Or, we may misidentify which gap we’re actually struggling with. For example, I held off on building this website because I felt as though I had a knowledge gap–that I needed to be focusing on absorbing more information before I could start to practically apply these concepts to my work. In actuality, I was working with an emotional intelligence gap because what I was actually struggling with were feelings of insecurity and inadequacy that were preventing me from starting to bring my voice into the conversation.

2. Helping Professionals and People Pleasing: According to the American Psychological Association’s Dictionary of Psychology, educators fall into the category of “helping” professions. Helping professions are “occupations that provide health and education services to individuals and groups, including occupations in the fields of psychology, psychiatry, counseling, medicine, nursing, social work, physical and occupational therapy, teaching, and education.” By nature, our jobs require us to prioritize the needs of others. Our own needs can often fall to the wayside in the process. Additionally, the physical and emotional toll that comes along with caring for or helping others can deplete whatever energy stores we’ve saved for ourselves. However, the fact of the matter is that we signed on for this profession. We pursued this career under the assumption that we are capable of balancing all of the demands that come along with it. So it is imperative that we begin to implement our own self care practices not just because we are human beings who deserve to prioritize our own needs, but also because we cannot do our jobs and uphold our professional responsibilities to the best of our abilities when we are burned out.

3. Martyrdom: For many students at one point or another, running into a teacher outside of school becomes an eye-opening experience. It may be the first time they’ve considered that their teacher has a life outside of school. And unfortunately, mainstream media does a phenomenal job of portraying teachers as superheroes and saints, the epitome of self-sacrifice. Movies like Stand and Deliver, Freedom Writers, Dead Poets’ Society and many others depict the lives of incredibly devoted teachers and their destroyed relationships, compromised health, lack of hobbies, passions, and interests outside of teaching, unrealistic and extreme work habits, and the list goes on. And many teachers do believe that teaching is their calling. That line of thinking is dangerous because it is also just a job. It is an important and prominent aspect of your identity, but it is not your whole identity. There should be times in your schedule and parts of your life that allow you to exit teacher mode and focus on who you are outside of the school.

In my next post, I’ll be diving into strategies for incorporating self care, as well as budget-friendly ways to care for yourself both in and out of the classroom.