Guilt grief and overwhelm, are CEO Teachers® worst enemies. 

Teachers, raise your hand if this sounds like you…

• You feel the need to apologize every time you’re late for work or need to ask off for some important event
• If you receive less than stellar reviews on your teacher assessment, you apologize for said mistakes
• You don’t get the job you applied for so you send an email apologizing and asking what you could have done better
• Your schedule gets off track and you get a day or two behind on your lesson plans so you apologize during your weekly collaboration meeting 
• You know you don’t get paid enough as a teacher, so you do everything you can to make a little extra money – but feel guilty about creating and asking others to pay you for your time

Yes, Yes, and Yes!

It’s because you’re a teacher and it’s the reason why we here at Team CEO Teacher® love you so much. You have a heart of service. 

Let’s talk about the psychology of guilt for a second before I share with you the ways you can kick this thinking to the curb. 

Here Is How Guilt Works

Guilt, grief, and shame can lead to depression, anxiety, and paranoia, but they also nudge us to behave better, says Sznycer. “When we act in a way we are not proud of, the brain broadcasts a signal that prompts us to alter our conduct.”

First, know this – guilt is subconscious. Meaning that you feel that way because you’ve been preconditioned to feel that way. It’s not like you are actively making a choice to say, “ok today I won’t feel guilty! Yay” BUT and that’s a big but, you can begin to feel self-aware enough to notice when you are feeling this way and begin to course correct. 

Now let’s chat about a term that was new to me not so long ago: hyper responsibility. Also known as an inflated sense of responsibility. Hyper responsibility is when you feel that you have more control over the world than you actually do.

*clears throat*

If that statement right there ain’t the real Kayse Morris, I don’t know what is. “Feeling that you have more control over the world than you actually do.” Wow, that’s most teachers to a T. I swear it stems back to being in control of our own classrooms, right? We are in control (and responsible for) these 20-30 something humans at any given moment so we feel that we are also supposed to be in control of every other situation. 

That’s why I have issues flying.

• I don’t know the pilot. 
• What if he/she is hungover? 
• What if they didn’t eat enough? 
• What if they have a heart condition? 

I swear those thoughts go through my head every time I set foot on an airplane, but I had to get back to reality. First of all, and I mean no disrespect here friends – you are only the main character of your story. 

Let that sink in. 

No one else's story, just your own. We are not always in control. And back to my point about the pilot, it’s silly to assume that a pilot doesn't value their life as much as I value my own. In what world would that make sense? 

You see, feeling hyper-responsible for the world in a sense can be a good thing, but it more than often will result in a negative feeling towards a majority of the events in our life.

• You don’t run your school (*even if you are an admin and think you do*)
• You aren’t responsible for every child outside of the classroom
• You are not made to be thinking about your teaching job 80 hours a week
• You are not responsible for the way other people judge you
• You do not have to dedicate all your valuable time to your school because they make you feel guilty
• You don’t have to research every little thing that comes up in your day-to-day because you think you can fix it

How To Let Go Of Guilt Grief And Overwhelm:

• Acknowledge the guilt 
• Stop with the “I’m sorry’s”
• Course correct
• Accept what is happening and be at peace with it

The importance of personal development comes from all angles when you are a CEO teacher®. You need to find healthy ways to cope with your guilt, especially for perceived infractions. Your time is valuable. There is nowhere that says you must share all of your knowledge and tips and hard-earned strategies without compensation. You can find ways to ditch those guilty feelings about money blocks here.

Feeling Overwhelmed As A Teacher

Don’t let social media, other teachers in the building or friends and family guilt you into any decisions. The last thing I want to see is good teachers leaving the profession. But staying at the cost of your own mental health- that’s a HUGE nope for me. 

What does that mean exactly? It means I never want you to feel guilt over leaving teaching. Especially if that is what will make you a better version of yourself. Instead, I want you to find ways to live a life you love. Find your passions. And celebrate all of your teaching magic. Whether in or out of the classroom (or somewhere in between). 

And if you need a little help on the journey you can download my Teacher’s Map of Online Business Secrets. And start applying the strategies I took years to navigate (in a very messy way) to build the life you want to live. And ditch the teacher guilt, grief, and overwhelm in the process.