Giveaway - Awakened: Change Your Mindset for More Effective Teaching!

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I am very excited to be sharing with you a book that a dear friend of mine, Angela Watson has just released about how changing your mindset can change your teaching!  I personally had a REALLY rough school year last year with regards to people treating me professional, kindly, and even in some case morally right!  So, when Angela approached me about reading her book I felt this was exactly what I needed to start off on the right foot at my new school!  And even better yet, she has given me an additional copy for one lucky reader!  Here's what Angela says about her newly release book:

Does the start of the new school year leave your feel anxious and stressed out? That's a pretty normal reaction. And yet, most of us aren't even aware of WHY we're left feeling tired and worried when nothing's really happened yet! Here's a tip to help you move past those feelings: if you're stressed out or experiencing negative feelings, that's an indication that your thoughts have been negative. The instant you start to feel unhappy, worried, or depressed, start thinking about what you've been thinking about. Your unhealthy feelings are actually beneficial if you look at them in this way; they give you insight into your unconscious beliefs and automatic thought system that you might otherwise fail to notice.

Negative or stressed out feelings can also provide a clue that your mind is not focused on the present. If you're feeling anxious or worried, it may be that your thoughts are centered on what might happen in the future; if you're feeling frustrated and despondent, you might be rehashing something from the past that cannot be changed. When you experience an unwanted emotion, ask yourself: What have I been thinking about? Something that already happened and I am powerless to do anything about? Something that has not yet happened and cannot be controlled by me in this moment? If either one is the case, return your mind to the present moment. Clear your head of those thoughts, and your positive emotional state will soon return on its own.

All your feelings are valid, in the sense that you have the right to think and feel any way you want. However, not all thoughts and feelings are helpful and useful in your life. It's to your advantage to identify emotions that are not contributing to your overall goals, and counter them with healthier thoughts. You might be wondering if I'm suggesting that everyone should be happy and unstressed at all times. Absolutely not. Feelings such as melancholy are a normal mood state. But wanting to feel good and be happy is far from a selfish pursuit. When you're in a higher emotional state, you treat the people around you better and teach more effectively. 

Think back to a time in the classroom when you were in a bad mood: How did you speak to your students? What kinds of activities did you facilitate? How much did you accomplish that day?  Compare that to a time in which you had a positive mental affect: you were probably much more patient and understanding with students' shortcomings, willing to engage in more energy-intensive activities and go the extra mile to help students, and were far more productive in your workday. For this reason, feeling more happiness and positive emotions benefits everyone around you—especially your students, whose daily classroom experience is largely shaped by the moods you exhibit. Will our negative feelings ever go away completely? No. It's not possible to feel happy, content, and undisturbed during every moment in life. We're fallible human beings, and negative emotions are a natural part of our lives. We experience loss that brings sadness, and injustice that brings anger. Feeling these emotions can be a very healthy experience. It can help us to bring about positive change in ourselves and the world.

Negative or unpleasant emotions only cause problems when we allow them to spiral into extreme, dysfunctional states like depression and rage. It is possible to grieve without feeling hopeless. You can be frustrated and disappointed without being overwhelmed and paralyzed with anxiety or fear. By learning to examine your thought system, you can identify which ideas and processes are constructive and which are not, and slowly begin to replace unhealthy mental habits with more effective ones. If you're feeling guilty or ashamed about your negative emotions (or about the way you express them), you'll find that these feelings lessen considerably when you know that your identity is not in your feelings. You will have the power to observe your emotions and recognize their source in your thoughts, rather than identify with them and use them to define and condemn who you are.

In addition to Awakened: Change Your Mindset to Transform Your Teaching, Angela has just released The Awakened Devotional Study Guide for Christian Educators! This workbook is designed to deepen Christian teachers’ understanding of the principles in Awakened, elaborating on what the Bible has to say about renewing our minds. For each Awakened chapter, this guide provides an opening reflection, devotion, further scripture reading, application questions, “to do” challenge, and a prayer that invites God to help you in applying the principles to your life. Angela has offered to give away a copy of either or both of these books to one Simply Kinder reader!   Just enter below... super simple!

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