I was close to becoming a ‘first five year statistic’ but a moment of realisation helped me not only stay in teaching but love teaching again.

What words do you say to encourage, motivate or inspire yourself? If you find it a challenge to push yourself along on a difficult day perhaps a phrase or two might give you the helping hand you need.

Where are you at the moment? Are you present or is your head in next week’s meeting or last week’s conversation? Take a moment to consider where your feet are and bring your headspace a little closer.

Have you ever felt like you have lost your confidence, sense of wellbeing or sense of strength? When situations or people challenge us, sometimes we can hand every sense of who we are across to them. How can you manage to reclaim your confidence and feel like you have a handle on things?

If schools are like gardens, how is yours growing? Is it bright, vibrant and healthy or is it overrun with weeds?

It can come from anywhere at anytime. Good advice may be something that you don’t draw upon everyday but it sure does stand the test of time.

When someone gets upset at you, how do you manage it? Being told you are unreasonable or inflexible when you are just trying to make the best decisions possible can knock your confidence and have you doubting yourself. Have you considered that the feedback might not be the reality and perhaps just one person’s viewpoint of reality?

Are you familiar with the expression ‘Canary in the Coalmine’? It’s a way coal miners used to keep an eye on the air when underground. When the canary became sick or died, it was a sign that things were not good in the area. What if we applied this theory to schools? Who would your canaries be and how would you know when they weren’t tracking so well?

The way we live now means we have 24/7 access to everything. How do you disconnect when you feel like you always have to be accessible? It’s time to reclaim the space and recognise that it’s okay not to share everything.

How do you use your school holidays to recharge and prepare for the term ahead?