What I wish I knew about wellbeing with Maria Brosnan

2022-02-16

Maria Brosnan is a specialist. What in? Well amongst other things she's a coach, mentor and trainer in wellbeing and her expertise has never been more needed than it is now. For over 15 years she was MD and co-founder of two educational companies that created award-winning resources The Story Spinner and Striver. As a consultant and coach, she has worked with numerous clients, from schools to multinationals including British Airways, the Body Shop and Burberry. Now, through her company ...

Maria Brosnan is a specialist. What in? Well amongst other things she's a coach, mentor and trainer in wellbeing and her expertise has never been more needed than it is now.

For over 15 years she was MD and co-founder of two educational companies that created award-winning resources The Story Spinner and Striver. As a consultant and coach, she has worked with numerous clients, from schools to multinationals including British Airways, the Body Shop and Burberry.

Now, through her company Pursuit Wellbeing, she dedicates her time to the wellbeing of teachers, school leaders and other school staff and helps them to manage stress, anxiety and daily school pressures, using practical, research-driven information and support.

As well as offering online wellbeing training for school staff, she also hosts a podcast and has published a book for teachers ‘The Pursuit of Sleep’.

In this podcast we discuss ...

The 5 key things that all teachers can do to protect their wellbeing.
Being good is good enough as perfectionism is the enemy of wellbeing. When you are teaching 30 individuals for 6 hours a day it is not possible to be perfect, so just strive to be as good as you can be each day.
Taking the pressure of yourself by making sure the children are working really hard and focusing your efforts on making sure they are all learning something.
Listening to your mentor or your trusted colleagues. When they tell you to rest, then rest! If they say enough is enough, then it is. They have been there and they have seen what needs to be done to become a great teacher.
The art of teaching is complex as there are so many things to learn and you can't learn them all at once. It takes years to master the art of teaching.
Perfect lessons happen rarely, if ever. So be happy with what you have done as a teacher when you can't think of anything you could have done to make the lesson better.
There is a real value in reflection but the tendency to beat yourself up when things are not perfect must always be resisted. Focus much more on the things you are doing well and spend a sensible amount of time thinking about one thing you could do to improve.
Make sure you maintain strong connections with family and friends and do this very regularly. Spend quality, happy, joyful times with them every week. We all stay healthy by having fun, so have plenty of it away from your role as a teacher.
Chat, chat, chat, share, share, share especially when you are feeling anxious. This is one of the key ways we learn to manage our emotional state and cope with the challenges we face every day as teachers.
Small, everyday choices matter. Do you have a short walk everyday? Do you eat a healthy snack? Do you have an early night? The small healthy choices have a massive impact on our wellbeing. Make the right choices and the crash that many of us have at the end of term due to being physically and emotionally exhausted can be avoided.
A tiny bit of preparation really helps us make good choices. For example, short meditations are so good for you so make time for these every day. Or develop visualisations to help you let go of feelings that are unhelpful. (A link to some of Maria's 3 minute meditations is at the bottom of the blog).
Take responsibility for your own wellbeing. Don't expect others to do it for you. Each of us has responsibility to do whatever we can to care for ourselves. Others can help, but you must do as much as you can to take steps to look after yourself. It's in your hands.
MENDS - the 5 things you must do all the time to enhance your wellbeing: 1.Mindfulness 2.Exercise 3.Nature 4.Diet 5.Sleep.