3 in 30

 Day 3 or 30 days of blogging.

Yesterday, I spent time identifying my type of burnout and then looked at the first step of becoming "burned in". That first step was of reflection and to "begin where you are". It was good to look at where I have come from over the last few years. I mixed in a couple of the Burned In Podcasts throughout the day as well. I highly recommend them! I found my head shaking in agreement to those I listened to (there are specific ones that Amber recommends according to your quiz results).
And then, the day ended with some special reassurances, or as my friend calls them -- God hugs. I was hugged by special emails and assuring words. All reminding me of "why" I do what I do and "who" I do it for.

If I follow, Amber's "8 Steps to Go from Surviving to Thriving in Education" eBook (that was an inexpensive purchase), I would be ready for step #2 Understand Your Teacher Brand.

"Brand yourself in a way that projects positivity and gratitude."

 In this section/chapter, Amber talks about a difference between a personal brand and a teacher brand. Interesting! Here is the quick difference:

Personal Brand= How you take care of yourself + what you say + how you behave

Teacher Brand= Your people + Presentation + Your Goals

Breaking that down piece by piece.

People - who are my people...teachers/educators in the district and via online connections
What do these people say about me? How do they describe me?

My hope is that I am kind, friendly, and helpful. I'd hope many others feel like the person that sent me that email I mentioned at the beginning -- "I appreciate your positive attitude with others and technology! You are so patient with me and others."

I tend to wear my emotions on my sleeve...I can't hide my feelings very well. And this worries me...I don't want my "brand" to be tainted by my current burnoutedness. It is a more difficult time professionally for me, but I'm working to keep my smile on my face and share my laughter with I can.

I read on in the chapter....

"It's living now, like who you want to be three to five years in the future....Your Teacher Brand is derived from who you are now, who you want to be in the future, and who 'your people' perceive you to be."

I hope Amber doesn't mind me sharing her list of what teacher brand is and isn't here. It is just too good and challenging not to share it. I might have to copy and hang it on my wall as a reminder!

Your Teacher Brand:

1. Gives your people a mental image of your teaching, when they aren’t there to witness it.
2. Makes your teaching memorable and recognizable.
3. Differentiates your teaching from other educators. This is your teaching ‘special sauce’that makes you the teacher you are.
4. Creates an emotional bond between you and your people and increases their loyalty to you.
5. Helps catch the attention of your people in a positive way.
6. Puts you in the driver’s seat and in control of something, because we truly can’t manage or change other people.
7. Is your promise to YOURSELF that although certain things are hard for you right now you’re going to do your best to seek support and find solutions to your struggles.
8. Helps you align your core values and what you think, feel, and believe about yourself and your future with what people think, feel, and predict about you and your future.

Your Teacher Brand Isn’t:

• pressure to be the best and seeing gold stars of affirmation. This isn’t a competition, it’s a journey. So just stop that negative self-talk right now.
•  #pinterestworthy or #teachersofinstagram
• Becoming someone you’re not, to impress people you don’t like, in a place that you hate being - if you’re Burned and Over it, you’ve got some decisions to make about what you do, who you do it with, and where you do it. 

The last part of this section is about a personal mission statement. My mission statement has been, "speaking the technology language for you". I think it still works..."your personal mission statement is WHO you serve (your people), WHAT you do to serve them, HOW you serve them and WHY."

Now, I'm off to do some less technical and on paper reflections from this chapter. Thanks for reading and joining on this journey with me.