What is the point of all this 'mindfulness and wellbeing stuff'?

Is it just about tapping into your emotions and feelings? Yes, some people do therapy and work on their emotions and they explore their feelings. But what does that have to do with education and schools and me? Well, it has everything to do with you, with the way we are with each other and the way we educate as a result of it.

Is it simply about awareness? At the end of the day: no! Awareness around being and doing things a certain way is the first and most important step towards enhanced wellbeing. However, if change is to follow, real, positive and tangible change, then it is all about what you do with that awareness. We need to take action! Gaining awareness around a culture which is not serving the staff, the students or the parents requires close observation and above all the willingness to reconsider set systems.

In other words, what's the "end game"? While this starts with you and your team, the vision is about a complete transformation of your school culture. Your culture is the operating system of your school. It's "the way things are done around here". It is heard and felt in the way you talk and seen in the way your staff interacts.  It's how students, parents and staff experience  your school. And it's a critical ingredient to make a positive change.

Why? Because the culture you create has more impact  than the lessons you teach and any input you offer.

“ Consciously, we teach what we know; unconsciously, we teach who we are.” - Hamacheck

The culture you create in your school creates the energy which carries any effort you put into your work. You set the tone.

I have worked in schools with the most amazing mission statement, rated outstanding by Ofsted, well behaved students and producing fantastic results. And this is no mean feat. I do not mean to undermine the value of those achievements. It is, however, striking how you can be in the presence of outstanding educators and find yourself in an environment which does not inspire positive communication, growth.

As the pace and demands of school life can isolate us from one another, the contact we do share becomes paramount. We absorb each other’s energy without noticing, adopting the temperament of those we work, learn and teach with. Everything we do or say has the potential to affect individuals around us and by consequence the whole culture of our school. Though we may never know the exact impact we have had on others, we do know that small habits and ways of doing things have a profound impact on the whole. When we seek always to be friendly, helpful, and responsive, we effortlessly create an atmosphere around ourselves that is both uplifting and inspiring. As practitioners with a very busy schedule and very little interaction with each other we can forget that this also applies to our relationships with students.

It is about the quality of interactions we have with others. The little bit of magic we experience when we are being seen and heard fully. When we allow ourselves to be fully present in the moment.

How can we access this mindful approach at school?

What we need is less doing and more being. These are two different modes of mind and they are the make or break factor in your school culture. When we are being mindful we experience the present moment with acceptance and in a state of being. This is associated with a wide range of beneficial outcomes for workplace well-being, performance, and relationships. Being in this state might seem counter cultural and even counter productive as it goes against our culture of busyness and constant doing. As we work we usually find ourselves in doing mode in order to enable most kind of work. Doing mode is not all bad and often necessary.

Exclusively using this mode, however, can be a problem. Often we start to solely function in doing mode, which means that we end up being ruled by the present moment we are in rather than being present and accepting the moment as it is. We start judging and reacting. For example we go into a situation with a student or colleague not being fully present and adding some preconception and judgement to the mix. This state of doing rather than being keeps us from engaging in the situation intentionally, and it undermines how we feel and function. This is when we often find ourselves determining the outcome of a conversation by drawing on past experiences, former judgement and our own current state of mind. We can feel like 'Ah, I have heard this before and been here and I know exactly what the outcome of this is going to be.' We take away all options and the space to have a truly unique moment by being present and open minded. Doing mode offers only a limited set of tools, and often it’s the wrong mental toolbox for the task at hand. 

So, we need less doing and more being - but how? We cannot constantly interrupt our work day to sit in a quiet place and do mindfulness exercises. In order to come out of the doing mode, we need to gain awareness around the fact that this is precisely the loop we are stuck in. Just noticing and acknowledging is the first step. It sounds simple but can be surprisingly difficult when we have been operating from a place of being for a long time. We need to practice 'catching' ourselves, as the doing mode is often our modus operandi.

Then we want to intentionally step out of the doing mode. This can simply mean to step back from the moment we are caught up in. Take a breath, click your fingers, do a few star jumps, give yourself a quick head massage with your fingers, recite a phrase that helps you get unstuck. Anything that works for you. The more you make this relevant to you the better it will work.

Whichever you choose will help you reground yourself in the present, allowing your thoughts and emotions to dissipate. This provides greater peace and intentionality. Now you can enter the being mode even when you are in a doing moment. This kind of everyday mindfulness and intentionality is not about meditation and long mindfulness exercises. It allows us to enter the being mode even when we are in a doing moment. With practice awareness will come more easily and established practices will become more natural and effective.

We then have a chance to tune into our thinking, feeling, action, and body. Observing these experiences helps us to come out of autopilot. For example sensing tense shoulders or a tight jaw takes us into our reality of the here and now. We might realise that these tensions result from a past or future worry which has nothing to do with our present experience. We can start to ground ourselves in the present moment.

Now we can experience being while doing, which is the core experience of mindfulness at work. It takes us to a different place, one grounded in the state of being and it allows us to get past the limitations of being stuck in doing. Instead, we can be present in the moment and approach the situation with more compassion, presence and less judgemental.

With this you can access a state of being while doing during the school day.

Rather than just reading about it why not just take a moment right now. Sit back, take a breath and check in with yourself. Where are your thoughts? How does your body feel? How do you feel emotionally? What is your body telling you? Be honest with yourself and accept whatever comes up. Let's not judge. Just let it be. Just observe.

Now, try and ground yourself. Use breath, or any of your senses to focus on and to get you out of the doing mode. Just be in the moment and be mindful. No need for doing. This can feel really weird and new to begin with. Being mindful can just mean focussing on not actually doing anything. Just letting this moment be.