Education is a service profession. We get into this work knowing we want to make a difference. Giving is in our nature, and we give willingly.
Eventually we begin to feel that pull. You know that tug of people and circumstances taking. Demanding our time and energy and goodwill. It’s not that they don’t need or deserve what you have to offer. It’s that you suddenly realize you’re not giving by choice. You’re tired and drained and even resentful. There’s giving and there’s taking and then there’s taking advantage.
It’s insidious, going far beyond personal and professional relationships in our daily lives. It’s the way we are groomed by our working conditions, our opportunities for advancement, and our salary scales. It’s the ways we are treated as consumers and customers in the marketplaces of ideas and products and services, demanding our time and attention and money. We choose what and where we give, and the rest of the time these external forces are tugging and taking whatever they can get from us.
We find different ways to cope. We keep our wits about us to avoid being duped. We align our loyalties with particular brands and personalities and parties. We remind ourselves saying “no” is always an option. Still, bottom line, how do we keep ourselves centered on our own selfcare and wellbeing?
You have to know your value. What is your worth beyond what you have in your tank and in your wallet? What is it within you that you value so much, you make it your priority to feed and protect it against all the other weary demands of the world? How do you practice being more loyal to yourself than to everyone and everything else that will tell you and sell you anything to make a buck? They count on you knowing the price of everything but losing sight of your own worth.
When you know your value, you don’t negotiate it. You hold onto it tightly because you understand it’s all you have and it’s all you need. In an age where cynicism and loneliness and worthlessness permeate so many lives, you cannot afford to give yourself away.
Know your worth and it will carry you throughout your career, leading you to the impact and legacy you want to achieve before this life is done. Others will recognize it in you…people who know their worth and respect it in others. These are your people. Build a community of likeminded educators who know their worth.
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