What are positive affirmations?
According to mindtools.com, positive affirmations are "positive statements that can help you to challenge and overcome self-sabotaging and negative thoughts". If you repeatedly think and believe positively, you can improve your actions.
Think of it this way. If you want to have a healthy body, you have to exercise repeatedly. I can't go to an exercise class or the gym and expect that one action to have a repeated effect on my body. I have to work out over and over for the exercise to have an impact.
The same is true for positive affirmations. The more we repeat them, the more we believe them until the positive affirmations come through in our actions.
I have a personal story about positive affirmations. I am a single mom of a teenager. When puberty first started to rear it's ugly head, I was also having a really rough year at work. I was constantly on edge, yelled more than I liked and felt like I wasn't actually doing anything to make my life any better. I was just bouncing around from one dumpster fire to another.
I taped the positive affirmation "I will respond calmly and patiently to everything that happens today." on my bathroom mirror and read it each and every time I went in the bathroom. After a week or so of reading it and repeating it to myself, the phrase started appearing in my mind on it's own- right when I needed it! As time went on, I noticed that I WAS handling everything that came my way calmly and patiently.
You can find this image and others in my blog post on positive affirmations for teachers.
Why should I use positive affirmations at work?
Using positive affirmations at work can have long lasting impact. If there is an area that you would like to change, adopt an affirmation that addresses that area. You might choose to work on creativity, productivity, confidence or negative self-talk or when setting goals.
For example, if you set a goal to increase circulation of graphic novels, you may choose to adopt a affirmation like "Graphic novels are an important part of the collection, children love to read them and they have powerful benefits." Purposefully affirming graphic novels will keep them in the forefront of your mind. This will lead to actions that may include recommending graphic novels to readers, creating displays that highlight graphic novels or advocating for the purchase of more graphic novels.
How can positive affirmations help during a global pandemic?
The world is a crazy place right now. School plans for the fall change regularly and some librarians aren't even sure they will have jobs in the fall.
Navigating these changing times will require librarians to think flexibly, collaborate in new ways, add value in ways that we have not previous, and maybe even advocate to keep our jobs.
Pre-Corona Virus Pandemic, I operated on a fixed schedule where I saw 8 classes a day and rotated through the whole school within a week. Post-Corona Virus Pandemic, I don't actually know yet. I know that my district is starting back virtually and I will have virtual classes, it will not be on the same schedule as face to face. When we do go back to face to face learning, I will most likely operate on a cart.
What are some positive affirmations I can use in the library?
#1 I am a valuable and important member of this school.
With all the focus on classroom teachers & students right now, it's easy to feel overlooked. This is a great affirmation for you if you are feeling unimportant and left out.
#2 I make a difference in the lives of my patrons in both virtual and face to face learning.
This affirmation is for you if you are worried about continuing to make a difference.
#3 I have valuable insight and play an important role in collaborating with teachers.
Collaboration with teachers is a huge part of our job as Library Media Specialists. Personally, I am on a fixed schedule so it was difficult to collaborate with others as much as I would like. I am choosing to look forward to using my time in a different way so I can collaborate with other teachers. This affirmation is for you if you are worried about being able to collaborate with others with blended or virtual learning.
#4 I can help patrons find resources in a virtual or blended learning design.
It's hard, for me, to think about being a librarian while I'm not in the library with patrons. This positive affirmation is for you if you are also struggling with this issue as well.
#5 I will think flexibly and creatively when challenged with new problems.
This affirmation is for you if you need to remember that you ARE a problem solver and you DO have the ability to be a successful School Library Media Specialist.
What positive affirmation am I adopting for the library this year?
This year, I am adopting "I will think flexibly when challenged with new problems." as my positive affirmation.
I moved from the classroom into the Library Media Center a year ago. I had previously taught for 17 years in grades K-2. I was burnt out and looking for a change. I have been extremely happy with my decision. However, this year was not at all what I thought it would be! I feel like I barely got my "library legs" when we closed down. This year will give me the ability to grow as long as I remember that I am a problem solver and that I am capable of being a great librarian in an uncertain world.
Next stop on the blog hop is Mrs. J in the Library with some advice about teaching library lessons from a cart!
This was a really helpful post, Crystal! I've jotted down a few of your affirmations to try on myself. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome!
Delete