What’s in Your Control Today?
The system is broken. You can’t fix it. But you can decide how you navigate it.
You can’t control the class size. The district mandate. The student who shows up angry. The parent who won’t respond. The technology that fails.
You already know this. But you waste energy on it anyway.
Here’s what you can control:
Your response. Not the situation. Your response to it. That’s yours.
Your boundaries. The email can wait. The committee can happen without you. No one will enforce your boundaries for you.
Your morning routine. Ten minutes of quiet before chaos. A walk before the bell. Small things that set the tone.
Your planning time. Protect it like it’s sacred. Because it is.
What you say yes to. Every yes is a no to something else. Usually to yourself.
How you leave school today. On time? Depleted? With energy left for your family? That’s up to you.
The Stoics called this the dichotomy of control. Most teachers spend energy on what they can’t control. Then wonder why they’re exhausted.
The system is broken. You can’t fix it. But you can decide how you navigate it.
Stop trying to control what you can’t. Start protecting what you can.
Want to build practices around what you actually control? Join The STRONG Teacher’s Lounge — a community of teachers who are learning to be excellent without being exhausted.
