Positive Intelligence (PQ) Is NOT Toxic Positivity!


If you have been an educator during the last few years, chances are you have experienced toxic positivity.  According to verywellmind.com, toxic positivity is "the belief that no matter how dire or difficult a situation is, people should maintain a positive mindset. While there are benefits to being optimistic and engaging in positive thinking, toxic positivity rejects all difficult emotions in favor of a cheerful and often falsely-positive façade." Sound familiar?  On top of an already unsustainable workload, educators now are expected to soldier on through a global pandemic, sudden shifts to remote learning and back in person, political unrest and climate disaster.  Administrators are often at a loss for how to support teachers through it all, and may unwittingly resort to toxic positivity in an attempt to keep everything from crashing down.  

Maybe you have been told to hide your negative emotions and put on a happy face for the students.  Maybe serious issues in your school have been minimized or ignored...you can probably think of other examples.  This is NOT what Positive Intelligence aims to do.

I would be a hypocrite if I told you to stay in education no matter how much you may be struggling; I experienced burnout last year and I felt I had no choice but to resign after my first year as an administrator.  On the contrary, I want to help prevent what happened to me from happening to you.  I'm not here to tell you to stay or leave.  I'm here to tell you that Positive Intelligence is a scientifically-backed way to access your inner Sage, or for you Star Wars fans, your "Jedi mindset".  When a Jedi has to battle the dark side, she channels calm, clear, laser-focused energy to accomplish the task. 

 If you're on the fence about whether to continue as an educator, PQ can help you to calm the chatter from your stressed-out mind and focus on what matters most to you, to help you make the best decision.  If you're committed to staying, PQ can help you rise to meet the challenges with more calm, confidence and productivity.  If you've already decided to leave, PQ can help you make the best of the rest of the school year and give you the mental energy needed to transition to the next phase of your career.

I am acutely aware of the myriad challenges facing education and have been fighting for change for most of my career.  We know we can no longer continue to maintain the status quo; change is inevitable.  Educators are some of the most caring, committed and fierce people I know.  I want to help you co-create what's next in education by sharpening your mental toolbox.  Let's put our best minds together to create a better way.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

To address student mental health, first we need to address teachers' mental health

Image
If you're an educator or you read the news, you know that for teachers, as well as for our youth, times are tough.  A recent USA Today article states "Overworked, underpaid?  The toll of burnout is contributing to teacher shortages nationwide".  Another states that "The Sunday Scaries are at an all-time high".  Their students, aren't faring any better.  From NPR : " Rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm and suicide have risen in recent years.  NY Times  reporter Matt Richtel says we lack the therapists and treatment centers to care for teens who are suffering."  When therapists are lacking, many students look to their teachers for support.  As a teacher, I experienced this countless times, and I made serveral reports to social services over the years.  But for all the publicity that both issues are generating, there seems to be little or no discussion of the relationship between the two. While the debate continues about whether teaching Social E
Read more

So...what is Positive Intelligence, and why is it so important for schools?

Image
 In my last post I discussed the concept of toxic positivity, and how sometimes our best efforts to promote positive culture in schools can backfire and actually make things worse.  Now that you know what Positive Intelligence is NOT, I want to help you understand more about what it is and why I think it's going to be crucial to strengthening school systems. Positive Intelligence was founded by Stanford neuroscientist and Fortune 500 executive coach Shirzad Chamine.  After creating and leading CTI, one of the world's foremost executive and leadership coach training schools, Shirzad wanted to investigate why the insights people gained in coaching often did not lead to a lasting change in habits.  Research indicated that insight is only a small factor in changing behavior: instead, we need to build "mental muscle".  Just as analyzing how to make a layup in basketball is not the same as practicing it every day, gaining insight is limited in its application if the brain i
Read more

How can educators who aren't in the classroom best support teachers?

  As someone who just transitioned from school administrator to independent consultant, I’ve had an existential crisis of sorts this week.  I really began to question my new role after some other aspiring teacher influencers/consultants got dragged on social media.  They were even called grifters by some teachers. I was taken aback by the strength and tone of teachers’ reactions.  I didn’t necessarily agree with these guys either, but weren’t they just trying to help teachers? It made me question everything I’m trying to do.  Was I just a grifter?  Was I just trying to make money off the teachers while languishing at home, safe from all of the chaos of school today? A few things are true: yes, I burned out and resigned as a new administrator last year.  Yes, I am an aspiring influencer looking to make a living doing consulting. Earlier this week I was in the process of negotiating some professional development for a small local charter school.  The director was enthusiastic about my pr
Read more