I don’t plan on completing bloganuary this year, meaning that I do not think it is reasonable for me to commit to writing every day for the whole month, especially because this month is going to be pretty busy. And I don’t really wish to set myself up for failure. However, if there are some prompts from the challenge that inspire me, I would like to use them as an opportunity to blog, so here it is, the first prompt of the year answered.
The biggest challenge in my work
I think one of the biggest challenges I find at work is to remain confident and hopeful. What I mean by this is that I often doubt myself, the soundness of choices I make for lesson material, activities, and so on. And I always doubt that my work can actually really make an impact on the people I meet. Of course, teaching — as any other endeavour — requires some self-reflection and the ability to learn from your mistakes. However, sometimes I feel like I am doing everything wrong or that anything I can do will inevitably be pointless, and this can give me a sense of failure which makes me want to stop even trying. I think this is a very negative attitude, that goes beyond self-reflection to become self-criticism and self-doubt, both of which do not serve me well as an educator.
In 2024, I plan to use this blog as well as the support of online and offline colleagues in order to discuss any doubts and problems I might encounter, so that I can feel more confident in my choices and approach my teaching with much more positivity.
The biggest challenge in my life
While my new freelancing business has given me the opportunity to improve my work-life balance, the biggest challenge for me has always been and still remains my willingness to take care of my health by doing exercise.
I have tried many forms of exercise, including yoga, running, and swimming. However, for a number of reasons I always find myself having to struggle to keep exercising regularly. The two most common factors for this inconsistency are usually: 1) I prefer doing something else, and exercising feels like a waste of time; and 2) since I am not very good at any sports, after a while I lose interest and motivation because I see that, no matter how hard I try, I am always the worst performer of the class/group/place. I know at my age this should not matter, that I should only think about the health benefits I get and not worry about competing with others. But I cannot help this feeling, and therefore after a while I end up quitting to find something new.
By now I think there is not much I can do if not keep trying to push myself. I have seen that buying long-term subscriptions to a gym/swimming pool/class also helps, as I know I have spent the money and I don’t want it to get to waste. To continue fighting against my unwillingness to exercise, for this 2024 I have bought a 6-month subscription to my local pool, so that in the worst case scenario I will force myself to go swimming at least once a week.
What are your biggest challenges for 2024?