Article: All teachers experience burnout at...

All teachers experience burnout at various points in their careers. It is as common as sprained joints in athletics. Holistic arts remind us that we are the commanders of our own destiny—that we hold the key to our own happiness. Here are three tips from martial and other holistic arts that will cut your anxieties off at the pass. Whenever you are about to do something that will inevitably lead to the proverbial bad day:

• Practice Purification. Pause. Don't do anything. Relax your breathing. Empty your mind of all judgments and negative feelings like fear, anger, guilt and the like.

        Then, find that part of yourself that is paying attention and make it attentive to itself. When you feel a sort of detached awareness, you're there. Hold this mindset as long as possible. This is the part of you holistic arts maintain has always been with you. Eastern and Western religious traditions say this is your spirit. Either way you choose to see it, no one can contaminate it. It is unconditional and boundless.

       Shut your internal voices down. These are all rooted in your ego. Shut off your thoughts and let your inner silence nourish you. This experience can be likened to stopping time and opening yourself to infinite possibilities. Let your inner Self pick which you will follow. Now you are acting freely, bypassing ego and all past conditioning. You choose what is best for you and for maintaining harmony in your life. When you move from here, you will feel empowered and fulfilled. When you do not, you are imbalanced and pay the price later. With practice, you can use this method to guide important actions throughout the day.
  
  

• There is always an opening to transform what seems like a loss into gain. Believe that the Universe wants only good for you. The Universe is sending you messages all day long. Sometimes what appears to be a loss is a call to look in another direction—and what you inevitably discover is that you are constantly being directed toward abundance. Just go with the flow. Vanquish the ego; stay lose and especially, stay connected and you'll see it.
  
  
• Energy is Magnetic. Energy calls like energy unto itself. If you radiate positiveness, you will attract positive energy. No matter how powerful the temptation, don't exude negativity. Detach. Purify your mind. Look for opportunity. It will be there. No matter what stay connected. The rest will follow and bring good energy back your way effortlessly.

     If you wish to pursue such ideas further, I discuss each of these (and many others) at length in my book Be Like Water—Practical Wisdom from the Martial Arts, which is a general guide to living and empowerment. I have found that the application of holistic principles in the classroom has transformed my workplace from a space of 40-watt light to 100 and has brought joy and success to all other areas of my life as well.

Copyright © by Joseph Cardillo