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Mindset Matters: 3 Tips for Getting Ready for School 

erin sadler

When talking to parents and teachers about how they feel when it comes to getting ready for school this year, one word stands out: stressed. I'm writing this in the thick of Covid, where people are stressed about jobs, juggling life, teaching and learning, social-emotional needs and unexpected expectations; however, this is a general theme that abounds when we start getting ready for school. And of course, it's not just the adults. It's kids everywhere.

Why? Because getting ready for school puts you in a big cyclone of the unknown. The unknown is a stress trigger, but it doesn’t have to be a deep, chronic feeling. When we don’t know what will happen, our brains start trying to make sense of things to guess what may happen - to put it in some sense of order. 

In trying to figure it all out, that middle space, where you don’t know and don’t yet have all the skills to know what to do, feels very uncomfortable. That uncomfortable feeling of the sticky middle is where we can feel stress, but it is also where the most brain growth happens. How you set your mindset can really make a difference to you and your family. The key is not to let stress take you down. Confront and acknowledge it and choose to take small steps forward, despite the fear or stress. If the stress burner is on high, let's take it down to a simmer where it is manageable. 

3 Tips for Getting Your Mindset Ready for School

Rock it like Beyoncé

Is your Beyoncé mega playlist ready? I’m not even remotely kidding. As I'm getting ready for the school year and looking ahead at what's to come, I have my, “Let's do this!” playlist at the ready. And yes, Beyoncé is there for me. She helps me feel empowered and less afraid. She just does. Throw on, I'm a Survivor, and see if you aren't empowered to tackle anything life throws. 

Music goes deep in our brains and roots in our memories. What you listen to has a deep and lasting impact on your outlook, so make it positive and empowering!  If this school year has you or anyone in your family feeling off-center, fearful or stressed to the max, then make or find a Beyoncé playlist (or whoever makes you feel like my girl B makes me feel) to help you through. Play it anytime you need a mindset switch. 

Remind Yourself You Can Do Hard Things

Mental rehearsal or visualization is extremely powerful. Professional athletes do it, successful business people do it and you should do it too. Why? Because when you picture yourself accomplishing your goal, your brain doesn't know it was just in your imagination. It believes it and looks for ways to make it happen. 

Here's a simple way to make visualization work for you this school year. Find some quiet space to sit or lie down and start paying attention to your breath. When you're relaxed, picture the school year going well. How does it feel when the school year is going well? What part of the school year is going well? Really think about the details to help your brain absorb them. Consider doing this with your kids, too. It's very powerful!

After you spend time mentally rehearsing your school year, allow yourself to acknowledge that yes, the school year may be hard, but you can do hard things. You have the capability to help make this the best-case scenario for both you and your kids, no matter where you are in the journey. 

If your brain keeps derailing to “worst case scenario” or you have the stress loop of failure on repeat, it’s time to brain train your way up out of that hole so by the time school starts, you genuinely have the “I’ve got this/we’ve got this" attitude you need.

Speak Change

If dread and fear fill your heart and mind when you think about getting ready for school, it is time to do some mental brain training so that you don’t pass those feelings down to your kiddo. Let's be honest; they most likely have their own set of fears and apprehension about everything that comes with school, whether it be in person, virtual or homeschool. Throw in the baggage that comes with Covid, who knows how long those bags will sit by the door, waiting for both of you to walk back through.

Unpack those bags of dread and build some social-emotional skills to help make this experience better for everyone involved by using mantras.

Mantras are short words or phrases you can pull out any time negative thought patterns or stress start swirling through your mind. It allows a reset, and the more you use them, the more your brain will correlate them to change. 

Here are a few suggestions to get you started:

  • I have everything I need to do this.

  • I will focus on what matters.

  • I can do hard things.

  • This is making me stronger.

  • I can ask for help,

Think about what is causing you to feel stressed and create a mantra that speaks to you getting through it and rising above. Write it down, print it out, tape it on your mirror, your fridge, your dashboard - wherever you and your family can see it. The more often you see it and speak it, the more your brain will believe it.