I first began my professional development career in 1981, teaching professionals how to use the Apple II Plus and VisiCalc—the very first electronic spreadsheet. Before VisiCalc, a “spreadsheet” was a physical green sheet of paper that required manual calculations for every single cell. If you made one error, you often didn’t know until the end and had to redo the entire thing.

By using an electronic spreadsheet, I could do in 15 minutes what used to take three to four hours. This technology revolutionized how we analyze facts and numbers, allowing for “what if” analysis that was previously impossible. At the time, technology seemed to promise the same types of radical improvements across business, personal life, and the very foundations of education.

The Weight of the Modern Classroom

However, as I discussed with Salli Carter on The Educator Experience, technology alone hasn’t solved the “overwhelming” stress educators face today.

In fact, technology may be amplifying stress. Faculty are navigating a precarious time where students often lack the emotional intelligence they had years ago due to recent pandemic isolation and heavy doses of electronic media. Educators are squeezed between administrative pressure for test scores and the sudden “drop” of AI into their classrooms. Salli noted this during our conversation, saying:

“The stress that I see working with faculty is immense because it’s just overwhelming”.

This stress triggers a “limbic survival mode” that makes us reactive rather than resourceful. MindShifting reduces this stress by providing tools to catch these mindsets and intentionally calm the nervous system. Beyond our own wellbeing, it gives us the framework to co-regulate our students and guide them toward their own self-regulation.

MindShifting in Action

Sometimes we all need a coach to help unstick our brains; in fact, that is exactly what Salli does for her own clients regularly. You can watch this live during the episode. We went through an Acute Visualization exercise to overcome a hurdle in expanding her business.

Left to our devices, we focus on the problem. Acute Visualization helps us visualize the future we want to actualize.

Rather than focusing on current financial barriers, Salli pictured herself five years in the future, working with her team in a “gorgeous boardroom” and solving educator problems at a “really solid rate”. She described the feeling of this future impact as “incredible”. From that resourceful perspective, we identified simple first and second steps. Salli’s response to the process was immediate:

“I love being coached. I’m here for this. Yeah, it works”.

Why You Should Listen

Listen to the entire episode to hear the full context of this shift and our concluding talk on the importance of fun. I believe, if you’re having fun, your students are learning and loving it. As Salli said:

It’s so funny that you say that because I distinctly state that my first few years as a post-secondary educator were not fun. Had I known or tried some of your tips and techniques, I might have been able to relax a little, I felt very uptight as a new educator. And I’m sure I’m not alone in that, but I do hope that other people are able to find a way through that, maybe a little bit more smoothly than I did.

Join us to learn how to regulate your own mind and bring that sense of play back to your classroom.