Teachers in Transition

Teachers in Transition – Episode 232: Prioritize, Reflect, and Thrive – Reclaiming Confidence in Changing Times

Vanessa Jackson Episode 232

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Vanessa explores the fascinating philosophical question of identity through the lens of the Ship of Theseus, connecting it to modern-day concepts like biological renewal, trauma's lingering effects, and societal perceptions. Drawing on inspiration from Gretchen Rubin's "Little Happier" segment and Marvel's WandaVision, Vanessa argues that identity evolves while retaining its essence. She further delves into the profound lessons from the monkeys and bananas experiment, challenging inherited beliefs and asking: What are we passing on? Is it still valid or true?

The episode also takes a reflective turn, as Vanessa discusses the shifting perceptions of self-worth, societal constructs like BMI, and how historical standards impact us today. She emphasizes the importance of standing tall in self-knowledge and creating space for meaningful change.

Vanessa introduces listeners to the power of informational interviews as a practical tool for career exploration and personal growth. She breaks down the process, shares real-life success stories, and offers actionable steps to connect with professionals and unlock hidden opportunities.

To wrap up, Vanessa provides a simple yet transformative hack for prioritizing what's truly vital, inspired by a century-old story of productivity advice worth a fortune.

Links Mentioned in the Podcast

  1. The Happier Podcast by Gretchen Rubin, Little Happier 16 December 2024
  2. Ship of Theseus Thought Experiment
  3. Informational Interviews Guide: LinkedIn’s Alumni Tool
  4. BMI Standards and Their History
  5. Monkey Experiment Overview
  6. Height Charts and how they’ve changed through time

 

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And remember to send your comments, stories, and random thoughts to me at TeachersinTransitionCoaching@gmail.com!  I look forward to reading them.  Would you like to hear a specific topic on the pod?  Send those questions to me and I’ll answer them. Feel free to connect with Vanessa on LinkedIn!

 

 

The transcript of this podcast can be found on the podcasts’ homepage at Buzzsprout. 

Are you a teacher who is feeling stressed out and overwhelmed? do you worry that you're feeling symptoms of burnout - or are you sure you've already gotten there? Have you started to dream of doing something different or a new job or perhaps pursuing an entirely different career - but you don't know what else you're qualified to do? You don't know how to start a job search and you just feel stuck. If that sounds like you, I promise you are not alone. my name is Vanessa Jackson; and I am a career transition and job search coach and I specialize in helping burnt out teachers just like you deal with the overwhelmingly stressful nature of your day-to-day job and to consider what other careers might be out there waiting for you. You might ask yourself, What tools do I need to find a new career?  Are my skills valuable outside the classroom?  How and where do I even get started?  These are all questions you deserve answers to, and I can help you find them.  I’m Vanessa Jackson. Come and join me for Teachers in Transition.  

***Hi!  And Welcome back to another episode of Teachers in Transition. I am your host, Vanessa Jackson – I’m a career transition and job search coach who specializes in helping educators just like you. I am here to help you reach your goals and figure out how to translate your teaching skills into skills for your next career. I provide tips and suggestions to help with stress and mental health, hacks to help your day, and job-hunting tips.  If you are frustrated with your current teaching position – you are burnt out and overwhelmed, I am here for you.  Today on the podcast, we are going to talk about how our perceptions of ourselves can shape out reality. We’ll wander into the thought experiment of the Ship of Theseus and what it might tell us, we’ll hear a hack to help us focus on our priorities, and finally, we learn how Informational Interviews are helping when networking. 
 
 
 Let’s talk about perception for a moment. What is your perception of yourself? A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that our perception is our reality, and today I want to explore that idea further. What are our perceptions of ourselves? Where do they come from, and how are they shaped?

More than ever, we need to stand tall in our knowledge of who we are. I can remember a time when I was confident in myself - confident in who I was, what I wanted to be, and how I moved through the world. But over time, that confidence diminished. It didn’t just fade - it flat-out disappeared. I reached a point where I wasn’t sure if I was doing anything right. That was one of the core reasons I decided to leave teaching.

Nothing I did seemed to matter anymore. It was always wrong, never enough, and someone was always unhappy. That’s a heavy burden to carry, even if you feel confident in other areas of your life.

To illustrate this point, let’s go back to 1997. A council was convened to rewrite the height-weight standards that had been in place for decades. With the stroke of a pen, an additional third of Americans were suddenly classified as overweight—without changing a single thing in their lives. On paper, they were overweight one day, even though they hadn’t been the day before.

What’s worse is that members of that committee had ties to the diet industry. Back then, the diet industry was pervasive. If you walked into a store, you would see aisles of diet aids in every brand and variety imaginable. Those products have largely disappeared, but these were the people who sat on the committee and arbitrarily redefined what it meant to be overweight.

Of course, the BMI (Body Mass Index) doesn’t help matters. It only measures your height-to-weight ratio, which doesn’t accurately account for muscle mass versus fat mass. By those standards, someone like Chris Hemsworth might be considered overweight - or even obese – just because of his muscle mass.

To make it even worse, I stumbled across a height-weight chart from the 1940s. Two things stood out. First, the weight ranges were slightly higher than today’s standards. Second, it assumed women were wearing 2-inch heels. At 5’7”, that would mean I’d be measured against the 5’9” category. Somewhere along the way, we "lost" two inches, and it became harder to make weight.

Let me tell you—it is nearly impossible for a normal, healthy person to meet those height-weight standards and be left alone by their doctor. I know this because I’ve been there. I was lighter, thinner, running three times a week, doing high-intensity interval training three times a week, and competing in short-distance triathlons. Even then, I couldn’t hit the “leave me alone” phase of the BMI chart. I came close but was still classified as overweight.

I share this because that chart has undoubtedly been used at some point to make you feel bad about yourself. And it’s just a construct.

Growing up, I was influenced by the magazine culture of the 1980s and the “cocaine chic” look of the 1990s, where people were unnaturally thin – even bony. Even as a normal, healthy young person, I never felt comfortable in my skin. Now, to realize how manipulated we’ve been by a number – oof - Ratios tell a story, but they never tell the whole story. 

And your story isn’t finished

I was listening to The Happier Podcast by Gretchen Rubin, which is one of my favorite podcasts and one I always stay current with. In her “Little Happier” moment this week, she was talking about the Ship of Theseus and the thought experiment surrounding it.

If you're not familiar, the Ship of Theseus was the revered ship of Theseus, the founder of Athens. As parts of the ship rotted over time, they were replaced plank by plank. Eventually, the question arose: If you replace all the parts of the Ship of Theseus, is it still the Ship of Theseus, or has it become something entirely new?

For those of you who may not be familiar with the original story but are Marvel fans, this same philosophical question was explored in WandaVision when Vision was fighting... Vision.

This got me thinking, and I think I’ve found a way to solve it—using the story of the monkeys and the bananas.

Consider that every seven years, our bodies are made up of completely new cells. We are, biologically speaking, brand new every seven years, and yet—we’re still us.

Let me take you back to the experiment with the monkeys and the bananas. A researcher hung a banana from a string. Any time a monkey reached for the banana, all of the monkeys received an ice-cold shower of water. Over time, the monkeys stopped trying to get the banana; it could hang there until it rotted, untouched.

Here’s where it gets interesting.

The researcher removed Monkey #1 and replaced it with a new monkey. This new monkey noticed the banana, saw that the others weren’t going for it, and decided to try. The other monkeys - Monkeys #2 through #5 - stopped him, preventing him from touching the banana. Monkey #1 fell in line.

Next, the researcher replaced Monkey #2 with another new monkey. New Monkey #2 saw the banana, tried to grab it, and the group, including New Monkey #1 - stopped him. This pattern continued as the researcher systematically replaced each of the original monkeys. By the time all five monkeys had been replaced, not one monkey in the group had ever been doused with ice cold water - yet none of them would touch the banana. They’d learned that the banana was “dangerous” simply because it had been passed down.

So, back to the Ship of Theseus. As each plank is replaced, I’d argue that it’s imbued with the knowledge and spirit of what it once was: the pride of Theseus, founder of the great city of Athens - named for the goddess of wisdom, Athena. Just like us, it’s still itself. The ship is still the Ship of Theseus.

There’s also a bonus lesson hiding in the story of the monkeys. Sometimes, we’re told things - rules, dangers, “truths” - but are they really true? Have we ever tested them ourselves? Do we need to? Is the danger still there, or has it long since disappeared?

This lesson hits home for me when I think about the trauma from the pandemic. The effects of that trauma will linger for decades - 20 years or more. Students will carry it, and teachers who come and go will unknowingly pass down pieces of that pain to new teachers and new students.

This is why it’s so important to stop and ask: What are we passing on? Is it still valid? Is it still true?

And just as important—are we allowing space for change?

We have to make room for the possibility that we can be the change we need.

You are full of amazing and wonderful things.

As we roll into the holiday break, take that unpaid furlough you’re on and reflect on the incredible person you are. Make a list of your talents and all the things you can do. Write down the names of the people whose lives you’ve impacted for the better.

Understand this: you are so much more than what someone else’s manipulated standards say you are.


 So moving on to our hack, our hack is designed to make you day better in some way, shape, or fashion and today’s hack has to do…. Let me start with s story!  
 
 I have a habit of reading all the signs I pass. It might even border on a compulsion. One reason I do this is to learn as much as I can about my environment—but I always enjoy a good, silly sign. I especially love when signs have a little humor or even companies start to "trash talk" each other with their signs. I also enjoy those clever, inspirational signs; they always give me a giggle.

The other morning, as I was driving around town, I came across a sign that said: You can do anything, but you can't do everything. Seeing that in the middle of December really hit me right in the soul. I have been trying to do everything—trying to stay on top of it all, all the time. But the truth is, I can barely keep things running smoothly when it's not Christmas. So, clearly, I can’t do everything.

I can do anything, but I can’t do everything.

Which brings us to today’s hack: prioritizing what is vital.

Let me  illustrate this with a quick story. Once upon a time, during the era of the robber barons—the 1900s and 1920s—a powerful industrialist wanted to create more efficiency in his operations. He sought someone who could step up productivity in his company. A young man came to him with a proposal. The industrialist asked, “How much will this cost me?” 

The young man replied, “Nothing upfront. Implement my strategy, and then you pay me what you think it’s worth.”  Bold plan…

The industrialist agreed and implemented the policy. The result? A massive increase in productivity. He was so impressed that he paid the man $30,000. Now, $30,000 in the 1920s was a fortune. Adjusted for inflation, that would be just shy of $475,000 today—a staggering amount. You could probably buy a house or most of one with that kind of money.

So, what was this groundbreaking advice worth nearly half a million dollars in today’s terms? It was astonishingly simple:

Identify the three most important things you need to accomplish today.

The hardest part, of course, is narrowing it down to just three. But once you do, you can structure the rest of your day around them.

So, here’s my challenge to you: What are your three most important things today?

And that’s not to say that you only have three things to do today. It’s just that the other things are lesser in priority than the top three.  Once you finish the top three, you can working your way down the rest of the list.  

CAREER TRANSITION: 
 In today’s segment on career transition and jobhunting, we are going to talk about a very important piece of the networking process: informational interviews. If you’ve never done one before or maybe don’t even know what they are, don’t worry. By the end of this episode, you will. 

What Are Informational Interviews anyway? Let’s start with the basics. An informational interview is not a job interview. You’re not going into it trying to impress someone or land a job. It’s a casual, pressure-free conversation where you’re simply looking to learn more about a field, a role, or an organization from someone who’s already there. It’s like having coffee with a guide who can give you insights that no job description ever will.

Here’s why they’re so powerful: informational interviews give you the chance to peek behind the curtain. You learn about the good, the bad, and the unexpected about a job or industry directly from someone living it. Plus, it’s a fantastic way to expand your network without the awkwardness of traditional networking events.

So here’s a quick story. A friend of mine—let’s call her Sarah—was considering a switch from teaching to project management. She set up a 15-minute chat with someone she found on LinkedIn who worked in that field. Not only did she walk away with a ton of useful insights, but a few months later, that same person referred her for an open position at their company. Spoiler alert: she got the job. That’s the magic of informational interviews!

Let’s talk about why informational interviews are worth your time. First, they’re a treasure trove of insights. You’re not just Googling “What does a project manager do?” You’re hearing real stories, real challenges, and real advice from someone in the trenches. Second, they help you build authentic connections. These are the relationships that can lead to mentorships, job referrals, or just a stronger network in your new field. And third, they open doors to the hidden job market. Did you know that manyof jobs are never posted online? Informational interviews can be your ticket into those opportunities.

So, how do you actually get an informational interview? It’s easier than you think. Start by identifying people in roles or industries that you’re curious about. LinkedIn is the best source of information and is your best friend here. Alumni networks and referrals from friends are also great resources.

When you’ve found someone, send a friendly, concise message. Here’s a script you can say:

Hi [Name], I’m [Your Name], and I’m exploring opportunities in [Field]. I admire your career path at [Company], and I’d love to learn about your experience over a quick 10- or 15-minute chat. Let me know if you’d be open to connecting!

Short, sweet, and to the point. Most people will be flattered and happy to help. And the worst thing that is going to happen is that they just might not respond. 

Once they say yes, it’s time to do a little homework, erp, ‘do your research’ (we are moving away from education words, right?) Research their background and their company so you’re not going in cold. Prepare a few thoughtful questions. Here are a few examples:

  • What does a typical day look like in your role?
  • What skills do you think are most valuable in your field?
  • What advice would you give someone transitioning into this industry?
  • What do you wish you would have known when you started in this job?

Also, have a brief elevator pitch ready about your own background and what you’re hoping to learn. Keep it conversational and relaxed.

When the day comes, remember: this is not a job interview. It’s okay to be curious and ask questions. Show genuine interest and listen more than you talk. Stick to the time limit you agreed on - nothing kills a good vibe faster than overstaying your welcome. And whatever you do, don’t ask outright for a job. That’s not what this is about.

Always, always follow up with a thank-you message. Highlight something specific you learned during the conversation and let them know how much you appreciate their time and insights. Staying connected is key, so engage with their LinkedIn posts or send updates on your progress if it feels appropriate.

Let me tell you another quick story. One listener shared how an informational interview led her to discover a completely different career path she’d never considered. She’s now thriving in that role and credits that single conversation with changing her trajectory.

But it’s not just about landing a job. It’s about testing the waters, gathering knowledge, and building your confidence as you transition into something new.

Of course, there are some common pitfalls to avoid. Don’t treat the conversation like a job interview—this isn’t the time to sell yourself. Don’t wing it; go in prepared with questions. And whatever you do, don’t forget to follow up. It’s a small gesture that is classy and leaves a big impression.

Before we wrap up, I challenge you to one action item: schedule one informational interview this month. Just one. Use the script, do your research, and see where it leads. And when you do, let me know how it goes! I love to hear your stories.

I’ll also include LinkedIn’s Alumni Tool as a resource in the show notes to help you get started. 

Informational interviews are such a simple yet powerful way to open doors and gain clarity in your career transition. Whether you’re staying in education or branching out into something completely new, these conversations can make a big difference.

 

If you are stuck in your job search, or are having trouble getting started, reach out to schedule a complimentary discovery session with me to see how I can help you pivot careers and leave education.  Now that we are entering the holiday break and the New Year is looming, this is a great time to explore and ponder possibilities.  
 
 

Remember that if you are thinking of leaving the classroom that these searches generally take longer than the three-month teacher shuffle you are used to. It’s best practice to start early  In fact, the best time to start your career transition was six months before you are ready to go.  Now is a great time to get started. 

That’s the podcast for today! If you liked this podcast, tell a friend, and don’t forget to rate and review wherever you listen to your podcasts. Tune in weekly to Teachers in Transition where we discuss Job Search strategies as well as stress management techniques.  And I want to hear from you!  Please reach out and leave me a message at Teacher in transition coaching at gmail dot com.  You can also leave a voicemail or text at 512-640-9099. 

I’ll see you here again next week and remember – YOU are amazing!