TM4T Stress Armoury 07 - Life Planning

Ask a child what would make them happy, and you're likely to get an immediate answer: that is, an answer that involves immediate pleasure. Ice cream - now. A cartoon - now. A pizza - now.  As the child grows up, of course, they learn to defer gratification, waiting for Birthdays. looking forward to holidays; they may even come to enjoy the anticipation. However, it is not until adolescence nears that we take on board the future-focus which represents maturity.  We then accept that most of the good things in life – our own home and family and personal wealth – will not arrive for a considerable time; and will be dependent on us getting over a whole raft of nasties starting immediately: homework, exams, uniforms etc etc. We are pretty well conditioned to forget about instant gratification; that, we are told, is for children.

Well, maybe not. There are arguments to say that in order to be stress-free, we must strike a much better balance between benefits-now and benefits-later.

Most teachers grew up believing that if you tried hard at school, got a decent degree, and after that a steady job and a nice partner, then you'd be happy. Simple, eh?

Well, not always. In fact, if surveys are to be believed, not often. Happiness, and in particular happiness in our careers, is more elusive; and a deep-rooted sense of dissatisfaction can be an underlying cause of stress for teachers. They have a great family, a steady job and a nice home, but they are still not happy.

So, how can you help to fix this yourself (in the absence of a magic wand, or mind control powers)? American psychologist Tal Ben-Shahar argues that the answer lies is how we balance our present and future needs.

For teachers, of course, this is difficult. The focus is inevitably on now; on today's issues, on this week's classroom behaviour, on this year's exam results. However, to gain more fulfillment, Dr Ben-Hahar argues, we need to think more broadly.

The idea is that every decision we make, every action we take, can be plotted on two dimensions: present and future, according to how much benefit we gain. Obviously we all should and do make decisions that benefit us in one way or another, but it is NOT always the case that we get both immediate and long-term benefit.

The diagram below shows four actions; action A was an easy action to choose; it offers benefits present and future; action D must have been carried out with reluctance – low benefits all round. Actions B and C, however, are less clear-cut, and they represent the kind of choices we make all-day long: do we maximise our present well-being, or accept some discomfort in the interests of long-term benefit. For example, do we work late after school planning lessons (this has future benefits) or go home for tea (present benefits). Surveys suggest that most teachers pretty consistently choose B, sacrificing immediate benefits/pleasures for future benefits/rewards. In general, however, given a choice between B and C – all else being equal - most human behaviour tends towards C: maximising pleasure in-the-moment.

Now, if you have followed the TM4T method, you'll realise that Dr Ben-Hahar's model doesn't quite fit with our ideas. TM4T tends to see 'the future' – and its benefits - in two ways; there is the immediate future (for example, planning tomorrow's lessons today gives you future benefits, but not far in the future); however, studying for a PhD gives much less certain benefits, much further in the future...

In discussing this model, Ben-Shahar lists four classic types of behaviour, each representing a particular way of living your life, shown in the diagram below

Nihilists are people who have pretty much given up hope of finding happiness in life; or in their working life, anyway. They're pretty much resigned to accept what life throws at them, and don't see what difference their decisions or actions make.

Stereotype: Lee is unhappy teaching Key Stage 3, but his head of department won't let him teach GCSE or A Level courses unless he updates his subject knowledge. Lee doesn't see the point in this. Lee has considered leaving teaching, but doesn't think he'd be able to find a new career at his age.

Hedonists focus on present or immediately imminent happiness only, and give little thought to longer-term consequences. Hedonists tend to avoid working-hard, and may therefore be under-challenged and hence unfulfilled.

Stereotype: Jackie is working as a supply teacher, because the money is really good. She also enjoys the variety, and doesn't like staying in any school too long, because she gets bored. Jackie was surprised to bump into Mollie (who she did her teacher training with) as a Head of Department. Jackie doesn't really know what she'll be doing next month; never mind five years time. Jackie does enjoy a glass or two of wine, school-night or no school-night.

Rat-racers are prepared to forego present benefits in the hope of longer-term payback. Many teachers fall into this category. Typically rat-racers are always chasing new future goals (these new goals often imply new stress). Rat racers typically gain only fleeting satisfaction from their achievements; they are quickly focused on some future target.

Stereotype: Mollie's aim is to be a deputy head within two years. She stays late after school every day, and takes a pile of work home each weekend. She is taking a Masters degree in her spare time. Her department's GCSE results were excellent last year, but Mollie has now set new, even more challenging targets. Mollie has been offered a job at a really nice school close to her home, but she is happy to travel each day because her deputy headship prospects are better. Mollie is recently separated from her partner.

Happiness, according to Dr Ben-Shahar, comes when we're able to enjoy both the journey and the destination. We set goals that are meaningful, but we seek ways to achieve them which give us pleasure today.

Stereotype: Last year, Tom was offered an Acting Head of Year role, but he turned it down because he didn't want to lose more time with his family, and he was already studying for a coaching badge. This year, he has decided that he does want more challenge, so after discussions at home, he is planning to apply for new roles next term, as long as the school is right and not too far from home.

Simple fact: it is not possible for us to be happy at work all the time. Sometimes, we do have to defer present in order to reap important future gains; for instance, when we have to stay late at work to finish rehearsals of the school play. However it is sometimes really important to focus on present pleasures, as a hedonist does. For instance, watching TV or having a glass of wine can not only rest and rejuvenate us, recharging our batteries for tomorrow's fray, but these pleasurable activities can also bring happiness into our life.

The key point, however – the trick to happiness - is to spend as much time as possible engaged in activities that give us both present and future benefits.

Of course, the model has a more general benefit; it gives us a vocabulary to look at our lives and discuss how we are living them. Are we pursuing future goals at the expense of your present happiness? Or are you avoiding future challenges goals in order to enjoy daily pleasures, with little thought to future growth or development?