Heavy Lifting
March 2, 2026
I’ve been noticing something lately in my conversations with educators and leaders: people are tired. Not just end-of-semester tired or February-was-long tired. Deep tired. The tiredness is coming from external pressures, the global reality of things, and the speed with which the world is spinning. One set of admin mentioned that they were always late to the next meeting cuz the campus was so big and the number of meetings they were to attend always had them running from one side of the campus to another, never making it on time to the next meeting, and most of the time they needed a ‘bio break’ but they didn’t take one because it would make them even later causing them to feel uncomfortable and distracted! Not a good way to feel on so many levels.
I also bet the tiredness you are feeling is also coming from how draining it is to listen to your self-talk. I am doing enough, being enough, or leading well enough? Eeesh. Can I do this work? Is this what it’ll be like forever? Am I an imposter? Do other people do this with more ease cuz boy, I am exhausted. Maybe I don’t have what it takes. Should I have pushed harder? Listened longer? Stepped in sooner?
It’s relentless.
So as your cheerleader in this work, let me say something that many of you need to hear:
In the words of the comedian, Tom Papa, “You’re doing great.”
You are not perfect. You are not without blind spots or mistakes. And you are doing good.
You’re doing good. If you are in the mix of it and feeling like you aren’t doing it right, chances are you are a reflective, thoughtful, and self-aware individual with a compass of excellence and you want to do what’s right for the students.
I don’t mean that as empty reassurance. I mean it in the deepest adult-development sense: growth, at work and in life, is messy, iterative, and often quite uncomfortable.
One person in my workshop last week as we talked about the Stretching Your Learning Edges capacity of suspending certainty and being okay with discomfort, just flat out stated she hates being uncomfortable and that she would never willingly put herself in a place of discomfort. She does the same meal prep on Sundays. Has been teaching the same subject for decades. Tries her darndest to do things that keep her comfortable.
But the truth is feeling uncomfortable doesn’t mean you’re failing. It often means you’re growing. In education we say we are lifelong learners. So buckle up. Education is bumpy, often uncomfortable work.
One of the quiet truths of adult development is this: growth often feels like uncertainty and uncomfortableness. You question yourself more. You feel less certain. Situations feel harder, not easier. Problems seem more complex than they used to. But that’s not decline. That’s awareness.
You’re seeing more complexity. You’re noticing impact. You’re recognizing that people are complicated, systems are imperfect, and leadership requires constant adjustment. The work has gotten harder because your understanding has deepened. And deepening often feels like off balance.
Yet here’s another challenge of all this development ‘stuff’ – so much of adult growth is internal. We don’t get a lot of feedback around how our understanding has deepened. It’s an inside job. So we gotta give ourselves some props.
Ask yourself:
- Was there a moment recently where I paused instead of snapping back?
- Was there a moment where I heard a piece of stinging feedback and didn’t get as defensive as I have been in the past?
- Was there a moment where I took deep breathes and stayed present in a hard conversation longer than I used to?
- Was there a moment where recognized my impact wasn’t what I had hoped for and apologized sooner than I used to?
- Was there a moment since August where I gotta give myself some kudos cuz I did something that was uncomfortable and I did it anyways?
A few weeks ago I received the uncomfortable diagnosis of osteoporosis and the strong recommendation to start doing some serious heavy lifting. Hence, I am putting myself into positions of discomfort with barbells and heavier weights several times a week. Not comfortable. Yet necessary. Growth awaits. Strength, bone density, a feeling that I am taking action.
If you are doing any of the actions I bulleted above, you’re doing heavy lifting too! INTERNAL heavy lifting. No wonder you are tired! Internal lifting takes A LOT out of you.
You’re tired. True. And you have the opportunity to get stronger everyday. It matters.
You’re doing great. Happy March.
Questions, comments, or suggestions? Feel free to email me at jennifer@jenniferabrams.com.
Cool Resources
In “The Hardest Part of Fighting Fascism Comes After the Fascists Have Fallen,” Joel Westheimer argues that toppling authoritarian leaders is only the beginning — true democratic renewal requires deep cultural and institutional rebuilding to restore habits of critical thinking, trust, and civic engagement. Drawing on Argentina’s post-dictatorship experience, the piece challenges educators to see democracy not just as a system of government but as a way of thinking that must be actively cultivated in and beyond classrooms.
Outgrowing Modernity: Navigating Complexity, Complicity, and Collapse with Accountability and Compassion by Vanessa Machado de Oliveira “helps us face the logics and workings of modernity, bringing us to clear-eyed terms with its expiration.”
When the World Is Burning, Stay – A Meditation by Rev. Cameron Trimble. “When we choose to stay human—when we keep telling the truth, caring for one another, protecting the vulnerable, practicing restraint instead of revenge—we become carriers of a different future, even if we never see its fullness.”
