Dealing with things that are not right is never a good plan. If you’re looking for some inspiration to start fixing things, then continue reading… Back in the day, I was constantly working, but not in the most efficient manner. Some aspects of my life were beginning to go off track, yet I felt too overwhelmed to address them. 

The reason I’m recounting this tale is that I frequently engage with parents, and truth is told, I also have conversations with many headteachers who admit, “We’ve got a problem, but now isn’t the ideal time to tackle it. Let’s delay it for a bit. I’m too preoccupied to deal with that issue right now. We’ll come back to it later on.” I comprehend that mentality entirely, as I found myself in that same position a few years ago

In fact, things got so bad. I was firefighting. Do you know the game, whack-a-mole? You have a little mole that pops his head up from a board and you whack it but then it pops up somewhere else? That was my life, but the mole was a metaphor for my problems. I refer to it as firefighting because it’s as if you put out one little fire in one place and then another one sprouts up somewhere else. But some of those problems might be slightly bigger problems that are not getting properly attended to because you’re too busy doing the firefighting. 

I’ve had conversations with parents who mentioned that their child is feeling anxious and refusing to go to school, but they feel too overwhelmed with work to address it right now. It’s completely understandable how that can happen. Sometimes, we get so caught up in urgent tasks that we neglect the quieter, underlying issues. However, once you tackle the big issue, you’ll notice that the smaller problems start resolving themselves or become more manageable. It’s like dealing with the big monster in the room – once that’s taken care of, everything else falls into place.

Some teachers have expressed their concerns about children facing severe mental health issues, but unfortunately, they are unable to schedule a meeting with the SENCO due to her busy schedule dealing with the same issues. It’s frustrating because if they allowed us to intervene, the problem could be resolved much sooner!

Anyway, let’s get back to my story! I was firefighting and running around like a headless chicken, trying to juggle too many things, often for others. (Though not always, some of it was for myself) and I wasn’t handling the important stuff

It dawned on me that I had been walking around with something in my shoe for about three weeks. We’ve all been there, haven’t we? That moment when you feel a small stone or pebble in your shoe while strolling down the street. You could take off your shoe and remove the object, but sometimes you just tap the toe of your shoe to push it forward and ignore the problem. That’s exactly what I was doing – shuffling the discomfort to the front of my shoe for three weeks, convincing myself that I would deal with it when I had the chance.

One morning, I was getting ready for work when I learned that my client had cancelled my morning appointment. Instead of being disappointed, I decided to use the extra time to sort out some things that had been on my mind. As I was about to leave, I felt something in my shoe. I shook it and a dead beetle fell out. I couldn’t believe I had been walking around with it for three weeks!

So, here’s the moral of the story. 

If you’re dealing with an issue involving a child or young person, don’t ignore it. Don’t just push it aside like a beetle in your shoe. Take the time to address the problem and find a solution. It might require cancelling plans or setting aside a few minutes to reach out for help, but it’s worth it to support the young person in need.

You are causing yourself to continue to deal with pain that you do not need to have. And so, if you can take the time to address this properly, you can get rid of that pain forever. And that young person who is probably going through the pain on a very different level to you will also get to deal with that pain and get rid of it forever. That is entirely possible. But you’re probably going to need to pause to put the planning in place to be able to deal with this thing – Don’t make it a beetle in your shoe.

You’re subjecting yourself to unnecessary pain that you can easily let go of. By taking the time to address it properly, you can eliminate that pain once and for all. Not only will you benefit from this, but that young individual experiencing similar pain can also find relief. It’s completely achievable. Just remember to pause, plan, and tackle the issue head-on – don’t let it linger like a bothersome beetle in your shoe.

By Gemma Bailey

www.NLP4Kids.org/gemma-bailey