“Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories.” – Sun Tzu

This week I have the privilege to introduce you all to the work of Aziza Green. She is my wife who is not a teacher, but when she wrote this article on Declaring war on the Greatest Evil on Earth I thought that it needed to be read by teachers. Apathy in any profession is dangerous, and no profession has more at stake than teaching. Enjoy..

Well, it’s about damn time someone called it out. No, it’s not hatred, war or Hollywood. It’s far more subtle and pandemic.

It dulls the eyes.
It eats joy for breakfast.
It causes good people to do nothing good.
It saps courage.
It breeds selfishness.
Ultimately, its goal is to kill your soul.

Its name is apathy.

No one wants to live like this, but it’s so easy to fall into and so hard to get out. How does it latch onto us? Fatigue? Busyness? Lack of purpose? We start to feel weary, bored, stuck, and sick. Hopelessness sets in and then we flatline, for weeks, months, and YEARS.

I’m all for declaring war (especially when the enemy is the Greatest Evil on Earth), and I’m a bit of a “go in guns blazing” kind of girl – however, apathy is one of those tricky buggers that we have to be a little smarter with. I used to think I could fight apathy in myself with sheer determination and focus. What if I pushed harder, things would be better. But there’s one problem with this, who the heck wants to pick a fight when they’re feeling apathetic?

Unfortunately, it does take some kind of desire for more from life. If you don’t have that desire, I’m sorry, but I don’t think there are enough self-help books in the world to help you manufacture it. You either want more for yourself or you don’t.

If you have a little bit of desire, a little bit of hunger for more, I think a great place to start is to imagine what life could be like without apathy. I mean, imagine it, having a sparkle in your eye, a bright outlook, a willingness and the energy to do something truly great. What would that feel like? Cultivating a strong sense of purpose and determination in ourselves sounds like hard work, but what if it wasn’t hard? What if it was easy for you? What if you did more than just the minimum requirement, what if the work you did make you feel good about yourself?

You may not realise it, but you’re already taking a little bit of ground by just entertaining the thought that things could be better. When I think outside of what I’m feeling, I start to realise that apathy was not actually a part of me. It sits on me, making a meal of my despondency, but it is not actually in me. I don’t have to stay flat. I don’t have to stay down. And that’s when I realise I have what it takes to haul ass and kick ass. What I’m saying is, when you let your thinking rise above a feeling, you learn that you are in control – and that my dear dear people is where the power is. (Boomtown baby!)

In a war, there are many tactics used to take ground. Every battle is different and you win some, you lose some. When fighting the Greatest Evil on Earth, it’s important to remember that it will take time and practice to win and keep ground. Don’t beat yourself up if you fall down. Keep dreaming even if your dreams are mere shadows of what they used to be or could be. Keep rested and healthy – sounds simple, but apathy strikes when our defences are down. Keep taking steps forward, because the next one could be a breakthrough.

“Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories.” – Sun Tzu