Join the waitlist for Kelsey's book, Educate & Rejuvenate - A 3-Step Guide to Revitalize Your Teaching, Renew Your Spirit, and Reignite Your Passion for Life! Plus, you'll get immediate access to Chapter 1 as a FREE bonus!

Read Chapter 1 Now!
Sign up for our FREE newsletter
Join the Club

The Power of Momentum for Teachers with Jon Osborn [#145]

Podcast Spotify Google-play Amazon

Click below to listen to episode 145, The Power of Momentum for Teachers with Jon Osborn:

Listen on Apple Podcasts | Listen on Spotify | Watch on YouTube

Key themes from The Power of Momentum for Teachers [#145]:

  • Visualization– Visualizing positive outcomes can significantly boost confidence and set the stage for success.
  • Perception and Emotional Intelligence– By understanding and processing emotions, we can make mindful, positive responses to challenges.
  • Resilience and Overcoming Failure– Encouraging a proactive mindset toward challenges can help us view setbacks as opportunities for growth.
  • Action and Momentum– Focusing on immediate, positive actions empowers us to take control of our progress and build lasting momentum.
  • Adaptability and Trusting the Process– Embracing change and staying flexible are crucial for teachers and students to thrive in an ever-evolving educational landscape.

Do you ever feel stuck in life? Or worse, is everything headed in the wrong direction? Today on the podcast, I interviewed Jon Osborn, an expert sports psychologist, and we’re talking all about creating momentum—both in your teaching this upcoming school year and in your life. And we basically went off script and got REAL with all of you, so you’re going to want to keep listening! Welcome to E&R the podcast episode 145: The Power of Momentum for Teachers

Visualize and Achieve

Let’s kick things off with a little magic trick—visualization! Jon Osborn introduces this amazing idea where you picture a positive outcome before it even happens. Sounds pretty cool, right? Well, it’s not just about thinking happy thoughts; it’s about setting the stage for success. Jon shares a simple exercise: visualize a good response to a situation before it happens. This isn’t just some “woo-woo” stuff; it’s science-backed and proven to work.

As teachers, we can totally bring this into the classroom. Imagine having your students visualize doing well on a test, acing that presentation, or even handling a tough situation with grace. When they see it in their mind first, they’re way more likely to make it happen in real life. This kind of mental imagery can shape their thinking, spark creativity, and most importantly, give them the confidence to go out and grab those big wins. It’s like giving them the keys to their own success!

Perception is Everything

Next up, let’s talk about perception. How we see the world around us has a huge impact on the momentum we build—or don’t build. Jon talks about how our feelings and perceptions shape the way we respond to events. It’s kind of like having a superpower, where if you understand and process your feelings before reacting, you can choose a better, more positive direction.

In the classroom, this is a goldmine for teaching emotional intelligence. We all know that kids (and let’s be honest, adults too) can be reactive. But if we teach them to pause, process, and then choose how to respond, we’re setting them up to handle challenges like pros. This isn’t just about feeling better in the moment; it’s about building long-term momentum toward a more positive, resilient mindset.

Rise Up from Challenges

Now, let’s face it—life throws curveballs. But Jon reminds us that it’s not the challenges themselves that define us; it’s how we respond to them. He’s all about taking action and creating momentum, especially when things don’t go as planned.

As teachers, we’ve got a unique opportunity to shape how our students see failure. Instead of letting them get discouraged, we can teach them that every setback is just a setup for a comeback. By encouraging them to take action, even when things get tough, we’re helping them build resilience and adaptability. This mindset not only helps them in school but in every area of their lives. They learn that failure isn’t the end—it’s just another step on the path to success.

Just Do It: Focus on Action

One of Jon’s biggest messages is about the power of “doing.” It’s not enough to just think about positive outcomes or make plans—you’ve got to take action! And this is where the magic happens. When we help our students focus on what they can do right now, rather than stressing over what might happen, we’re giving them a sense of control and confidence.

This is a lesson in empowerment. By teaching our students to focus on their actions and the choices they make every day, we’re helping them build the momentum they need to achieve their goals. It’s all about taking those small steps that lead to big results. And when they start to see the progress they’re making, it’s like lighting a fire that keeps burning brighter and brighter.

Embrace Change and Trust the Process

I share a personal story in the podcast that really hits home. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I had to pivot my business—something a lot of us can relate to. I talk about the importance of being flexible and trusting the process, even when things get tough.

In teaching, this lesson is so important. The world is always changing, and the classroom is no exception. Being adaptable and open to new methods is key to staying effective and keeping that positive momentum going. Whether it’s trying out a new teaching strategy or adapting to a new curriculum, trusting the process and embracing change can make all the difference. It’s about staying resilient and being willing to grow, just like we ask our students to do.

What Are You Gonna Do About It?

Finally, the episode wraps up with a powerful question: “What are you gonna do about it?” This is a call to action, a reminder that we have the power to shape our own paths. By integrating this mindset into your classroom, you’re encouraging students to take ownership of their learning and their lives.

Teaching them to ask themselves this question when faced with a challenge can spark a proactive, solution-oriented mindset. It’s not about waiting for things to happen—it’s about making them happen.

Momentum, visualization, making choices—these aren’t just concepts for athletes; they’re tools that can transform your classroom. By embracing these principles, you can create a learning environment that’s full of energy, resilience, and positive change. So, what are you gonna do about it? Let’s harness the power of momentum together and inspire our students to reach new heights, both in and out of the classroom!

Take our Podcast Quiz

Do you love Educate & Rejuvenate: The Podcast? Take our podcast quiz to get a personalized playlist of episodes you don’t want to miss! 

Connect with Jon:

Connect with Kelsey:

Read the transcript for The Power of Momentum for Teachers with Jon Osborn [#145] below:

Do you ever feel stuck in both teaching and life? Or worse that everything is just like snowballing in the wrong direction? Today on the podcast, I interviewed John Osborne, who’s an expert sports psychologist, and we are talking all about creating momentum, both in teaching and everywhere else in your life this coming school year. And we basically went off script, which always makes for my favorite episodes, and we got really real with you. So you’re going to want to keep listening to see all the golden nuggets that came up during this episode. Welcome to Educate and Rejuvenate the podcast, episode 145, the power of momentum for teachers. Welcome to Educate and Rejuvenate, the podcast to help you revitalize your teaching, renew your spirit, and reignite your passion for life. I’m your host, Kelsey Sorensen, a former teacher, current homeschool mom, published author, and certified life coach. Whether you are a teacher in a traditional classroom, homeschool from your kitchen table, or anywhere in between, I am on a mission to help you not only survive as an educator, but thrive. Get ready to up level your skills with incredible insights from guest experts and discover the missing piece, rejuvenating yourself.
Kelsey Sorenson00:01:12 – 00:01:59
Are you ready to both educate and rejuvenate? Let’s go. Happy back to school season. For those of you who are listening right as this episode is live, maybe you’re going back this week, maybe you went back last week, maybe you’re going back after Labor Day. No matter what, I know this time tends to be a little bit busy and we can definitely gain some momentum at the beginning of the year, but sometimes that momentum can be stress or it can be overwhelmed that just compounds. Right? And so today, we’re talking all about momentum and how you can leverage it in your favor. Now, if you’ve been listening to this podcast at all, you know, we’ve also had a lot going on lately too. So you’ve had a lot going on with getting back to school. We’ve had a lot going on in the company.
Kelsey Sorenson00:01:59 – 00:02:35
We did a full rebrand earlier this year from wife, teacher, mommy to educate and rejuvenate. We had our event. We created a new lifetime option for our members, which has been a lot of fun. We are almost ready to launch our mobile app. My book is coming out next month. Lots of momentum we’ve been building this year. Building something completely new and different from what it first used to be. And it’s also been a lot of momentum behind the scenes for me that you all haven’t necessarily seen, but maybe you felt if you’ve been following along this podcast for a bit, that I’ve been doing a lot of my own personal growth and development as well.
Kelsey Sorenson00:02:35 – 00:03:18
I’ve been doing lots of coaching myself. I wrote my book, which was a big, big thing for me, lots of research and soul searching for that. Therapy, started doing yoga and strength training, deepening some friendships, reading the books that are really just calling to me, a lot of personal growth. And we recently had a house flood. When we came home from the teach your heart out cruise, our whole basement was flooded. And I can’t remember right now if I shared that on here yet. I will tie it into a solo episode next month where I really talk about how that has been a thing. But we’re getting ready for our homeschool year, right? Picking new curriculum, figuring things out, while also all the business momentum, all everything else.
Kelsey Sorenson00:03:18 – 00:04:12
And so we’ve been building this momentum. And even though it’s still in the messy stages, like literally messy in my house right now as we clean up from the flood, all the odds and ends, wrapping up from the event, and troubleshooting some things with the app and planning my book, everything is moving forward. And it’s all about what we talk about. It’s about our what we do with what comes up. Right? As we talk about a lot on the podcast, it’s not about what circumstances come our way, but it’s about what we think and how we feel and what we do, right? And we’re talking a lot about that today here on the podcast and that’s why I loved this topic of momentum that our amazing guest, John Osborne, suggested that we talk about today. Now, John has been on the podcast before. It was almost exactly 2 years ago. It was September 6th, I believe, that episode 30 with John Osborne aired here on What Was Wife, Teacher, Mommy? The podcast at the time, and we talked about building mental toughness for teachers and students.
Kelsey Sorenson00:04:12 – 00:05:16
It was a great episode. I remember so many great things that we talked about there, and I actually want to listen to it again here soon. And John has also done a couple calls in the club that the replays will be available for those of you who are members, if you wanna check it out, if you like what he has to share today. And that episode, what we did before was really great, but we both felt, as I was talking to John after, which I is always a privilege I get to have with our amazing guests, we kinda get to debrief after and just kinda chat for just a few minutes before we head off about to do whatever else both of us have to do in our day. But we both felt like this episode was even better, even stronger than that first one we did. And he was like, you know, I might have been nervous the first time, and I was like, you know, I was still figuring out podcasting and all of that, and we both had our own growth and momentum that we’ve been creating these past 2 years, which you’re going to get to hear a lot about that from John here on this episode too. And I’m still honestly feeling the momentum of this interview. It was such a great interview, and John just always has so many incredible things to say, so you’re really privileged to get to hear from him today.
Kelsey Sorenson00:05:17 – 00:06:02
And like I mentioned in the little teaser at the beginning, we went super off script. Like, last night, I was and actually, we really put this together kind of, like, in the last 24 hours. Like, I texted John, and I was like, oh, I’ll get some questions together. He’s like, oh, I’ll do it for you. So he put together some awesome questions, and I was like, okay, I’m gonna add these ones, and then we completely ignored the We actually touched on everything, but we went about it in such a more organic way, which really leads to my favorite interviews that we have, because that’s when there’s so much more creativity, so much more I mean, momentum, you could even say in the interview because we’re just feeding off of each other and sharing what is really inspired and what just naturally comes up. So this is, again, one of those interviews that really did that. So you’re really going to enjoy this episode today. Okay.
Kelsey Sorenson00:06:02 – 00:06:42
Before we dive into the episode, though, let me tell you a little bit about John. I’ve got his bio on his awesome Utah Sport Psych website pulled up. Now, again, even if you don’t live in Utah, that’s just a name because he can easily, obviously, go in person in Utah, but he is willing to, you know, help anybody wherever. So, okay. Here is what his bio has to say. So, John’s journey into sports psychology began at the age of 13 when he dislocated his knee for the first time. Over the next 3 years, he experienced the same injuries 7 more times, each requiring rehabilitation and keeping him on the sidelines, watching his teammates compete. These challenges ignited his interest in the fundamental principles of sports psychology.
Kelsey Sorenson00:06:42 – 00:07:51
After enduring 4 surgeries, John pursued his passion academically, earning a master’s degree in sport and performance psychology from the University of Utah, my alma mater as well. As a professional, John focuses on enhancing mental toughness through the application of mental skills. He delivers memorable lessons and techniques, using creative methods such as negativity cocktails and PB and J sandwiches to help individuals develop resilience, control, and confidence. From sales teams to educators and golfers to drill teams, John enjoys working with athletes of all ages and abilities. He is the head of the mental performance coach for the University of Alaska at Anchorage, as well as working with Utah State University, Southern Virginia University, Westminster College, Show Up Utah, Utah Association of Elementary School Principals, Utah Charter Network, Citizens Martin, Emergency Group, and various high school athletic programs across the state of Utah. And John enjoys spending his free time outdoors, camping, hiking, playing sports with his wife Megan, who’s also on the educate and rejuvenate team, and their 3 children, Charlotte, Gigi, and Walter. So without further ado, I’m so excited for you to hear this amazing conversation with John. He’s amazing.
Kelsey Sorenson00:07:51 – 00:08:08
So if you love what you hear on the podcast here today, make sure that you follow him. We’ll have all the links in the show notes. Now let’s dive in. Alright, John. I’m so excited to have you here on the podcast again. It’s been a little bit. We’re really glad to have you back.
Jon Osborn00:08:09 – 00:08:16
Oh, I’m really glad to be here. Like, lots a lot’s changed since I was, last on, but your podcast has remained the same. So this is awesome.
Kelsey Sorenson00:08:16 – 00:08:31
Well, we’re so excited to have you, and I would love to hear, like, what what’s changed for you since we last had you on? And we’re talking about momentum today. So how is that currently playing in with what’s going on and what’s changed from between now and, I think, 2022 when we had you on before?
Jon Osborn00:08:31 – 00:09:03
Yeah. I think it has been a couple years. And big like, right now, I’m just in the middle of a big time momentum shit about a couple months ago, I started my own sports psychology and mental performance coaching practice. And so, like, I’m learning, you know, getting the fire hose of all these left and get, like, a business owner and all, you know, all the hard things. And, like, essentially, I feel like I’m trying to create momentum, while writing momentum at the same time. So it’s like I think we kind of like yeah. We just watched the Olympics. I think with those surfers, right, they’re riding their wave, and they’re just hoping the wave continues.
Jon Osborn00:09:03 – 00:09:17
And they actually play, like, a big part in keeping that wave going by not breaking the waves of momentum. Anyway, so that’s what I’ve that’s what I’ve been up to. And it’s been awesome and, way way fun, challenging as heck, but that wouldn’t have it any other way.
Kelsey Sorenson00:09:17 – 00:09:38
I love it. And I love hearing, like, just that was kind of a risk that you took to be like, okay. I’m going to, you know, kind of trust myself and do my own thing. That’s something we’ve been talking about a lot is, like, having that trust and faith in ourselves and our abilities, whether you’re teaching in a classroom or homeschooling or you’re an educational leader or, you know, whoever might be listening to this podcast. And
Jon Osborn00:09:39 – 00:10:22
It did take a lot of it did take a lot of guts, but, like, I think one of my, I don’t know, philosophies, I’m guessing you can call it, is you can’t trust yourself unless you test the trust. Right? Like, I can’t I trust myself and never take any chances, which means, like, trusting yourself also, like, actually means you’re willing to fail. Yeah. Right? Because you can’t guarantee success a 100. No one bats a 1,000. Right? And so if I truly trust myself, I mean, take chances knowing that failure might but trusting is my ability to execute, right, the the vision Yeah. And also trust myself, like, bounce back it when and if failure does happen. So there’s a ton of trust involved in taking risks, and it is it worked out trusting yourself.
Jon Osborn00:10:22 – 00:10:41
Right? And so I think, like, taking the risk is actually how you prove to yourself that you do trust yourself. Right? That’s a great affirmation to say in the morning. I trust myself. You know, you’re a strong and capable man Yes. Or whatever. But really, like, how you show that trust is by going out and taking risks and whatever your life is.
Kelsey Sorenson00:10:42 – 00:10:48
Oh, I love that. Because somebody can say, oh, yeah. I trust myself to always stay in my comfort zone and always keep myself safe because I’ve never, like
Kelsey Sorenson00:10:48 – 00:11:08
Doing the thing. Right? Or putting myself to where I could potentially fail or feel that negative emotion. And and so I I I love the way you put that that part of trusting ourself is, like, kind of putting ourselves out of our comfort zone, putting ourselves to where some are new, kind of uncharted territory, and then gain momentum from there.
Jon Osborn00:11:08 – 00:11:38
Yeah. Yeah. One of the one of the most, like, impressive characteristics to me. And as I as I live my life and as I coach and and start this business, one of the characters I look for in other people that I truly really value and the reason why I look for others is so that I can create it in myself is those people who do fail. I love watching people. Like, I love watching a basketball player, mister shot, a golfer, you know, hook one into the water. Like, I love watching people fail, which is a funny thing to say. And I love it because great people respond to that.
Jon Osborn00:11:38 – 00:12:11
Right? Because great people respond a certain way. I’m not thinking it does a phase of, like, no one likes failure, but they know that failure has now happened in the past and all there is is learn. It’s like, okay. If I got this exact same opportunity again, what would I do different? Right? And and would I would I do anything differently or would I just respond to this? So I love I love failure. Yeah. I love watching other people failed and seeing how they handle it. And, honestly, that’s probably one of, like, the, like, almost immediate, recognitions for me of, like, I can tell how successful someone’s going to be.
Kelsey Sorenson00:12:12 – 00:12:39
Yes. I love that too because, like, it’s never interesting to hear somebody get up and be like, yeah. Everything just went perfectly, and it was just like this, like, like, nothing went wrong. It’s kind of like in stories. We want that conflict. We wanna see, like, how did you overcome? Even going to conferences, like, I went to I was at Teach Your Heart Out recently, and they talked about the adversity they’ve seen in the classroom. And also business leaders, I’ve seen, like, you know, we almost went broke. We almost went bankrupt.
Kelsey Sorenson00:12:39 – 00:12:57
And then I just kept trusting myself and taking risks and putting myself out there even though it kept getting no. No. No. No. And, you know, that’s when. It’s through that struggle and what we learn from it about ourselves, where we get that momentum, that getting back up whenever we fall down.
Jon Osborn00:12:58 – 00:13:31
So, yeah, your your process rather than the things that you do are far more important and far more indicative of success, like, what you do rather than, like, what happens to you. Right? So I think when you get caught up in results kind of getting into our topic of momentum, like for me, that’s what momentum really is, is the ability to keep doing things regardless of the result. And so I’ve kind of come up with this like fun little like equation that’s really, really popular is made. Know, lots of people I’m sure have heard about it. E plus r equals o, Viktor Frankl’s book, you know, about his side in in Auschwitz.
Jon Osborn00:13:33 – 00:13:56
So so great. And that’s very, very familiar. And I I have taken that and and worked out with helped people creating this kind of vision of momentum using that simple principle of, you know, events happen to me, stimulus happens to me, but my response determines the outcome and our response also determines the direction of our momentum. And this is so eye opening to me to be able
Jon Osborn00:13:57 – 00:14:36
Momentum isn’t some, like, metaphysical out of my control Mhmm. Force. Right? You know, there was there was a really cool espn.com, like, investigative article about, like, momentum in sports because sometimes we think momentum like, momentum is unique to sports, which isn’t true at all. We talk about the ton of sports. Right? Someone just talks about getting the momentum going into the locker room or coming out of halftime or this really big play shifted the momentum. And momentum isn’t like a metaphysical, so it can’t be it can’t be measured or something we know. Right? Mhmm. And it’s not it’s not like a physical tangible, like there’s not an energy in the air that’s like, oh, we can now attract this, you know, molecule or whatever.
Jon Osborn00:14:37 – 00:15:06
But it is like a a feeling inside ourselves being forced being forced, being forced, moved in a different direction, right, or in a particular direction. And so think about that, about how how powerful, like, will that force is on our side and how that is something we can control. We control that by how how we respond to the things that happen to us and then how we respond to our response as well, and that’s how we’re gonna create women.
Kelsey Sorenson00:15:06 – 00:15:40
I love that so much. I love that this is kind of just a different way of thinking about a lot of what we’ve talked about here on the podcast and just hearing different ways of thinking about it, like the stimulus and the response, like you were talking about. Like, it’s not what we what happens to us. Like, a lot of times that is completely out of our control, but it is what we do about it. And and it might take us some time to regroup and to process our feelings or to do whatever we need to do, but but, again, it’s that response that, you know, how long it takes us to get back up again. Yeah. I I love that explanation.
Jon Osborn00:15:40 – 00:15:58
Even responding to my feelings. Like, that is a Yeah. Response to something that happens. Mhmm. You know, a coworker says something hurtful to me. Right? That’s my event. And I get to, like, me figuring out how I feel about it first before I respond. Part of itself is a response.
Jon Osborn00:15:59 – 00:16:08
Right? So, like, in that scene, me figuring out how I feel about what they said, that’s the beginning stages of momentum. Right?
Jon Osborn00:16:08 – 00:16:19
That’s a really important step in such an emotion in charge situation that so many people we think of, oh, you know, core versus something mean to me or tough to hear. And I respond.
Jon Osborn00:16:21 – 00:16:23
Like, hey, figure how you feel about it. Right?
Jon Osborn00:16:23 – 00:17:04
I started taking those steps and not just with coworkers, but, you know, with coaches, players, parents, whoever. I started realizing that there are, like, there’s actually kind of a list of criteria from me whether or not I actually care what you think. Right? And so, like, I was responding to these people that my god, you’ve actually like, I wouldn’t come to you for advice. So why are you taking your criticism? Right? That’s become like a really powerful like, kind of voucher for me is like, if I would come to this person for advice that I don’t actually care anything about their criticism. Right? So Yeah. That was me figuring out how I felt about that first. And then once I figured that out, then I couldn’t respond appropriately. Right? And I learned that, like, decision making point, right, of deciding how I feel.
Jon Osborn00:17:04 – 00:17:45
And so it can take our momentum or or start our momentum on a path that’s either positive momentum or negative moment. Right? And so it’s such a powerful like, our responses to stuff have such a powerful effect on our futures. And so I’m really what I’ve been really trying to focus on with the people I’m coaching and and helping is for them to, like, not give up on the moment. Right? Don’t be so quick to, you know, so quick to act that you forget how to respond. Yes. And our response. Like I said, it’s really going to change the trajectory, for the next few moments. Right? That I take a a tough criticism from somebody, and I I determine, like, hey.
Jon Osborn00:17:45 – 00:18:01
I don’t really care what they think, so I respond with a smile instead of, like, a word of anger. Right? Now all of a sudden my trajectory is, like, completely different. Right? And because of that smile or that word of anger, I can now, like, create momentum on top of those types of things, if that makes sense.
Kelsey Sorenson00:18:01 – 00:18:40
That totally makes sense. So what I love that you touched on too is that with momentum, it’s not about I feel like sometimes when people think of momentum, they think, like, go, go, go. Like, our society is just, like, constant, like Yeah. You know, there’s no time to take a moment to check-in how you feel. I just have to respond right now, but sometimes momentum is about being more self aware and being more, like, conscious of our response, which sometimes means we take that pause. We take that moment to check-in with ourselves and be like, okay. What momentum do I want to create? Do I want to create that I I can’t remember what words you used, but, like, the negative momentum, or do I wanna create the momentum, the direction I more consciously want to go?
Jon Osborn00:18:41 – 00:18:50
Yeah. Denzel Washington has this really, really great quote that I love, and, you know, it says in the Denzel Washington way. Right? Don’t confuse movement with progress.
Kelsey Sorenson00:18:50 – 00:18:51
Oh, that’s a good one.
Jon Osborn00:18:51 – 00:19:31
I think about that a lot with what you’re saying. Oh, like, there’s this busy world of, like, I gotta go, go, go, go, go. That’s like, I think a lot of times, like, things happen to us and we’re we’re moving. Right? But we’re not actually progressing at all. Right? And and when I think of, like, like, I’m not progressing my momentum, I’m just, like, doing stuff. And so if I think of it, I’m conscious, like, to your point, if I’m conscious about the way, like, the direction I want to go, that I can intentionally build momentum going that direction. And it may not be these, like, snap judgments. It may be that much more, like, deliberate and methodical, like, choosing how I want to respond in a way that will create positive momentum for me going forward.
Jon Osborn00:19:31 – 00:20:15
Essentially, what I’m trying to do is help people make good decisions now that will help them make better decisions later. You know? I had this really cool I did did did this really cool example with a with a girls across team earlier this year talking about momentum, and I gave them all I gave them all whiteboards just like, you know, Got one, like, right, just these long, like, small whiteboard sized things. And I had them write down, like like, what’s the worst thing that’s ever happened to you? And so we had a long girl write down the worst that’s ever happened to them all across Phil. And I said, okay. I was like, yeah, you and you. I want you to respond, like, right on your right word. I want you to write down, like, a great response to that event. What’s something that’d be so cool for her to respond this way? You, I want you to write down a terrible response to that event.
Jon Osborn00:20:16 – 00:21:01
And and I had to put, like, you know, up above and below, and then we we kinda followed that chain. What we did, we had 60 girls. And what we showed is that we took the one event, and if we continue to build positively with positive responses, how far we go got. And we we saw like, as that chain went up and up and up with with more and more good responses, we saw, easier decisions being made. We saw, you know, bet better success in in their endeavors. We saw more likable people, like, all these different things that were all good responses to this one kind of, you know, terrible event. Right? And then we saw the exact opposite as we moved down. Like, what’s the worst thing way way to respond to that? What’s the worst way to respond to that? And we we built that, and I I showed them we we Wow.
Jon Osborn00:21:02 – 00:21:30
We saw this huge gap, like, between the last whiteboard on the top side and the last whiteboard on the bottom side. There was probably 30, 40 feet of difference on the field. And so we we went over to the bleachers and we went up. I was like, look at this. Like, this is what we’re talking about. Like, why your response matters because it’s creating momentum for you. Look how far apart these two ideas are. Right? You being far better off than you being in, like, the wallows of, like, depression and loneliness.
Jon Osborn00:21:30 – 00:21:58
Right? Yeah. They themselves are far apart because early on in the process, we responded to this one event different. And so the challenge to them was, like, don’t underestimate the power of moment, and don’t underestimate the power of, like, the great response that you need to take a pause so you respond well, that it’s worth it. It’s worth the pause because what that momentum is gonna be able to do for you.
Kelsey Sorenson00:21:58 – 00:22:24
Yes. It is worth that pause. That visual and just that concept of that lesson you did, and I want to add because we have educators listening, that you could do that same lesson with your students about, like it doesn’t have to be about sports. It can be about, you know, choices they make in their life or anything and the different directions they end up. Like, I I feel like that is such a powerful way to, like I mean, I wanna do that with my kids now. I I love that lesson.
Jon Osborn00:22:25 – 00:22:55
No. It it is okay, and it can be done everywhere. Right? And I think I think it should be because Yeah. What it does like, what what it did and what I was doing with that with that group is that, you know, if I’m the 10th person to go, right, like, I’m well removed from the initial event. So we still got a lot of people to go, but I had to visualize what a good response would look like. I’ve had to, I had to answer the question, right? Like, what does a good response look like to this event? So I had to kind of like, see it a little bit. Right. I had to put myself in those, in those shoes.
Jon Osborn00:22:55 – 00:23:21
Right. And so they were able to see the good response to something or the bad response to something. Right. And so I think it can be incredibly powerful because what it does is allows children or people to express like a little bit of creativity of thought. Yeah. But to see the impact of their creativity of thought can have on their direction. Right. That it’s like, I can get creative with my response and I can if it’s negative, it that’ll lead me on this, like, kinda path down.
Jon Osborn00:23:21 – 00:23:55
Right? Or if I can be creative with my thought and do something good to respond to this, it can lead me, you know, up this direction. Right? So, like, we our mind is so powerful, and we have such, like, an incredible power to be creative and to think of positive solutions to our problems. And so I I love the activity because they produce a great visual and you’re right. Teachers can do this so easily in classroom and it would be awesome to see their kids follow the whiteboard and being like, Hey, Johnny, rinse your scissors or cuts your cuts your paper in half. Like, You got 2 choices. Good one and the bad one. Tell me what does a good one look like. Right.
Jon Osborn00:23:55 – 00:23:58
And let them express. That’d be awesome for teachers.
Kelsey Sorenson00:23:58 – 00:24:20
Yeah. And the other great thing is you might, even if it’s starting to go down, you could realize, oh, at one point, you might notice. You might kind of have that self awareness, like, oh, I’m kind of headed down a direction I don’t wanna go. And that doesn’t mean you have to keep going that way because every moment is a new moment. Then you can choose, actually, I am gonna shift that now. Like, we can learn from our past, and we can redirect.
Jon Osborn00:24:21 – 00:25:03
It put it put a lot of power in the moment, right, that if things are about happening to me and maybe I feel like I’m on that, like, downward spiral or trajectory that just in simple recognition, like, I have is a moment for me to change. Mhmm. Right? But, like, at no moment am I forced to continue down this path. Right? My trajectory can be changed at any moment. All it takes is me responding well to this right here. Right? And it’s Mhmm. Very powerful that we’re not like we we don’t just make changes, you know, before something or at the very end of something that we evaluate right at the moment. Right? You could be teach having a lecture or teaching your class, and, you know, the day started off great with a series of events and interruptions, like, really start going down.
Jon Osborn00:25:03 – 00:25:28
I know it’s lunchtime, but let’s not throw the day away. Alright. We’re plugged into the movie or we’re gonna give up on the day. Oh, you have the ability to change the trajectory of that day, which then may change the trajectory of that year simply with, like, one good decision. And we could make one good decision and turn it into 2 good decisions. 3 decision now created Benton that may have started this way, but now is moving it.
Kelsey Sorenson00:25:29 – 00:25:56
Yes. That I love I love this. This is just so powerful because it shows how we can and we can shift that anytime. If you’re listening to this and you’re like, I am headed down, like, this other way, and that’s what John was just saying. You could be, okay. I’m not gonna throw it all away just because, honestly, if you’re listening when this comes out, you’re the beginning of a new school year. Again, and it’s always a new moment. It could be, like, Christmas break, or it could be the very end last week of school, and you could still do this.
Kelsey Sorenson00:25:56 – 00:26:00
But it’s a great time to, you know, utilize that moment to start off the school year.
Jon Osborn00:26:00 – 00:26:29
Timelines were created by then. Right? Like, we we put things as teachers. We put things in terms of quarters and semesters and, you know, weeks, days. Right? But, really, like, we’re we’re building, you know, for not just those those time periods. Right? Yeah. Last week of school, like, we can actually start building momentum, you know, that will then manifest itself for the next school year or throughout our summer. Right? Summer’s not just a time to recover, but summer’s a time to, like, really build momentum.
Kelsey Sorenson00:26:30 – 00:27:04
And I’ve seen that because we just had a bunch of new people join us in the our educate and rejuvenate club, and I’ve met with a few of them 1 on 1. And it was amazing because, like, I’m seeing them already gaining this momentum from doing a lot of what you’re talking about. And it’s just so powerful to realize that this summer yeah. It’s not just like I’m gonna sit back and lay by the pool, but it can really be starting to gain momentum for that coming school year. And and you can start that now. Right? I mean, listening to this, you’re gaining momentum. Like, if you’re still here 20 minutes into this podcast, you are gaining momentum.
Jon Osborn00:27:04 – 00:27:13
That’s that’s the hope. That’s the idea. Right? And that’s what’s cool is that, it’s all about our perception. Right? Laying by the pool could be me creating momentum.
Jon Osborn00:27:14 – 00:27:30
Yeah. That is a a positive response to, like, what I have going on, recharging my batteries, reconnecting with maybe some important people in my life. Right? So that’s where our perception matters because laying by the pool could also be creating negative momentum.
Kelsey Sorenson00:27:30 – 00:27:31
It could be either. Yeah.
Jon Osborn00:27:31 – 00:28:12
If that’s me, if I’m disassociating, will be at what I’m trying to do, if I should just, like, being lazy. Right? If I shouldn’t be by the pool, whatever it is, my perception really matters and how, like, mental is being created. Right? And that’s what I think is, like, so powerful for us to understand is that, like, our perception like, it’s not what we’re doing. It’s how we perceive what we’re doing. Right? If I believe that this is benefiting me and leading me, right, helping me progress as a teacher, as a parent, as a leader, whatever, if I perceive it’s helping me, then it will. And if I perceive that I’m being lazy, guess what? You’re also right. Only because like, are you actually being lazy? I don’t know. But if you proceeded that it’s true.
Kelsey Sorenson00:28:12 – 00:28:33
So let’s talk a little bit about how, like, we’ve done this because we’ve been talking about it conceptually. Like, what is momentum and, you know, the exercise the the lesson you taught, the activity. Amazing. And I feel it like, I’m gonna add that to my homeschool to do list because I’m homeschooling our kids this year. I love it so much. I love I wrote
Jon Osborn00:28:33 – 00:29:03

that for you. You you run a very successful business, and you’re and you’re still trying to make it more so. Right? Yeah. So I was kinda curious as I’ve been, like, teaching this idea, you know, to teachers and athletes and whatnot. How have you seen it, Kelsey? How have you, like, lived this momentum as you kind of reflect on maybe your early years or maybe some, like, kind of critical junction points? How do you feel like the momentum that you guys have to educate and rejuvenate has boiled down to, like, small moments where you responded well.

Kelsey Sorenson00:29:03 – 00:29:33

Oh my gosh. It’s such a good question, and I feel like I have examples of both. I have examples of where I responded well. I have examples of where I responded terribly and what I learned from it. So it’s been quite the journey for sure. Like, we started, you know, 10 years ago with just TPT, and that was our big thing, teachers pay teachers. And then when COVID hit, that was a big pivotal moment. Because at that time, we were making basically all of our money off of our ready to go sub plans, which is now hardly even what we talk about anymore.

Kelsey Sorenson00:29:33 – 00:29:40

It’s crazy. But at that time, that was our big thing. And all of a sudden, schools closed. Nobody needed a substitute. Right?

Kelsey Sorenson00:29:41 – 00:29:51

True. Everybody’s home. And so we had a week where I was just, like, in panic and shock. And I think all a lot of us were because we were in a global pandemic. But but Now

Jon Osborn00:29:51 – 00:29:53

we didn’t know what the future was gonna be. Right?

Kelsey Sorenson00:29:53 – 00:30:15

Yeah. I was like, well, maybe in a week it’ll be fine. They’ll be back. And then lots of people will be sick and they’ll need their sub plans again. You know? I mean, obviously that’s not a good thing, but it was like, well, maybe it’ll be okay. But then after that week, I kind of had to get myself up and be like, okay, well, this is the current moment. The current moment is now everybody’s home learning. So we then pivoted and we made products where it was like digital.

Kelsey Sorenson00:30:16 – 00:30:55
We converted some stuff to digital. Your wife, Megan, actually helped with a lot of that because your wife, Megan, is on my team. And then some of our team members working on that, and then some of our team members working on home learning packets that could be used either by parents or teachers. And then we’re like, what other platforms can we go to? So there’s jane.com before all the craziness happened with jane.com. I don’t know if you heard about that. But but we’re like, let’s put them up on there because parents might want it, and let’s start an Etsy shop. So we started doing new things and that helped us gain momentum. And then actually, like, you know, we dropped at first and then we gained new momentum because we’re like, what is it we’re doing in this moment? And it doesn’t have to be what we did before.
Kelsey Sorenson00:30:55 – 00:31:18
It can be different. It can be new. Totally. And so I feel like that was a really pivotal moment being like, okay, let’s adapt with what the current needs are And just trust that, okay, we don’t know if anybody’s gonna buy these things, but we’re gonna do it anyway. And it did work out like the, those helped. And then we had some great times and then we’re like, oh, it’s gonna stay here. You know, it’s gonna stay here. Right.
Kelsey Sorenson00:31:19 – 00:31:33
And then what happened? The teachers pay teachers algorithm changed and suddenly we weren’t ranking a search anymore. And then, you know, so it’s been so many waves of up and down. And then there have been times where I responded out of fear or scarcity. Like we need to cut this. We need to do that.
Jon Osborn00:31:33 – 00:31:34
Oh, that’s true.
Kelsey Sorenson00:31:34 – 00:31:52
And that never felt good. Like, it felt bad. So then, you know, I would need I would notice that and be like, okay. No. We need to trust that this is going to work at all. Like, we have, you know, what else is the teachers need? And that’s when, like, when we did a survey, what are your biggest struggles right now? It was not with printables. It was not like I need a new resource.
Kelsey Sorenson00:31:53 – 00:32:01
Help out. It was, I am stressed out. I am burned out. I don’t need another PDF. I need help. And that’s when we started our events.
Kelsey Sorenson00:32:03 – 00:32:22
Yes. That’s when we started our events and eventually coaching and all of that. And so I think because of all these struggles and but because of still being in touch with, you know, what I wanted to help people with and trusting that over time, like, it’s not gonna look exactly like I planned. Like, it it looks a lot different, and yet it’s actually better.
Jon Osborn00:32:22 – 00:32:50
I love that. I feel like you, like, taught me a really important principle of that momentum. I mean, by its definition, momentum doesn’t stay put. No. We really are like, momentum is hap and we just kinda get to determine whether that is, like, a positive momentum or, like, a negative momentum. Right? And if we ever feel dumb, that’s almost like a really great indicator to us that we are writing that, like, negative momentum. Right? Yeah. Because we think about, like, health for teachers.
Jon Osborn00:32:50 – 00:33:15
Like, what what can the teacher do to create momentum in their classroom? Or or how can they notice it? Right? It’s like, pay attention. If you ever feel stuck, that’s gonna be a real good indicator to you that you’re not, like, you’re not creating positive momentum, there. Yeah. That’d make niggas. And so what can you do is you just start to create. Even if it’s, like, imperfect, like, start doing start preparing a lesson plan. Yeah. You don’t even have to use that lesson plan.
Jon Osborn00:33:15 – 00:33:46
But what that do is you start creating. It provides you with, like, direction, and you feel like you are doing something, doing something productive. Right? And so that, like, changes the direction. But I love your story. Right? The number of times that, like, you thought you quote and found the answer, and you you did. You did find the answer. Right? But that answer was only the answer for a short period of time, and that the world changed, the world shifted, and suddenly you Yeah. Momentum has never stayed the momentum doesn’t stay put, so we can’t either.