HAPPY SCHOOL Motivating 365 Learners Action Jackson’s Guide to
Action Jackson
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Contents Acknowledgements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii Chapter 1: The happy school manifesto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Why do we need happy schools? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 The happy school model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Overcoming the barriers to creating a happy school . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 The journey to a happy school . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Chapter 2: The mission. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Helping students to find their why . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Understanding the six human needs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Chapter 3: The mindset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Why is mindset so important?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 The teacher mindset. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 The nurturer mindset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 The coach mindset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 How to reinforce your mindset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
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Chapter 4: The method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Idea 1: Let it go . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Idea 2: Kill the monster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Idea 3: Stop being soft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Idea 4: Embrace negativity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Idea 5: You’re more than just a teacher. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Idea 6: Train your mind. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Idea 7: The imposter syndrome is an imposter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 Idea 8: Be different . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Idea 9: How to destroy self-doubt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Idea 10: Discover your hidden dreams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 Idea 11: Dream big . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Idea 12: Start a dream team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Idea 13: You are amazing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Idea 14: Create a vision board. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 Idea 15: Find a mentor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 Idea 16: Take action. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Idea 17: Focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 Idea 18: Friend analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Idea 19: Revision is temporary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 Idea 20: Time management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 Idea 21: Gratitude exercise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Chapter 5: The miracle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 A happy world starts with a happy school . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 Use your imagination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
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Introduction
I recently heard a beautiful quote that sums up the need for this book. It said: ‘Every child is a different kind of flower and all together make this world a beautiful garden.’ This quote gives me a vivid picture of how we should see the next generation. Young people are all unique and they all come to this planet with a unique purpose. If we can nurture them on the right path, we will begin to see a shift in our society. We owe them that! However, when it comes to the environment in which our kids are growing up, we are faced with a dilemma. Parents and teachers are finding it increasingly difficult to help the next generation to grow up in a world that’s changing at a rapid pace. We are living at a time of accelerated change, overwhelming complexity and tremendous competition. We are seeing political unrest and social and emotional issues, and our kids are in the middle of this mess, trying to fight their way to freedom. They are pulled in all directions, by friends, teachers, their own insecurities, social media, technology and more. They spend so much time looking outside of themselves for answers that they fail to look within for their latent potential. Many young people are increasingly fearful of the present and anxious for the future. Students are plagued with the fear of failing and, worse, there vii
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is a high rate of suicide amongst teens, anxiety about self-image and apathy towards the future. I often hear adults complain about ‘these kids nowadays’, but are we not responsible for helping them to navigate through life? Is it not our responsibility to educate and empower young people to unlock their potential? Could it be our fault that some kids in this generation are unsure of themselves? Happy School 365 aims to be the solution to the lack of effective guidance for young people in terms of their identity, purpose and vision. It is a DIY guide for a new way forward for teachers working in primary and secondary schools, to help them create a learning environment where young people can be happy, healthy and motivated to reach their potential both academically and personally. This is not another book for the shelf but one for daily use, providing tried-and-tested methods that can be easily applied by any teacher to help unlock a young person’s motivation to achieve success. The ideas will help young people make the most of school and life, build better relationships with teachers, manage workload effectively, concentrate on revision, get clarity on how to make better life choices, be more disciplined and focused, develop healthy relationships and build a sense of self-worth.
What will I find in each chapter? The chapters that follow will take you on a journey from manifesto to mission, mindset, method and finally miracle, with the ultimate goal of helping you to motivate young people so they grow up happy and fulfilled.
Chapter 1 sets out a manifesto for why it’s so important to create a happy school full of motivated learners and maintain this for 365 days of the year. It provides a model for what a happy school looks like, advice on overcoming the barriers to achieving a happy school and an explanation of the process the book will take to help you accomplish this for your own setting. Chapter 2 digs deeper into our mission to develop motivated
learners. It considers what motivation looks like for young people, providing a five-question framework that you can use to help them find their ‘big why’. The chapter also explores the six needs that
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all humans have and provides practical guidance that will help you to use these needs to keep students motivated in your happy school. Throughout this chapter, you will also find motivation tips, highlighted in boxes. These are simple, actionable ideas that you can complete with your learners to put the theories into practice. The tips will help you to have an immediate impact on young people.
Chapter 3 examines the mindset that teachers need to cultivate
within themselves if they are to achieve this mission. There are three mindsets that need to be adopted by any adult who is serious about impacting the next generation: the teacher mindset, the nurturer mindset and the coach mindset. Again, look out for the motivation tips highlighted throughout this chapter to help you action the advice.
Chapter 4 is the Happy School 365 method for motivating students.
It includes 21 practical ideas that are doable, fun tasks that will have high impact on a young person. This section of the book will help you to get instant results in developing happy, healthy learners who are motivated to achieve their potential. The ideas are suitable for use with a whole class of learners or in small-group sessions, or even in one-to-one mentoring and support. Each idea begins with a short summary to help you dip in and out to find the strategies you need, and concludes with a motivation tip to help you put the strategy into practice.
Chapter 5 invites you to visualise the miracle – the broader impact
of our work to create happy schools. Everything we do leaves a legacy. Our dream of a happy school is simply for one reason. That is to create a world where young people can wake up happy and go to bed fulfilled. To create a world where confidence is readily available in the lives of our kids. The impact this will have is remarkable. Visit www.happyschool365.co.uk to download your free Happy School 365 videos that accompany this book. If you are on social media, pop over to Twitter @ActionJackson to say hello and let me know how this book is helping you. Use the hashtag #HappySchool365.
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Chapter 1
The happy school manifesto
‘A happy school creates happy kids. Happy kids become happy adults. Happy adults create a happy world.’ Action Jackson, UK Ambassador for Happiness
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Happy School 365
Why do we need happy schools? When I was at school, I wouldn’t say I was sad but I wasn’t super happy either. It was a journey and you just had to get on with it. We conquered the challenges and sometimes they conquered us, but we moved on. The reason why I decided to write this book was simply because I believe that we are now living in a time when happiness has become a scarcity. Many people aren’t as happy as they’re supposed to be and young people especially so. I am inspired by Whitney Houston’s song ‘Greatest Love of All’ when I say that I believe children are our future. If they aren’t happy, our future world won’t be a happy place either. We must teach them well, show them the beauty they have inside, make them feel proud of themselves, let them laugh and let them lead the way. However, the sad reality is that our young people aren’t laughing as much as they should be laughing. They don’t feel as proud as they should be feeling. And they aren’t leading as they should be leading. That’s why I have made it my mission to create a world where every young person wakes up happy and goes to bed fulfilled. I’ve made it my duty to spread happiness wherever I can, to whomever I can. So, what gives me the right to spread happiness? Well, I am a motivational speaker and a life coach, focusing specifically on spreading happiness in education. Over the past 20 years, with my team at Fix Up Seminars, I have visited hundreds of schools, both in the UK and internationally, to motivate and empower students and teachers. We provide workshops, assemblies and online resources that are fun, creative and inspirational and that aim to help young people achieve a better quality of life. I am also grateful that I have had the opportunity to be surrounded by happy people who have embedded a happy mindset in me, which has allowed me to achieve great things in life. I truly believe that my mission on this planet is to bring life where there is not life, laughter where there is sadness, and freedom where there is fear. I don’t want to look back over my life, decades from now, and know that I didn’t do my part to help others feel happy. Wherever I am, whether on a bus, a train or a plane, I have to make someone smile. If I’m in a classroom or in the boardroom, I have to make someone smile. I have to make someone feel like life is amazing.
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The happy school manifesto
My mission on this planet is to bring life where there is
not life, laughter where there is sadness, and freedom where there is fear.
And I want to help every teacher to do this too. Teachers are the most amazing people on the planet. I asked my followers on Twitter to tweet the name of a teacher who had inspired them. I received the names of over 100 people my followers wanted to celebrate. That really goes to show the power and the impact of a teacher. I want to show teachers how they can harness this power to unlock happiness and fulfilment in every student who passes through their classroom. I believe there is a key to happiness and if we work together to establish this, it’s the start of something great.
What is happiness? I remember standing on stage in a school, ready to inspire some young people. I greeted the crowd with my big, smiley face and I delivered my seminar on dreaming big. I gave motivational quotes; I entertained. They laughed, joined in, and some of them even cried. At the end I took some questions. One of the students raised her hand and asked me, ‘Sir, why are you so happy?’ I paused for a moment and then I thought to myself, ‘Well, I’m happy because I’m grateful for life. I’m grateful that I’m alive. I’m grateful that I have this opportunity to do what I do on a regular basis. I might not have everything I want, but I’ve got everything I need.’ What do I need? I need me to be alive, and if I’m alive, I can achieve and do anything. I can be, do or have anything in life. So, you see, happiness is a goal that can be achieved with the right perspective. But unfortunately, humans have made finding happiness a grand quest. This quest has us doing all sorts. It’s the reason why we dash from work to home and from home to work. Why we seek out relationships. Why we buy that big car. Why we go to certain restaurants to eat. Why we buy certain clothes. Why we go and watch certain movies by certain actors. Why we go on holiday to certain destinations. We are all on this quest for happiness on a day-to-day basis. Sometimes it works! We do a certain thing and it makes us feel happy. Other times, it doesn’t and we can be left feeling worse. 3
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I am reminded about a quote that says: ‘There is no way to happiness because happiness is the way.’ Happiness is not a destination. Happiness is a journey in itself. It is a state of being. There is nothing else that is going to lead you to happiness. Most people in life are searching for things to bring them happiness and fail to realise that happiness is a choice that you make.
What does this mean for schools? In schools, happiness must come first. We can’t get results out of our young people unless they feel happy about themselves. This is why happiness and motivation are intrinsically linked. The tools, tips and strategies that I use to motivate young people work because they help young people to feel happy. My aim is to equip teachers, educators and anyone else working with young people with these tools too. You see, there’s no reason I have to plead the case as to why we need happy schools. It speaks for itself. School should be a place where we nurture, grow and impact the next generation. Schools should be a birthplace of world changers; a place where we raise leaders. But the problem is that schools have become a place where many young people lose their identity. They lose their sense of direction and their sense of purpose. That is why it is imperative for us to work together, to make sure that our kids come out of the school system whole and ready to take on the world. I recently did a poll on Instagram asking young people the following question: ‘Do you think school makes kids happy?’ Sadly, 72 per cent of the kids who replied said no, school doesn’t make kids happy. This is a tragic reality. A place where young people will spend a large chunk of their childhood is not making them feel happy. Shouldn’t our kids have a better perspective about school? Shouldn’t they have a different attitude towards learning? We, as adults, must be asking why children have this perspective about education and what we can do to change it. You see, my quest in life is to create a world where every young person wakes up happy and goes to bed fulfilled. In order to have that, we must first start in school, because a happy world starts with a happy school.
A happy world starts with a happy school.
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The happy school manifesto
The happy school model When I visit schools, I am often met with a great big poster of the school values, hanging beautifully in the corridor; values that mean something powerful. The issue is that often only the leadership team knows the values. Some teachers can recite them but the kids are unaware of them. School values should not only be on display along the corridors of our schools, but also on the walls of our hearts. Our values are what we live and breathe, not something we memorise. So, what does your school stand for and how often do you see it played out in the lives of the young people you teach? A school motto should be simple to act on and simple to remember. In a happy school, a simple strapline that makes sense and can be carried out is:
‘Be happy. Spread happiness.’ To make sure this motto is lived by every member of the school community, a happy school needs a ‘Happiness Manifesto’. This manifesto should help everyone to nurture one another towards happiness in three key areas: • Head: What we think. • Heart: What we feel. • Hand: What we do. Let’s look at each in more detail. 1. Head: What we think. Everything we do is motivated by our mindset and our mindset is formed by our thoughts. If we slowly change the way we think, we have won half the battle. A school that wants to establish happiness as the core part of its ethos will have to adopt the positive thinking mindset. This requires the ‘understand before you can be understood’ approach. It’s a stance of empathy. 5
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2. Heart: What we feel. Our emotions are a powerful way to check in on how we are feeling. The aim of any school that wants happiness at its core should be to make sure that their kids and staff feel happy. This can be done by asking a simple question on a regular basis: ‘How happy are you feeling on a scale of one to ten?’ 3. Hand: What we do. Actions speak louder than words. This phase is about what we do within school to show empathy with others in order to increase happiness. A school community should have a set of practical actions that they engage in weekly, monthly and termly to bring happiness. This should be measurable. For example, how many happy notes were shared in a term? A happy school requires everyone to be on board with the Happiness Manifesto in order for it to work. If some parts of the happy school model are unhappy, it can have a negative effect on the impact that can be made. We are only as strong as the weakest link. Here are the key components that need attention in a happy school model.
Happy head Happy parents
Happy SLT Happy School 365
Happy kids
Happy teaching staff
Happy non-teaching staff
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The Happy School 365 model: 1. a happy head
4. happy non-teaching staff
2. a happy senior leadership team 5. happy kids 3. happy teaching staff
6. happy parents.
A happy head Everything starts from the head. Without the head, you are left with a body that has no direction. The head carries the vision and works to ensure that the whole school is on the same page. Now, if the head is unhappy and unable to enrol everyone else on the journey, you automatically have division. I understand that not everyone will see things the same way as the leader, but that’s where empathy comes into it. The key thing is to make sure the head is happy and healthy. If you’re a headteacher, you must take responsibility for your own happiness. The key to being a happy head is found in surrounding yourself with other heads and being transparent about any challenges you might be facing. There are many headteacher masterminds you can connect with online. Another thing that’s crucial is certainty in your own identity and vision. You are in the headship position for a reason; never let anything or another make you feel that you don’t belong there. A clear picture of where you are taking the school is essential. A combination of these two factors, identity and vision, will make for a happy head.
A happy senior leadership team If the school has a happy head, this should help with the formation of a happy senior leadership team. It goes without saying that a successful team is essential for success in any endeavour. To create an effective team, you must have the mindset for empathy and the willingness to accept people’s differences. There are three phases to achieving this: 1) come together; 2) stay together; 3) work together. Stage one is the easiest; it’s the basic level of teamwork. The second stage, staying together, is crucial because if there is no rapport or harmony within the team, it’s hard to stay together, and the only factors that will keep a team together are common values and a shared desire to achieve the vision. The third level is working 7
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together effectively. We can come together and stay together, but if we don’t work together, we cannot be effective. No one is an island; we need to pull all our resources together to achieve the goal of a happy school.
Happy teaching staff The next part of the happy school model is the teaching staff. They play a crucial role in shaping the minds of our young people. The more effective they are at their job, the better the impact on their students. A happy teacher is one of the keys to a happy student. To obtain happy teachers there has to be an equal balance between love and challenge, whereby managers care enough for the wellbeing of the teachers and also challenge them enough to help them grow into the effective educators they want to be. To achieve this, there must be consistent communication between senior leaders and teachers and also the freedom for teachers to express their creativity in their class. Like the kids, teachers too have human needs that need to be met. If these needs are met, you will find that no matter how tough things get, teachers will commit to the outcome. If you’re a manager, you are responsible for nurturing your staff in this way. If you’re a teacher, accept this guidance from your managers, and if it’s not forthcoming, seek out a mentor or peers who can help instead.
Happy non-teaching staff The happiness of non-teaching staff is also an essential piece of the puzzle. The amazing thing about non-teaching staff is the impact they have on the school process as a whole. Just because they are in the background making things happen, they are often forgotten about and not appreciated as much in certain schools. But without them the infrastructure would collapse. The key to nurturing non-teaching staff is frequent appreciation for the job they do. Non-teaching staff have a different perspective on what is happening across the school. They are part of the team as much as anybody else. Encouraging your students to appreciate them when possible would be a great way to boost their level of happiness and belonging. When we take away the labels, we are left with ‘human’. By honouring who we are at the core, we create an environment of joy. 8
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Happy kids The ultimate reason why we want a happy school is that happy kids are at the heart of all our actions. If the kids are not happy, it will be very difficult to get them to perform. Kids are very sensitive and need our full attention in order to unlock their potential. I hope this book will help you to understand how we can motivate our students towards happiness and help them to succeed. Here is a basic framework of TIPS that you’ll need to keep in mind throughout the process:
Time: Spend quality time with learners to get to know them as people instead of seeing them as just students.
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nnovation: Things are changing fast and so are the kids. Finding new ways to get through to them will help their development.
Patience: It’s not an easy task. Patience is needed. Without it nothing will work. Know that all hard work will pay off eventually.
Support: When necessary, it is OK to call for backup. You won’t have
all the answers. When you are stuck, please ask for help.
Happy parents The final part of the happy school model is happy parents. If the above stages are fulfilled there is no doubt that the parents will be happy. The main thing that frustrates parents is a school that doesn’t care about their kids’ wellbeing and happiness. If parents are kept in the loop of the good that’s being done, they will feel part of the journey. Another way to ensure happy parents is making a conscious effort to inform parents of the progress that their child is making at school.
Overcoming the barriers to creating a happy school When it comes to creating a happy school, one of the most important things we need to know is where we are. The topic of happiness is one that leaves many people frustrated because they know that they want it, but they don’t know how to get it. To create a happy school, 9
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it is essential for us not only to know the reason why we need to be happy, but also to understand the roots that stop us from being happy. As we’ve established, happiness isn’t a thing to attain; it’s a state of being – it is a choice. I recently flew to Abu Dhabi to work with some schools on resilience, confidence and inspiration. I got my office to book my flight. When they jumped online, the first questions were of course: ‘Where are you flying from?’ and ‘Where are you flying to?’ Whenever you are trying to get from one place to another, you must first know where you are, before you choose where you need to go. Our origin is as important as our destination. When we know where we are, it is easier to plan a journey. Many teachers are unaware of where they are: they don’t know the mental state of their students. So, it’s very difficult for them to plan the journey up ahead. The first question you need to ask yourself when planning for a happy school is: ‘Where are we, where do we need to be and what is our next step?’ An effective starting point is to recognise the barriers that may be in the way of creating a happy school and what you can do to overcome them.
Barrier 1: Old ideas I’m reminded of a story of a young girl who was watching her mum cook. Whenever her mum was preparing a meat dish, she would cut the end off the meat and then proceed to put the meat in the oven. One day, the girl asked, ‘Mum, why do you always do that?’ Her mum replied, ‘Hmm… I don’t know. I do it because that’s what my grandma did.’ So, on the following Sunday, the young girl asked her greatgrandma, ‘Grandma, why do you cut the end off of the meat before you put it in the oven?’ Her grandma replied, ‘Well, the reason I used to cut the end off the meat before I put it in the oven was because our pots and our ovens used to be really small, so we had to cut the meat so that it could fit into the pots! Now it’s just habit.’ The moral behind this interesting and humorous story is this: some old ideas and old thoughts are getting in the way of new opportunity. This plays out in schools all the time and the first barrier to creating a happy school is therefore old ideas. What are some of the old ideas that your school has held on to and what are these old ideas preventing from happening now? 10
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I believe that if we don’t innovate, we are going to disintegrate. Innovation is the key to moving forward and old ideas are the enemy of progress. We must innovate, which means that we need to bury past ideas that haven’t worked. These old ideas, as great as they used to be, no longer serve us. So, we must ask ourselves: 1. What is working? 2. What is not working? 3. How can we do more of what is working? Many schools across the country and around the world need to ask themselves these simple questions, because being aware of the answers is the only way of moving forward and empowering our kids to find happiness. To do this, every teacher must first be accountable to themselves and look at where they are. What are the old ideas held by yourself and your colleagues? What mindsets do you continue to entertain, even though they aren’t bearing fruit? Often, when I’m running my workshops, I’m met with an array of teachers! You’ll see the young, energetic newly qualified teachers (NQTs) at the front, smiling and laughing, taking it all in. Then, you’ve got those in the middle of the room, the more seasoned teachers. They’ve still got that freshness there; they’re somewhat present, nodding and smiling occasionally. Finally, you’ve got the ‘old dinosaurs’. Now, these teachers sit at the back of the room with their legs crossed and arms folded and they’re not cracking a smile because they’re too busy looking for holes in your new ideas. Because it’s a new idea, there are no reference points for teachers to compare it to, so all they have is resistance. This new idea is something that challenges them. Whenever something new is created, you’re going to be faced with resistance. Resistance from people who’ve got what we call a ‘fixed mindset’. So, your first barrier to creating a happy school is made up of the old ideas that come from these people. You may even experience some resistance in yourself. Therefore, you first have to build a mindset within yourself that allows new ideas to enter the mix in your own classroom, and then create an environment among colleagues that makes this possible across your school. Some people are too romantically attached to old ideas because they used to produce results, but now we’ve got new problems and those problems require new ideas. In order for us to move forward, you have to let go of these old ideas. 11
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Take this story, for example. Back in the day, when I wanted to watch a video, I would take my card and go to Blockbuster. After that, I would take the bus, go back home, watch the amazing video and then return it. In my day, this was quite an experience! Well, the story has it that Blockbuster was approached by Netflix, with the idea of taking all their movies and streaming them online, but Blockbuster wasn’t interested. Well, we all know how that story ended! You see, Blockbuster was an old establishment that wasn’t willing to embrace a new idea and look at what it cost them! Whenever you come up with a new idea, you are met with resistance, fear, anxiety and even frustration. These things are normal and should be discussed amongst the people involved in implementing the new idea. However, you cannot let these emotions stop you from implementing the idea completely! If our schools are going to be places where greatness is developed, we must let go of the old so that we can embrace the new.
If our schools are going to be places where greatness
is developed, we must let go of the old so that we can embrace the new.
Now, I want you to visualise an image of Tarzan as he’s swinging through the jungle. He swings from one vine to the other, but if he only holds on to one vine, he continues to swing back and forth without ever going anywhere. Progression is swinging from idea to idea until we get to where we need to be, which means that trying out new ideas must be our number one priority when creating a happy school.
Barrier 2: Cognitive biases The second barrier to a happy school is what psychologists call ‘cognitive biases’. Thousands of years ago, the human brain needed to make fast decisions in order to survive – to avoid being eaten by that hungry pack of wolves or to successfully hunt that deer. Now, of course, the decisions that most of us make in our day-to-day lives aren’t immediately critical to our survival. Life is more complex and the decisions we make are more complex too. However, our brains haven’t quite caught up with this and we are still quick to make 12
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judgements. Sometimes, of course, these judgements are correct and useful, but unfortunately, many are wrong because they are based on subtle biases we hold in the way we see and think about the world. According to the American businessman, Charlie Munger, there are 25 cognitive biases. One example is the way in which we often ignore the virtues of ideas put forward by people we dislike and ignore the flaws of ideas put forward by people we do like. Another is the way in which our actions are shaped so powerfully by incentives and disincentives. You can read about the full 25 cognitive biases online at: http://25cognitivebiases.com. There is no doubt that these cognitive biases have an impact on our work with young people, our school environment and the way we react to one another. Cognitive biases affect our thoughts, our thoughts affect our emotions and our emotions affect our actions. If we are not fully aware of our cognitive biases, they will hinder the progress we intend to make in creating a happy school. Success is available for all, but the problem is that our minds have been programmed by old ideas – ideas that we did not create – that have been subconsciously planted by our society, our upbringing, our successes and failures, our pain and our past. We need to understand where our ideas come from, so that we can begin to deal with them. We cannot start building until we evacuate the wrong ideas from our minds, because the mind that is restricted cannot build high, the mind that is frustrated cannot build creatively and the mind that is hesitant cannot build effectively. We must acknowledge and understand our biases.
Identifying our biases As I was looking through If we are going to the 25 biases, I began successfully conquer the to reflect. These biases challenges ahead, we need acted as a great mirror. to identify our own biases. They were able to tell me where I was on my journey to creating a happy person. If we are going to successfully conquer the challenges ahead, we need to identify our own biases. 13
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As I say this, I am reminded of a formula created by Jack Canfield and shared in his book The Success Principles (2005). In the very first chapter of the book, he talks about taking responsibility and the fact that we cannot play the blame game. He poses that when you take responsibility for all of the things in your life, you put yourself in the driver’s seat of success. Many of us play the blame game. We blame the government, we blame the staff and we even blame the weather. In fact, we place blame on everything apart from ourselves! Gone are the days of playing the blame game. Gone are the days of casting blame. We need to begin to take responsibility and Canfield tells us exactly how we can do that. In Principles of Success, Canfield gives us a formula:
E + R = O (Event + Response = Outcome) This is an amazing formula! It is a formula that allows us to understand that we always have a say in our life outcome. ‘How?’ you may ask. Well, let’s take the first part of the equation: ‘E’ or ‘Event’. You can’t control the events of your life because you can’t control the things that happen, but you can control your ‘R’, which is your ‘Response’ to the events of life. It is this response to life’s events that will determine your ‘O’ or ‘Outcome’. Many of us need to understand that the way we respond to challenges will determine what we get out of the situation. If we keep responding in the old way, we will keep getting the old results. But, if we respond to an old problem in a new way, we are going to get a new outcome! It is simple:
Old event + New response = New outcome That’s how it works. The task ahead is therefore simple. We must challenge ourselves to begin to take responsibility by responding differently. In order to do that, we must first identify our cognitive biases and ask ourselves, ‘How are these cognitive biases helping me? How are they affecting those around me?’ Because if we begin 14
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to disarm these cognitive biases, we are free to achieve more with what we have.
Barrier 3: Workload The next barrier to a happy school is workload. According to the Department for Education, the workload of teachers has reached unprecedented levels. The most recent workload survey (2019) showed teachers working on average 50 hours a week. We are losing far too many good teachers to exhaustion. An exhausted and dispirited teacher is not what children or parents want or deserve. When we look at the workload that teachers are having to deal with nowadays, we begin to realise that the teaching profession is a tough profession to be in. While it is a rewarding profession to be in, the challenges are great. If you want to create a happy school, you therefore need to identify the needs, concerns and capabilities of yourself and your colleagues, especially when it comes to workload, because there is no way that a mind can take on board new ideas when it is already overwhelmed. A mind must be refreshed and clear to be ready for new challenges. An overworked teacher doesn’t have the time, the energy or the attention to give to new ideas, because they’re still busy trying to figure out how to deal with the old ideas. Teachers need new ideas to be able to sharpen their saw and they need to sharpen their saw in order to be effective, but they can’t do that if they don’t even have the capacity to receive the new ideas. Therefore, before I present to you a bunch of new ideas, I want to help you manage your workload. There are many layers to creating a happy school, but I want to first ensure that the mental, emotional and even physical wellbeing of teachers is looked after so that they are able to deliver these new ideas and methods effectively. Imagine you get on a plane and the pilot comes onboard and says, ‘Hey, I’m tired. I have only had two hours’ sleep, but we’re going to be alright on this seven-hour flight.’ The first thing I’m going to do is press the emergency button and get out of that plane! Wouldn’t you? There is no way that I could be flown to my destination with a tired pilot. No one wants a tired pilot. Similarly, no one wants a burnt-out teacher. Neither of those people can effectively manage their workload. 15
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No one wants a tired pilot.
When we’re talking about workload and teachers’ stress levels, it’s important to understand that workload creates stress, anxiety and frustration, which overall reduces mental willpower. When we wake up in the morning, according to psychologists, we have a certain amount of willpower for the whole day. That’s why it’s always good to go to the gym first thing in the morning because by the evening, although you have the physical capacity to go to the gym, you don’t go because your mental decision-making capacity is heavily reduced. It is for this same reason that many teachers find themselves cornered in a place where they don’t feel adequately equipped to deal with what’s at hand. There are two things that all teachers need to do to be able to combat exhaustion and mental fatigue: rest and reflect.
1. Rest It is so important to rest because you cannot effectively pour out to students if you have not first filled yourself up. Rest comes in so many different forms, but however you choose to do it, it needs to be done. Rest means that you unplug from your job at the end of the day and you connect with something that is more rejuvenating and refreshing for you.
2. Reflection This step is also very important. Make time to reflect on the things that have gone well and things that would help you to move forward. When you reflect, you reinforce the good that is within you. It reminds you that you are capable and allows you to reproduce good things, which then produce great results. Remember this formula:
Rest + Reflection = Recharged To be recharged, you need to rest and you need to reflect. 16
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Barrier 4: Knowledge The final barrier to creating a happy school is knowledge. Our lives are full of overwhelming complexity, accelerated change and tremendous competition. Because of this, we are seeing a rapid increase in social and emotional issues. Students are no longer able to deal with who they are or what they’re supposed to do; this is simply because there is an evolution of challenges and problems in the world, but there hasn’t been an evolution in our education system regarding those issues because teachers are overwhelmed with their workload. What time do teachers have to go and study the latest psychology on personal performance? None! Because they are already overworked. But if I don’t know, I can’t implement and if I don’t implement, I can’t If I don’t know, I can’t get results. Therefore, implement and if I don’t we must find a way to implement, I can’t get get you the knowledge results. you need in a way that doesn’t interrupt or affect your workload. Above all else, it is critical to understand that whatever you do, you need fresh information. Our kids are evolving by the minute and so are their problems. The competition that’s waiting for them is increasing. By the time they get into the real world, they will be met with a great deal of challenges that can affect their confidence. That’s why teachers now need to equip their learners with what’s necessary, in order for them each to be the person that they are supposed to be. Knowledge is critical. The good news is that that’s what this book is about: simple, actionable advice which can be applied without adding to workload and which will increase your effectiveness in the classroom.
Teachers now need to equip their learners with what’s
necessary, in order for them each to be the person that they are supposed to be.
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The journey to a happy school Once you have identified and eradicated any barriers that may stand in your way of creating a happy school, it’s time for you to begin your journey. Over the course of the chapters that follow, you will learn how to empower your students to develop their identity, purpose and vision, to help them find their why and to propel them towards a future of success. You will cultivate the three mindsets you need for this mission: the teacher mindset, the nurturer mindset and the coach mindset, and you will gain ideas and techniques through the Happy School 365 method for motivating learners towards happiness and fulfilment. In order for you to be successful on this journey, it’s essential that you first understand the happiness mastery process. This is a five-step process a person must go through when taking up a new method of attaining happiness. It will work for your learners and for you too! Make sure you revisit this process repeatedly over the course of your journey to ensure you are following it as you coach your learners through the suggested motivational techniques in the book. It will support them to: • gain and apply the required knowledge and skills • shift their perceptions as they develop the right mindset for the task in hand • grow their conviction as they persevere with the technique and develop it into a habit • build the character they need for the challenge.
The happiness mastery process This process will underpin everything you do on your journey to create a happy school full of motivated learners. Whenever you try to implement a strategy or technique suggested in this book, ensure the young person you are targeting works through each stage of this process. It’s the only way the strategy will have the intended impact. The diagram on the following page shows you what the happiness mastery process looks like. 18
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HAPPINESS
Character Habit Conviction Perception Knowledge
1. Knowledge As with anything, the first step in the happiness mastery process is knowledge, or rather knowledge mastery. Acquiring the necessary knowledge is the first stage in mastering happiness. We are surrounded by information. The society that we live in is filled with it. We actually have everything we need in books, research, videos and more. In fact, for us adults there’s really no excuse for not knowing because you now have the information at your fingertips. For young people, this information overload can all seem a little overwhelming, so make sure you focus the learner on what precisely they need to know and the skills they need to develop to reach the intended outcome. 19
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However, if we stay at the level of simply acquiring knowledge, we will not get the results we desire because knowledge alone is not enough. Knowledge is made to be applied, so after we know we must then apply this information to change our perception.
2. Perception The second stage to The function of knowledge mastering happiness is is to shift our perception or therefore perception. The how we see things. When function of knowledge is we learn something new, it to shift our perception or alters our psychology and how we see things. When we learn something new, shifts our paradigms and it alters our psychology perspectives. and shifts our paradigms and perspectives. Once our perspectives have shifted, we move one step closer to the results we are trying to attain. But, like knowledge, perception alone is not enough. Take this example. We have the knowledge that being positive to the kids at school will help them perform better. We understand that happiness is critical. Great! We’ve done a lot of research about happiness and our mindset is slowly shifting. Great! But what are we doing about it? This leads us to the next stage in the process: conviction.
3. Conviction The third stage of the mastery process is conviction. This is where, emotionally, you are more in tune with, and you are more present in relation to, what’s happening, so you are more inclined to want to change. It is this inner conviction that drives you and makes you think twice before making the wrong moves. For example, you have the knowledge that sugar is bad for you, and you now not only see sugar as a treat but also understand what it actually does to your system – your perception has changed. Now, you think, I shouldn’t eat too much chocolate because I don’t want to live a life where I suffer – this is conviction. This inner conversation causes us to start thinking and feeling differently. But this still isn’t enough. That’s why we move to the fourth level: habit. 20
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4. Habit Habit is where we begin to physically implement the knowledge that we’ve gained in order to get the results that we want. Habit is where we implement the necessary tools and tips to get the results. Many start – they acquire knowledge, the paradigms shift for them and they even feel conviction in their heart – but then they stop. They don’t take action. To take action we need to crank up our conviction, so that we can begin to do the things necessary, on a dayto-day basis, to get the results. Repeating to yourself, ‘I am happy and grateful for my life’ once a day for 21 days will increase your level of happiness. This is knowledge. When I begin to tell you the importance of gratitude, you begin to nod. That is perception. When I begin to show you the fact that because you’re not grateful enough, that feeling you feel is conviction. But until you actually begin to implement that task you haven’t really mastered it.
5. Character Our ultimate aim is to develop effective character, which helps young people to achieve the goals ahead of them. The final level in the happiness mastery process is therefore character. This is when the knowledge young people are aware of is embodied, and they live and breathe the principles. This enables them to be an example of what it takes to be a successful role model of excellence. This is the outcome of hard work, dedication and pure intention. Follow this process at every stage in your journey towards a happy school and the changes you introduce will be positive, long-lasting and effective. Don’t forget to visit www.happyschool365.co.uk for your free Happy School 365 videos!
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Chapter 4
The method Our mission has been defined. We have explored the mindsets you need to achieve that mission and how to attain them. Now, you are ready for the next step: the Happy School 365 method for motivating students. This method comprises 21 ideas, each of which is a practical, entertaining activity that you can complete with your students. The ideas are designed to have high impact on a young person, to help them to find their why, draw motivation from the six human needs and set them on a path to fulfilment and happiness. They are suitable for use as whole-class activities, whether that’s within your subject lessons or form time. Alternatively, they can be used when supporting small groups of students or even one on one. However you use them, I hope they will help you to motivate and inspire the young people in your care.
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Idea 1: Let it go
Challenge students to let go of all-consuming negative thoughts that are holding them back from dreaming, achieving and creating.
The mind has a very powerful ability called memory, and often it can store undesirable thinking that can later haunt us. That’s why letting go is important. We live in a society where we think the more we consume, the better we become, when actually the more you consume, the more constipated you become. It’s not about what you consume; it’s about what you let go of! It’s not about consuming more books, more theories, more ideologies, more psychologies; it’s about sitting down and asking yourself: what are the things that I need to let go of? Because when you let go of things, you are lightening your mind and lightening your heart. Letting go means that your mind is free to create.
Letting go means that your mind is free to create.
There are two types of people: the creators and the consumers. Those who consume get clogged up and those who create are busy taking what they have and adding value to others. So, I’m going to go through a list of things that I think young people need to let go of to move from consumer to creator.
Offence You need to let go of offence. Some people are easily offended and that can really damage them. When it gets to a stage whereby you are being offended by someone, you carry that weight in your heart. It’s hard for you to be at your best if you are offended easily. So, if you have people in your life who have offended you and you are still carrying that in your mind, let it go! 66
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Inadequacy You need to get rid of the feeling of not being good enough because a lot of us aren’t good enough. That’s why we’re here! We’re here to learn and grow. No one is at the stage of perfection. If you think you have reached it, well then good luck to you, but many of us are striving to get to the top. We’re likely to make mistakes along the way, but that’s OK as long as we learn from them and grow.
Living for the opinion of others They didn’t create you; they don’t define you. So why are you then living off their opinion? You say, ‘Well, what are they going to think?’ But who are they?! Do they pay your bills? No, so why are you listening to them? I don’t have time for that. Your life is more valuable than living for the opinion of others!
Attention-seeking Many of us are seeking attention because we don’t feel like we are enough. We want attention because we are seeking validation from others. When you feel inadequate and people don’t validate you, you get easily offended. You see! It’s all linked!
The fear of loss The fear of losing will stop you from winning because you create a level of anxiety within yourself. If you don’t move beyond the fear of loss, you will never even give yourself the chance to win. 365
I really encourage you to empower the students in your class to let these things go, so they move from consumer to creator. Talk through each of the above elements with your students and explain the dangers of becoming consumed by them. What are these elements holding the students back from achieving? Ask them to visualise what more they could accomplish in life if they simply let go of these concerns. What could they create? 67
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The let-go list Now ask the students to sit down and make a list of everything they need to let go of in their lives. They should make it as detailed as possible. It could be based on the five elements above and include any other negative thoughts or emotions that they find all-consuming and that are holding them back from dreaming, achieving and creating. They should challenge themselves every single day to let go of the things on this list. When they find themselves letting go, it will be easier for them to work on being happy. These negative thoughts are clogging them up and preventing them from being happy. Happiness is within each and every one of us, but you do have to get things out in order to be happy. Offence, feeling inadequate, the opinions of others, attention-seeking and the fear of loss. LET THEM GO!
Motivation tip: Share the following visualisation with the students as they complete this exercise. I want you to imagine that there’s a pipeline and the pipeline was designed to have water flow through it. At the beginning, water was continuously flowing through it, but at some point in time, certain things were flowing through the pipeline and started to clog it up. All I need to do now is detox the pipeline, clear out the pipeline, so that fresh water can flow through it.
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Idea 2: Kill the monster Help your students to get bad habits under control before they become entrenched and have a significant impact on their future.
A very long time ago, I heard the phrase: ‘Kill the monster while it’s still a baby’ and it really made me think. You see, babies look cute and monster babies are no different. But eventually this monster baby will grow up to destroy you and you don’t even realise it. Working with young people, you will find they have certain bad habits that might seem small, insignificant, cute even, but if these habits aren’t nipped in the bud and destroyed now, they are going to grow, and when it’s time to get rid of them, it’s going to be too late. The question is: what are some of the bad habits that we’ve allowed our young people to get away with? There are things as simple as saying please and thank you, being on time or being focused. If you nip those monsters in the bud and kill them while they’re still babies, the kids will be more equipped for the real world up ahead. Show me your habits and I’ll show you your future! You don’t decide your future; you decide your habits and your habits decide your future.
You don’t decide your future; you decide your habits
and your habits decide your future.
So, you need to start controlling the habits of young people in your care right now because habits are all we are! We are a combination of our good habits and our bad habits. Personally, I’ve created an obsession with being early because someone once said to me that the management of your time determines your financial future. They meant that when you manage your time well, you create impact; if 69
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you create impact, you’ll make a good income one day. So, when I was younger, I said to myself, ‘You know what, it’s honourable to be early.’ When you’re early, you’re chilled, you’re focused and you’re ready.
Nipping bad habits in the bud So, what are the bad habits you’re seeing among the kids in your care and how can you help them to nip them in the bud while these habits are still babies and not entrenched in their adult lives? For me, I recently came off of a 21-day detox. My body’s feeling good, I dropped about 10 kg in weight and I’m feeling lighter and more focused, which is great. But to get to this point, I had to ask myself, ‘How did I get to the stage where I needed to do a detox?’ Well, I was always eating without even thinking. This was a small but bad habit. Ask your students to identify for themselves the small bad habits that they have which they need to kill now before they become a much bigger issue. If they struggle, guide them gently towards the bad habits that you’ve observed in them! Once identified, get the students to visualise the impact of these habits in: • three months • six months • one year • five years • 20 years. Now, what would happen if they nipped these habits in the bud right now, today? Get the students to imagine how different the future might look without these habits. What could they achieve in: • three months • six months • one year • five years • 20 years? 70
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Younger learners could draw five pictures of themselves to show what they could achieve within each of these timeframes if they were to nip their bad habit in the bud. Older learners could write down their thoughts or simply reflect on this in their own time. It might be helpful for the learners to link the bad habit with an academic or personal goal. What impact might the bad habit have on their journey to achieving this? How would nipping the bad habit in the bud help them to achieve it more quickly and successfully? Hopefully the students will be able to visualise how working on making a small change now will pay dividends in the months and years to come. This activity will motivate young people to kill the bad habits in their lives before it’s too late.
Motivation tip: Show the students that you’re doing the same activity in your own life! Tell the students about the bad habits in your life and how you’re going to nip them in the bud before they become a major problem. That way, you’ll become a great example for the next generation to follow.
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