YEARS 11&12 MY WELLBEING JOURNAL NAME........................................................................................................CLASS..............................
MINDFULLY CHALLENGING MY BEST POSSIBLE SELF AS A SENIOR STUDENT AND AS A YOUNG ADULT
Being self-determined involves the need for you to feel three things: a sense of Autonomy, a sense of Competence and a sense of Connectedness. Rate yourself for each of these three ingredients using A – not yet
B – at times
C – usually
Autonomy Involves the need for you to feel that you have choice and freedom in your behaviours and goals, including looking B – at times C – usually up from your phone. To what degree do you feel a sense of autonomy? A – not yet Describe times you have felt a sense of autonomy and were they enjoyable and meaningful? ......................................................................................................................................................................... .........................................................................................................................................................................
Competence Involves the need for you to feel that you have what it takes to gain mastery of your studies by learning more intelligent skills. To what degree do you feel a sense of competence? A – not yet B – at times C – usually Describe times you have felt a sense of competence and were they enjoyable and meaningful? ......................................................................................................................................................................... .........................................................................................................................................................................
Connectedness Involves the need for you to feel that you have a sense of belonging and attachment to other people in your B – at times C – usually life. To what degree do you feel a sense of connectedness? A – not yet Describe times you have felt a sense of connectedness and were they enjoyable and meaningful? Acknowledgement: Tal Ben Shahar .........................................................................................................................................................................
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Acknowledgement: Ryan & Deci
Strengths for Relationships weeks The challenge over the week for individuals and classes is to enjoy focusing their energies on creating activities which use the suggested strength to grow all members of the school community’s wellbeing. Download each Strengths for Relationships Weeks from the website. Term 1: Gratitude....... page 20
Term 3: Kindness........page 72
Term 2: Teamwork...... page 50
Term 4: Leadership.....page 92
“What is necessary to change a person is to change their awareness of themselves.” Abraham Maslow
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PERMAH+ ... GROWING YOUR WELLBEING Believing in yourself as a person who matters, is a wonderful launch pad to creating the type of life you want to live. Avoid comparing yourself with others, because every person on the planet is special in some way; each of us is unique, expect it and respect it. Your wellbeing fuels your inner self.
PERMAH+
ACCOMPLISHMENT + optimism
What went well that you were grateful for, and how can you make them happen again for Accomplishment + optimism? ............................................................................................................................................................................. .................................................................................................................
Last Year
Term 1
Term 2
Term 3
Term Target 4 Rating
Did you set three goals this term that you were optimistic about accomplishing? Intention to focus on............................................................................... In the morning, did you write down what you were most looking forward to each day? Intention to focus on............................................................................... How do you think Competence relates to this element of wellbeing? ............................................................................................................... Any other thoughts? ...............................................................................................................
PERMAH+
HEALTH + strengths
What went well that you were grateful for, and how can you make them happen again for Health + strengths? ............................................................................................................................................................................. .................................................................................................................
Last Year
Term 1
Term 2
Term 3
Term Target 4 Rating
Daily, did you make the effort to go outdoors to exercise briskly and get a dose of vitamin D? Intention to focus on............................................................................... Did you use your strengths to avoid processed and junk foods in favour of fresh and natural? Intention to focus on............................................................................... How do you think Autonomy relates to this element of wellbeing? ............................................................................................................... Any other thoughts? ...............................................................................................................
Acknowledgement: Seligman, Peterson & Kabat Zinn
“Forget all the reasons why it won’t work and believe the one reason why it will.” Abdelnour
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CIRCLE OF CHAMPIONS To negotiate the rigours of senior schooling and the pressures of being a teenager, it will benefit you to have a circle of trusted adults around you, who you can turn to for support about anything, and this means anything that consumes you. These champions believe in you, will always be there for you and will never give up on you. Choose them wisely and ask them to fill these roles before the school year is in full swing. Draw a picture of or stick a photo in of each of your champions.
CHAMPION ONE
Don’t hesitate to ask your champions when the intensity of your problems starts to build. Nip them in the bud.
Strive to challenge your best possible self, side-by-side with your circle of champions.
CHAMPION FOUR
Picture of you or draw yourself
CHAMPION TWO
CHAMPION THREE
You may think some issues will shock them; nothing will! Share your concerns immediately.
Asking for help from your champions is one the most effective coping strategies available to you.
Acknowledgement: Rita Pierson
“Ask the experienced rather than the learned.” Arabic Proverb
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ARE YOU CHALLENGING YOUR BEST POSSIBLE SELF? Adding to your Meaning + purpose through adopting a growth mindset to accept the reality that you can grow your personal and academic abilities. One of the greatest growth orientated mindsets is believing in the Power of Yet. What you are today is different to what you’ll be tomorrow. No one has ever got better by just getting older. Through challenging your best possible self by attempting more difficult things using intelligent approaches, you are YET to know the full extent of what you are fully capable of. »W hat are more difficult and intelligent things you are currently doing? 1.............................................................................. 2..............................................................................
Describe your current best possible self and the person you wish to become. What are three further more difficult and intelligent things you could try to challenge yourself. ................................................................................ ................................................................................ ................................................................................ ................................................................................ 1.............................................................................. 2..............................................................................
Write yourself a short letter on what you want to accomplish and become in 2020 through challenging your current best possible self.
3.............................................................................. TIP: look at Positive Personal Descriptors (see index) to select five that you want to show for your best possible self and the person you wish to become.
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Which of your signature strengths will you need to use most, how will you use them and why?
................................................................................ ................................................................................ TIP: Read this often to be self-determined, use grit and deliberately practise to become the person you wish to become.
Describe the qualities and strengths you like in yourself, your friends and in other people who you admire. ................................................................................ ................................................................................ ................................................................................ ................................................................................ ................................................................................ ................................................................................ ................................................................................ TIP: Mirror neurons copy the expressions and moods of those around you. Often, qualities and strengths you like in other people are those you like in yourself. The opposite is also true. Always try to look for qualities you like in others, no matter how few they may be. Then work on building relationships with them through these positive qualities. Use positive self-talk to push their negative qualities out of your mind.
................................................................................ ................................................................................ ................................................................................ ................................................................................ ................................................................................ ................................................................................ TIP: every third week write down an action you will do for each of your signature strengths. Then, when you spot yourself doing them, journal it in this planner.
Describe an achievement that you are very proud of, the strengths you used and the positive emotions you felt. ................................................................................ ................................................................................ ................................................................................ ................................................................................ ................................................................................ TIP: Read this often to relive and savour the uplifting feelings you experienced. Acknowledgement: Sonja Lyubomirsky
“If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you.” Fred Devito
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ARE YOU AWARE OF THE CONTINUUM OF MINDSETS? Adding to your Meaning + purpose through accepting the reality that you can grow to move yourself towards more growth orientated mindsets. Your mindset comes from how self-determined you are and directly influences your motivation to grow your abilities. There are two extremes, Fixed and Growth, and most peoples’ mindsets lie somewhere in between them. For different activities your mindsets can vary on the mindset continuum. Following are indicators of fixed and growth mindsets.
OUR JOURNEY OF MINDSETS
Growth – the courage mindset because you are prepared to try more difficult things. You believe it is your choice to become the person you want to become. Tests don’t tell you anything about who you are, they only guide your learning. You believe that to develop you need to challenge yourself and not accept the status quo. The kings for you are courage, choice, process and commitment to practise. Fixed – the fear mindset because you are fearful to try new things. You believe challenging yourself is an
opportunity to fail. Tests only show your limitations, not what you are learning well. You prefer the status quo because action and effort might show your lack of ability. The kings for you are fear, performance and having no choices to change anything. Mark where you think your mindset is in your current role as a senior student below.
fixed and permanent
growth orientated
Nothing can change, so why try. Set performance goals.
Change will happen through doing. Set process goals.
Your brain is hard wired to perform at its best when you are positive, not negative. Setting goals to accomplish, provides you with a reason to look to the future with optimism and hope, which is an important skill of resilience. Goals connect you with yourself and are your anchors to self-determined progress. There are two main types of goals, performance and process, which are described below.
performance goals
process goals
» fixed mindset about proving you are not limited » aim for things which you can do without effort » avoid setting anything which will challenge you » only the outcome matters not how you get there » there is no choice, only maintaining the status quo
» growth mindset about improving your abilities » aim for things which stretch your previous bests » see challenging yourself as the only way to grow » only the process you follow matters in learning » there are always choices to challenge the status quo
process goal Set one process goal for each of the following areas of your life: EXERCISE and HEALTHY EATING ......................................................................................................................................................................... ATTITUDES and OUTLOOKS ......................................................................................................................................................................... LEARNING and THINKING ......................................................................................................................................................................... WELLBEING and HAPPINESS ......................................................................................................................................................................... FAMILY and FRIENDS ......................................................................................................................................................................... Acknowledgement: Dweck, Ericsson, Anderson, Costa, Kellick
“I don’t divide the world into the weak and the strong, the successes and the failures. I divide the world into the learners and the non-learners.” Benjamin Barber
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SELF-DETERMINATION:
What are you looking forward to accomplishing this week which will move you towards your goals and grow your wellbeing?
RESILIENT MINDSET:
Writing a short description of an awesome event that happened in your life to savour it.
POSITIVE EMOTIONS + GRATITUDE POSITIVE EMOTIONS Wellbeing Reality: through consciously seeking to have about four positive thoughts, words or actions for every negative one, your state of wellbeing will be thriving and flourishing. The number of positives to negatives is called the Losada ratio and less than 4 to 1 means that you will be struggling. Unfortunately, in Western society, the ratio is about 2 to 1.
TEAMWORK WEEK This week have fun and make a special difference to other peoples’ lives by creating activities to use the strength TEAMWORK to grow relationships with your family, friends and school community.
Positive emotions broaden your attention and build your engagement to be more creative and alive. Create plenty of them by showing gratitude and empathy and being kind and forgiving. Acknowledgement: Lyubomirsky, Fredrickson & Branigan
Discuss with a classmate – what do you believe would be your ratio of positives to negatives on a typical day? .................................................................................... .................................................................................... .................................................................................... To increase your ratio, what are ten positive things you can deliberately do every day to accomplish this? .................................................................................... .................................................................................... .................................................................................... Further Thought – for teamwork week, when are times you have been involved in positive teams which accomplished what they set out to do? .................................................................................... .................................................................................... .................................................................................... Last Word – to live life create positives, to exist do nothing.
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ACADEMIC RIGOUR AND REALITY Explore and discuss – the big four in choosing to grow your brain’s abilities are: 1. It’s your choice. 2. You must deliberately practise. 3. It takes behind the scenes effort. 4. Believing your growth is unlimited.
GRIT AND PASSION:
RU focused on what you need to be focused on, RU asking for feedback about your mistakes, and RU fixing them by learning and applying more intelligent things? MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SAT/SUN
MINDFULNESS TIME
MINDFUL MAZE
ROCKS AND SHELLS. Go to the beach or outside and collect as many different shaped shells and rocks as you can, for five minutes. Come back inside and study the differences and similarities.
CHECK IN THREE DAYS THIS WEEK ON HOW YOU FELT: GRATITUDE: What went well that you were grateful for?
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SELF-DETERMINATION:
What are you looking forward to accomplishing this week which will move you towards your goals and grow your wellbeing?
RESILIENT MINDSET:
Journaling what you are looking forward to and what you are grateful for every day.
MEANING + PURPOSE SAYING SORRY AND FORGIVING
RESPECTFUL RELATIONSHIPS With a classmate discuss – what respectful strategies could you use should you choose to end a close relationship? What are three strengths you could use and three emotions you could feel?
Wellbeing Reality: through showing the courage to open your heart to apologise for things you have done to upset others and even more strength to forgive those who have upset you, you will truly demonstrate that other people matter to you. Apologising and forgiving untie emotional knots, benefit others and your wellbeing and enable you to optimistically get on with your life. Holding grudges, blaming others and justifying your upsetting behaviours to yourself, shows a lack of strength and you don’t believe in your heart that other people matter. Acknowledgement: Lyubomirsky and Diener
Discuss with a classmate – when are times you have apologised for your actions and forgiven others who upset you? .................................................................................... .................................................................................... .................................................................................... Who do you need to apologise to and those you need to forgive and then show courage to do so? .................................................................................... .................................................................................... .................................................................................... Further thought – who is someone you admire who consistently musters the courage to forgive others and say sorry? .................................................................................... .................................................................................... .................................................................................... Last Word – courage is the virtue which inspires your other strengths to come alive.
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WELLBEING FITNESS CHALLENGE HIDDEN PEOPLE. Invisible Champions – making a list of people who selflessly give of themselves to support me to have a good life and then thanking them one by one.
GRIT AND PASSION:
RU focused on what you need to be focused on, RU asking for feedback about your mistakes, and RU fixing them by learning and applying more intelligent things? MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SAT/SUN
MINDFULNESS TIME
MINDFUL COLOURING IN
TRUTH TRAFFIC LIGHTS. Reflect on an event that happened which you weren’t happy about. Open the thinking tool Truth Traffic Lights and use it to describe what’s true, what’s uncertain, what’s not true and your feelings.
CHECK IN THREE DAYS THIS WEEK ON HOW YOU FELT: GRATITUDE: What went well that you were grateful for?
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SELF-DETERMINATION WORD SEARCH Enjoy searching for the meaningful qualities, character strengths and essential ingredients to having a resilient state of wellbeing in the self-determination word search.
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ENDORPHINS
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AUTONOMY
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JOY
REALITY
BELIEF
ETHICAL
KINDNESS
RESILIENCE
CHALLENGES
GENEROUS
LEADERSHIP
RESPECTFUL
COMPASSION
GOALS
MEANING
SAVOURING
COMPETENCE
GRATITUDE
MINDFULNESS
SEROTONIN
CONNECTEDNESS
GRIT
MINDSET
SLEEP
COPING
GROWTH
NEURONS
STRENGTHS
CORTISOL
HABITS
OXYTOCIN
TARGETS
DOPAMINE
HELP
PERMAH
TEAMWORK
EMOTIONS
HOPE
PROCRASTINATION
WELLBEING
“Living for the magic of today and understanding our place and purpose in the world.” Saying
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STRENGTHS 360 Quite often in senior schooling it is easy to feel self-conscious of how others see you. You have the choice to either make this work for you or against you. To make this a positive learning experience, do the following: Ask three or four students in your class, who know you well, to look at the 24 character strengths on pages 8 and 9, and name three or four strengths you show in living your life every day. Then ask them to give examples of what you do to make them think this. Repeat the above activity with members of your family, teachers, coaches and others who know you well. People who know you
Your strengths they noticed
Supporting examples of what you do
Summary of strengths
“You use your strengths more effectively when you move from unconscious usage of them to conscious usage of them.� MW
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