This diary provides you with information, ideas and actions that are designed to support your wellbeing.
Read All About It:
This science-based information is designed to enhance your understanding of different concepts that will improve your wellbeing.
Watch It!:
A short clip for you to watch about that week’s topic. E.g. An animation, a short film or a TED Talk.
Mindful Colouring:
Take a break and relax by colouring these designs.
Grids:
Make notes, write ideas, draw pictures. Get creative – the space is yours!
Random Act of Kindness:
There’s lots of research about how helping others benefits their wellbeing and your own. Each week, we’ll suggest a way to show kindness that relates to the topic for that week.
Random Act of Kindness
Quote: Inspiring words related to that week’s topic.
Listen to It:
We’ve included a song about each week’s topic. Search for it using your preferred audio streaming service. You might even like to add it to a playlist!
Top Tip: These practical tips are related to each topic and are designed to help you take action and improve your wellbeing.
What is Positive Education?
Scientists around the world are beginning to help us understand what it is that the happiest and most successful people do that enables them to be at their best. Positive Education is about learning and applying these skills in our own lives so that we can experience positive mental health and wellbeing, optimise our learning, and support our friends and families to live happy and meaningful lives too.
What is Wellbeing?
Our model for Positive Education begins in the centre circle, where it says ‘flourish’. This is the desired outcome. It’s not a goal that we’re actively striving to achieve every day, but more like a by-product, or a healthy consequence, of living our lives in such a way that nurtures our own wellbeing and contributes to the wellbeing of others.
Flourishing refers to the experience of life going well. We can think of this as ‘feeling good and doing good.’ ‘Feeling good’ refers to experiencing healthy levels of optimism, enthusiasm, emotional stability, resilience, and physical health. ‘Doing good’ involves caring for others, nurturing positive relationships and using our skills and knowledge to make a meaningful contribution to our community.
Domains of Wellbeing
Our model for Positive Education has six related domains (or themes). Each of these domains contributes meaningfully to our overall wellbeing and is based on science. Wellbeing, like the weather, consists of various measurable elements. Just like temperature and rainfall contribute to what we call ‘the weather’, each of these domains contribute to what we call ‘wellbeing.’
Positive Relationships: This is about the importance of feeling connected to others and building strong relationships. The focus is on helping us to develop social and emotional skills that support our relationships with others…and our self! This domain is also about building a strong school community and a culture of respect.
Positive Emotions: This focuses on developing a greater understanding of our emotions and those of others. It’s about creating opportunities to experience and savour positive emotions such as joy, hope and gratitude.
Positive Health: This is about helping you to form long-term habits that help keep your body and mind functioning at their best – even when we’re faced with difficulty and challenge. Practising mindfulness and resilience techniques promotes better health outcomes, as do healthy habits around exercise, nutrition and sleep.
Positive Engagement: This is about learning to use our attention to fully connect with activities that matter to us. When we do this, it feels good and we stretch and grow our intelligence and skills. The aim is for all of us to find sources of interest and passion in our lives.
Positive Accomplishment: This focuses on helping us grow as individuals by aiming for, and achieving, meaningful goals. It involves striving for goals that we find highly rewarding and that are of benefit to the wider community.
Positive Purpose: This helps us to understand our values – the type of person we really want to be. Over time, we experience high levels of wellbeing when we are doing things that make sense, that matter, and that contribute to the benefit of others and our world.
Read All About It
Do you have a growth mindset or a fixed mindset? People who have a fixed mindset believe that qualities like intelligence or talent are simply fixed traits. They believe talent alone creates success, without effort. People who have a growth mindset believe that their basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work – brains and talent are just a starting point. It’s unrealistic to think you can have a growth mindset about all things all the time; however, try identifying areas in your life where you adopt different mindsets.
Watch It!
How do you react to failure? Watch this inspiring true story.
Random Act of Kindness
Use your growth mindset and train for a charity run to raise money for a good cause.
Listen to It
‘Gold’ by Britt Nicole.
Top Tip
Consider areas where you’ve adopted a growth or fixed mindset and why this is.
‘When you are face to face with a difficulty, you are up against a discovery.’
– Sir William Thomson
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THREE GOOD THINGS THAT HAPPENED THIS WEEK: REFLECTION – MY WEEK:
‘We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeat ed.
Mindfulness can be defined as purposefully paying attention to the present moment without judgment.
Engaging in regular mindfulness practices can improve your wellbeing on a number of levels. Try engaging in the mindfulness practice below every day this week and note how you feel.
Loving-Kindness Meditation
Sit quietly and comfortably with your spine lengthened, feeling space between each vertebra. Keep your head aligned and place your arms softly in your lap.
Bring to mind someone you love and respect. It could be someone from the past or in the present. Imagine them in front of you sending you their love. Feel the warmth and comfort of their love and kindness. As you picture this person, silently repeat to yourself:
Now, think of an acquaintance, someone you don’t know very well and have no particular feelings toward. It could be a neighbour, fellow student, or someone else you see around but don’t know well. As you picture them, silently repeat to yourself:
Bring to mind someone with whom you have difficulty. It could be someone from the past or in the present. Imagine they are standing in the same room. Allow yourself to let go of any hurt, bitterness or irritation that you are holding, and let the love in your heart radiate toward this person. As you picture them, silently repeat to yourself:
Now, imagine yourself. Release any sense of expectation or judgment. Visualise yourself with love radiating forth from your heart, enveloping your entire body. As you picture yourself, embrace a sense of loving-kindness and silently repeat to yourself:
Gently bring your awareness back to your breath and your space within the room. May you walk forth today in loving-kindness, living at peace with yourself and others.
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THREE GOOD THINGS THAT HAPPENED THIS WEEK: REFLECTION – MY WEEK:
Read All About It
Write down some examples of when you’ve had to turn your struggle switch off.
Watch It!
Watch this animated clip about the Struggle Switch in order to learn more.
Random Act of Kindness
What do you feel when you are struggling?
How do your emotions change during this process?
What could you do next time for a better outcome?
Let someone go ahead of you in line.
Listen to It
‘Breathe Deeper’ by Tame Impala.
Top Tip
What mindfulness techniques have you used to make choices about how to react to your emotions?
‘It is essential that we not respond impulsively to impressions; take a moment before reacting, and you will find it easier to maintain control.’
– Epictetus
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TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY SUNDAY
THREE GOOD THINGS THAT HAPPENED THIS WEEK: REFLECTION – MY WEEK:
