“Go Beyond school,” urges Woz

Steve Wozniak has sage advice for all people, but especially for teens. 

“But even in school, if you love something like mathematics, instead of working the assigned problems, do all the other ones too. Just decide, this is something I really love in life. I’m going to go a little further than school wants me to.”

And Mentors:

“They looked at things I could do and saw the things that I liked and wanted to do but were outside of the normal school,” he said. “Look for mentors that want to help you in other places in life and take advantage of it when you can. Don’t turn down something that’s given to you.”

Movies

Looking for movies to use in your classes?

Happy the Movie

Movie Discussion Guide

Does money make you HAPPY? Kids and family? Your work? Do you live in a world that values and promotes happiness and well-being? Are we in the midst of a happiness revolution?

Roko Belic, director of the Academy Award® nominated “Genghis Blues” now brings us HAPPY, a film that sets out to answer these questions and more. Taking us from the bayous of Louisiana to the deserts of Namibia, from the beaches of Brazil to the villages of Okinawa, HAPPY explores the secrets behind our most valued emotion.

I am

I AM is an utterly engaging and entertaining non-fiction film that poses two practical and provocative questions: what’s wrong with our world, and what can we do to make it better? 

Fully Charged

Project Happiness

Film Disucssion Guide

Movie to promote character strengths through discussion: From the book Positive Psychology at the Movies.

Philosophy Guide to happiness playlist

Philosophy: A Guide to Happiness – Epicurus on Happiness

Philosophy – A Guide to Happiness: Seneca on Anger


 

From Upenn’s website

VIDEO LECTURES BY LEADING SCHOLARS

 

Christopher Peterson

What makes life worth living (Part 1), 2011 

What makes life worth living (Part 2), 2011 

Martin E.P. Seligman

TED talk: The new era of Positive Psychology, 2004 

Interview on Positive Psychology, 2009 

Google talk: Positive Psychology, well being, and interventions, 2010 

Aspen Ideas Festival: Flourishing and Public Policy, 2011

On BBC: Positive Psychology and PERMA, 2011

Flourishing: a new understanding of well being, 2012

Flourish, 2011

Science of well being conference, 2012

On ABC (Australia): Toward a science of human flourishing, with Dalai Lama, 2012

On well being and happiness, 2013

Positive Psychology and Psychotherapy with Martin Seligman Ph.D. and Randall C Wyatt Ph.D.

Angela Duckworth

TED talk: The key to success? Grit, 2013

Profile of Angela Duckworth, 2013 MacArthur Fellow

AP Annual Conference: True grit, 2013

The psychology of achievement, 2014

Interview: Grit and perserverance in development psychology, 2013

TED talk: True grit: Can perseverance be taught? 2009

Grit, self-control, and achievement, 2012

Karen Reivich

On Positive education and well being, 2012

Tal Ben-Shahar

Happiness 101, 2012

On Positive Psychology, 2012

Barry Schwartz

TED talk: Our loss of wisdom, 2009

TED talk: Using our practical wisdom, 2010

TED talk: The paradox of choice, 2005

TED talk: Why justice isn’t enough, 2012

Google talk: Practical wisdom, 2011

Google talk: Why more is less, 2012

Wharton talk: Practical wisdom, 2012

Doing the right thing for the right reason: Why incentives are no substitute for character, 2012

Love, empathy, wisdom, and justice, 2014

Ed Diener

A recipe for happiness (short version), 2014

A recipe for happiness (long version), 2014

The new science of happiness, 2013

On being an effective teacher, 2012

On happiness and character strengths, 2011

What you need to be happy, 2010

Happiest place on earth, 2010

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Living in flow, the secret of happiness, 2014

TED talk: What makes a good life, 2011

TED talk: Flow, the secret of happiness, 2004

Flow, creativity, and the evolving self, 2010

Flow, 2010

Jonathan Haidt

The righteous mind: Why good people are divided by politics and religion, 2013

Three stories about capitalism, 2014

Compassion and altruism, 2014

TED talk: How common threats can make common political ground, 2013

TED talk: The moral roots of liberals and conservatives, 2008

TED talk: Religion, evolution, and the ecstasy of self-transcendence, 2012

Barbara Fredrickson

TED Talk: Remaking love, 2014

Positivity resonates, 2013

Love: a new lens on the science of thriving, 2012

The science of compassion, 2012

The positivity ratio, 2011

Be positive, not productive, 2011

Positive emotions open our mind, 2011

Positive emotions transform us, 2011

A blueprint for character development, 2010

Using positivity to bounce back from inevitable setbacks, 2010

Positive emotions, 2009

Roy Baumeister

Self-control as the greatest human strength, 2014

The science of willpower, 2012

Willpower and self-control in everyday life, 2012

How rejection affects people, 2012

Understanding self-control and the limits of willpower, 2012

Shane Lopez

Hope is a strategy, 2013

Making hope happen, 2013

Making hope happen: Create the future you want for yourself and others, 2013

Robert Emmons

How gratitude heals, energizes, and changes lives, 2014

The science of gratitude, 2013

Graced gratitude and disgraced ingratitude, 2014

Gratitude as the lynchpin between adversity and delight, 2013

Sonja Lyubomirsky

The science of happiness, 2014

The science and practice of happiness across the lifespan, 2014

The myths of happiness (Part 1), 2013

The myths of happiness (Part 2), 2013

The how of happiness on Good Morning America, 2008

How to be happy, 2013

Happiness for a lifetime, 2010

Google talk: The how of happiness, 2008

Carol Dweck

The power of believing that you can improve, 2014

Dacher Keltner

TED talk: Compassion, 2010

What indicates a moral decline in the U.S., 2012

Touch and the spread of goodness, 2010

The evolutionary roots of compassion, 2012

Survival of the kindest, 2013

Laura King

Your life is probably pretty meaningful, 2014

Laurence Steinberg

Adolescence as an age of opportunity, 2014

Lessons from the new science of adolecence, 2014

Are millenials lazy, self-absorbed and needy?, 2014

The new science of adolescence: Understanding risky behavior, 2013

What is bad parenting?, 2012

George Vaillant

TED talk: From emotionally crippled to loving personality, 2014

The importance of relationships to health. resilience, and aging, 2014

Amy Wrzesniewski

Job crafting to create meaning, 2014

Prospective Psychology

Peter Railton on desire, 2014

Chandra Sriipada on the future brain, 2014

Roy Baumeister on free will and the future, 2014

Martin Seligman on creativity and aging, 2014

Other Speakers

Examplars and paragons of positive psychology leaders, 2011

PPC Speaker Series 2011:

Karen Armstrong

Joshua Greene

Julia Annas

Cultivating Positive Emotions in students #1: Gratitude

What is gratitude:

Gratitude opens your heart and carries the urge to give back— to do something good in return, either for the person who helped you or for someone else.

From Barbara Fredrickson’s Positivity

Some ideas for Cultivating Gratitude in students:

1) Keep a gratitude journal:

Key here is not to just go throught the motions, as the Greater Good’s Jason Marsh points out:

 

  • Don’t just go through the motions. Research by psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky and others suggests that journaling is more effective if you first make the conscious decision to become happier and more grateful. “Motivation to become happier plays a role in the efficacy of journaling,” says Emmons.
  • Go for depth over breadth. Elaborating in detail about a particular thing for which you’re grateful carries more benefits than a superficial list of many things.
  • Get personal. Focusing on people to whom you are grateful has more of an impact than focusing on things for which you are grateful.
  • Try subtraction, not just addition. One effective way of stimulating gratitude is to reflect on what your life would be like without certain blessings, rather than just tallying up all those good things.
  • Savor surprises. Try to record events that were unexpected or surprising, as these tend to elicit stronger levels of gratitude.
  • Don’t overdo it. Writing occasionally (once or twice per week) is more beneficial than daily journaling. In fact, one study by Lyubomirsky and her colleagues found that people who wrote in their gratitude journals once a week for six weeks reported boosts in happiness afterward; people who wrote three times per week didn’t. “We adapt to positive events quickly, especially if we constantly focus on them,” says Emmons. “It seems counterintuitive, but it is how the mind works.”

 

There is even an iphone app

Or a free one

Building Gratitude, especially sincere gratitdue takes a mindful effort. 

A variation we use a lot in small groups is the three good things/three blessings activity as Described by Martin Seligman:

 

You can try a guided meditation on Gratitude like this one or this one from UCLA or hit two postive emotions in one Expression of Gratitude & Love Meditation 

Other activites you might try include

Other activities you might try in the classrom include

 

  • Gratitude Surprise Sticky Notes. Give each student one or more sticky notes to write something they’re grateful for about another person in the school community. Then have the students “deliver” the sticky notes by placing them where the person will see it, e.g., a locker, a phone, a cleaning cart. Source: Greater good
  • Gratitude Quotes. Give students their own gratitude quote (here’s a great list of quotes) and have them reflect upon and write about what their quote means to them. Source: Greater good
  • Try Jeffrey Froh and Giacomo Bono’s gratitude curriculum to deepen students’ understanding of gratitude.
  • Thanksgiving Time Capsule from PBS Parents
  • DIY Thankful Board from U Create
  • Make a collage using pictures of things you are grateful for. Let your child have the camera and take photos of all things they are grateful for.  You may like to print out the pictures and then make a collage, or create a collage online (like inPicMonkey) and then print it for them.  Most kids love the opportunity to use a camera! Source: Momentsaday
  • Play the “What Would You Feel Without It” Game. This game can be done any time during the day, the more silly mood you are in probably the better.  Simply ask the kids what would they feel like without various items.  They will be surprised how different life would be without some of the things they consider “normal” to have.  You may like to begin a discussion about how other people live without such items, if it is age appropriate, to help them remember to appreciate what is sometimes taken for granted in their life. Source: Momentsaday

     

     

     

     

     

     

 

 

Cultivating positive emotions in students

Barbara Fredrickson has shown that experiencing positive emotions has profound impact on one’s happiness

Positive emotions are triggered by our interpretations of our current circumstances, whereas pleasure is what we get when we give the body what it needs right now. If you’re thirsty, water tastes really good; if you’re cold, it feels good to wrap your coat around you. Pleasures tell us what the body needs. Positive emotions tell us not just what the body needs but what we need mentally and emotionally and what our future selves might need. They help us broaden our minds and our outlook and build our resources down the road. I call it the “broaden-and-build” effect.

As She explains in her book, Positivity,

“[Positive emotions] broaden people’s ideas about possible actions, opening our awareness to a wider range of thoughts and actions than is typical. Joy, for instance, sparks the urge to play and be creative. Interest sparks the urge to explore and learn, whereas serenity sparks the urge to savor our current circumstances and integrate them into a new view of ourselves and the world around us. . . By opening our hearts and minds, positive emotions allow us to discover and build new skills, new ties, new knowledge, and new ways of being.”

She specifically identifies 10 postive emotions we should be cultivating:

She uses various techniques to grow positive emotions from Loving-Kindness Meditiation to watching funny clips to keeping a positivity portfolio

Imagine that you have a folder or a box you can open, peek inside and see all the good things that happened to you recently; be it a picture your child drew for you or a complimentary email your client sent you or a little note you discovered your beloved left in the sugar bowl for you or goofy pictures of your loved ones. Sitting down and enjoying the memories will inevitably make you feel great in no time.

Each day focus on one emotion and find physical manifestations that remind you of that emotion–think pictures, video clips, mementos, cards, poems, your own writings etc. 

Another technique is to track your ratio of positive emotions to negative ones. She provides a tool on her website to help you track your own positivity ratio. 

In the next 10 segements I will identify some strategies for EACH specific postive emotions and how to cultivate in the classroom. In the meantime, listen to Barbara explain it here:


Further Reading:

– Cultivating Positive Emotions to Optimize Health and Well-Being (pdf) by Barbara L. Fredrickson.
– What Good Are Positive Emotions? (pdf) by Barbara L. Fredrickson.

Find the 200 most popular arctiles on positive emotions here

Tool for building hope in schools

Stumbled on this website today, Schools for Hope.

Schools for Hope is a new curriculum project developed by iFred, the International Foundation for Research and Education on Depression. It is based on research that suggests hope is a teachable skill. Our aim is to equip students, educators, and parents with the tools they need to find and maintain hope even during the most trying of times. 

The offer up a 10 lesson curriculum for teaching hope in middle school. Looks great. 

Love of learning…on overdrive

You can learn in many ways, from school to lectures, to conversation or experiences….all are valid. One of most accessible and popular is simply reading books. Ralph Waldo Emerson suggest that “If we encounter a man of rare intellect, we should ask him what books he reads.” Whil a book should expand our intellect, what we think about. You should move off the best seller lists and pick up some obscure titles for, as Haruki Murakami reminds us, “If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.” But, you need to process it, you need to make it your own thinking. “Keep reading books, but remember that a book is only a book,” reminds Maxim Gorky, “and you should learn to think for yourself.” And it in thinking for yourself, you write your own meaning, which is the essence of reading according to  W. Somerset Maugham: “The only important thing in a book is the meaning that it has for you.” As you construct your own meaning, your soul grows or so it would seem to Marcus Tullius Cicero who observed that “A room without books is like a body without a soul.” 

Some of us are obsessed by books, as Henry Ward Beecher warned: “Where is human nature so weak as in the bookstore?” and Jorge Luis Borges confessed that “I cannot sleep unless I am surrounded by books.” For people like us, the week and sleepless, we horde books like misers do gold. And the Japanese have a word for us: Tsundoku

The word dates back to the very beginning of modern Japan, the Meiji era (1868-1912) and has its origins in a pun. Tsundoku, which literally means reading pile, is written in Japanese as 積ん読. Tsunde oku means to let something pile up and is written 積んでおく. Some wag around the turn of the century swapped out that oku(おく) in tsunde oku for doku (読) – meaning to read. Then since tsunde doku is hard to say, the word got mushed together to form tsundoku.

It strikes me that people strong in Love of Learning or Curiosity may well experiecne this phenomenon more that people of other character strengths.  I agree with Frank Zappa “So many books, so little time.” 

 

And just spotted this one to continue with the theme:

 

 

On parenting for passion

“The best I can say is that as parents, you can engineer the life you want your kids to have, but it may not be the life they want to have. You have to encourage them to pursue their passions. And you have to spend more time on them than you spend on anything else.”
–Ed Zuckerberg, father of Mark, or as he says, he is literally the “Father of Facebook
I like his sentiment…a lot. I just wish he had not said “Pursue their passions.” The problem with passion is that it rarely leads to productivity. Was Zuck passionate about computers? Yes. He learned programing in middle school. He took a graduate level course while still in high school and had private tutoring. But we was also passionate about Greek mythology and fencing. I wish he had said parents need to encourage their kids to pursue their interests passionately. Slight but important difference. You can be interested in something and have no passion.  “It’s often said the key to finding a great career is “following your passion” or “finding your calling.” says the excellent website 80,000 hours. “Follow your passion. But this isn’t very helpful advice. Most people don’t know what their passion is, and even if they do, following your passion could easily end in failure and little social impact.”
A better way, indicated Cal Newport, is find a way to cultivate a unique and valuable skill and then get really good at it. That takes Passion. Both Zuckberg and Gates clearly pursued their interests in Computers passionately. Will Smith and Kevin Costner did it in acting. Anita Roddick (Body Shop), JK Rowling (Writing), Michael Jordan (Basketball), Kurt Hahn and Maria Montesouri (education), and so many others are stellar examples of people who put in the time to cultivate their interests passionately to emerge top of their respective fields. 
 

Mindfulness strategies by personality type

According to personality theory, when an individual becomes stressed, they will find themselves in the grip of their shadow side of their persoanlity type, sort of a distorted view of the polar opposite of one’s normal personality. While much research ahs shown the benefits of mindfulness in handling stress. Now a couple of writers are advocating specific mindful practices to specific personality types to combat stress. 

The ideas below come directly from Gabriel Taylor and ring true to my thinking on both meditation and personality types. Read the whole ArticleBasically, for each type she suggests one or more of the following practices:

  • Mindfulness meditation
  • Spiritual meditation
  • Zazen meditation
  • Mantra meditation
  • Movement meditation

Mindfulness meditation: This is the most commonly known meditation. By being present, allow whatever thoughts occur to rise then detach. Be aware of your breath patterns, deep breaths mean you’re slowing down and relaxing, shallow breaths means you’re tensing up. This quieting of the mind by letting thoughts come and go and being more of an observer will naturally allow the meditator to let go of any invading thoughts, the goals is not to empty the mind but to notice and let go. This is ideal for ISTJ, ISFJ, ISFP and INFJ.

Where to start?

Spiritual meditation: This is a good solution for those that are facing a problem and need a higher power for guidance to work through it. You can practice this anywhere quiet, just sit still, form your problem into a query and listen for your higher powers guidance. This meditation would be good for the types ESTP, ENTJ, ESFP and ESFJ.

Where to start?

Zazen meditation: This meditation is more traditional and takes disciple to practice due to long periods of stillness in one position. Its focus is on holding position, focusing on breath and being discipled to stay present with a clear mind for long periods of time. It is perfect for those that are unafraid of self-study and reflection. Types such as INTP, INFP, ISTPand ENFJ may find the challenge appealing.

Mantra meditation: Is simply repeating a word or words while meditating. You can look to tradition and use Om or bring your own like love or joy. Chanting helps keep the meditator focused and cuts down on distraction for deeper meditation practice. Types INTJ, ISTPand ISFP would benefit most from this style.

Where to start?

Movement meditation: For those that find it difficult to sit still and do nothing or be silent. To gain the multiple benefits of meditation, one doesn’t have to sit and be still. You can still clear your mind, slow your thoughts and let go of stress by slowing down your movements, and listening to relaxing music. Yoga, Qi gong, walking, are movement meditations. For example, in yoga, you can chose to meditate on one thing while you are going through the poses, like peace of mind. You can also take a nature walk, and mindfully let go of any stress-full thoughts. Some will even practice this while doing chores, it’s just a matter of being present. ENTJ, ESTJ, ENTP and ENFP personalities will find this exercise may suit them best.

Where to start?

Yoga

Qi Gong —video instructions

Walking Meditation guide here and another more philosophical one here

Here is some more detailed options

For the Data Lovers

To see the full set of data, please click here 

IB Learner Profile meet the VIA Character Strengths

In a course I taught this summer, someone mentioned that they had seen a document comparing the IB Learner Profile with the VIA Character Strengths. An IB coordinator identifed that many character strengths are embeed in the IB Learning profiel but only provided a list of the traights, not explicitly linking it to any of the 8 profile statements: “Creativity, Ingenuity, Originality, Curiosity, Judgement and Critical Thinking, Love of Learning, Perspective, Valour and Bravery, Diligence/ Perseverance, Integrity, Honesty Vitality, Zest, Enthusiasm Kindness and Generosity Loving and being Loved, Social/Emotional Intelligence, Citizenship, Duty, Equity, Fairness Leadership, Self Control, Forgiveness, Modesty, Prudence, Caution, Appreciation of Beauty, Gratitude, Hope, Optimism, Playfulness, Sense of Purpose” 

Having not been able to find a more specific document, I created my own; mine looks specifically for primary connections as opposed to secondary one. Certainly, for example, you could argue leadership is present when working indepeendently as stated in the inquires bullet, but it is not specific enough to 

 

The IB Learner Profile

IB learners strive to be:

Inquirers

They develop their natural curiosity. They acquire the skills necessary to conduct inquiry and research and  show independence in learning. They actively enjoy learning and this love of learning will be sustained throughout their lives.

Knowledgeable

They explore concepts, ideas and issues that have local and global significance. In so doing, they acquire indepth knowledge and develop understanding across a broad and balanced range of disciplines.

Thinkers

They exercise initiative in applying thinking skills critically and creatively to recognize and approach complex problems, and make reasoned, ethical decisions.

Communicators

They understand and express ideas and information confidently and creatively in more than one language  and in a variety of modes of communication. They work effectively and willingly in collaboration with others.

Principled

They act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness, justice and respect for the dignity of the individual, groups and communities. They take responsibility for their own actions and the consequences that accompany them.

Open-minded

They understand and appreciate their own cultures and personal histories, and are open to the perspectives, values and traditions of other individuals and communities. They are accustomed to seeking and evaluating a range of points of view, and are willing to grow from the experience.

Caring

They show empathy, compassion and respect towards the needs and feelings of others. They have a personal commitment to service, and act to make a positive difference to the lives of others and to the environment.

Risk-takers

They approach unfamiliar situations and uncertainty with courage and forethought, and have the independence of spirit to explore new roles, ideas and strategies. They are brave and articulate in defending their beliefs.

Balanced

They understand the importance of intellectual, physical and emotional balance to achieve personal wellbeing for themselves and others.

Reflective

They give thoughtful consideration to their own learning and experience. They are able to assess and understand their strengths and limitations in order to support their learning and personal development.

What parents really want for their children

What do you think parents want more for their children?

  • Be happy in life
  • Lead a healthy lifestyle
  • Earn enough to enjoy a comfortable life
  • Be successful in their career
  • Fulfil their potential 

 

According to a survey of over 5000 parents in 16 countries by banking great HSBC, 64% want happiness. Parents were asked to pick their top three, in rank order. HSBC then breaks it out by country:

Q: What are the three most important goals that you want your child to achieve as an adult?

More individualist socieites emphasized happiness. I personally am surprised to se China rank so high on lifestyle and so low on earning enough to have a comfortable life. Not sure what to make of this other than people in developing nations who have an HSBC bank account probably already have a comfortable life that they intend to pass onto their children. How does this compare to the UN Happy country index?

So ambition may not represent current reality, but hope can be a powerful motivator.