G is for Gratitude (Secondary)
Thank you
It can be all too easy to get caught up our daily lives, on social media, wrapped up in our thoughts & sometimes miss the little things, the loveliness that is happening day in, day out, all around us. Our brains are hard-wired to focus on the difficult, the threats so that we stay safe. This negative bias means that we need to work harder to take in all the good stuff.
Proactive thanks
Even now, during these changing times, taking some time each day to pause, to bring our focus to all the good things that are happening right here, right now is super helpful (PS sometimes it’s difficult to be grateful, we get that )
1. Why not start a gratitude habit? Get yourself a lovely journal, start a new note on your phone or on snapchat & think of 3 things each morning that you’re grateful for! Supercharge your gratitude practice by bookending it at night with 3 things that have gone well that day
2. Deliberately pay attention to the good stuff. This practice is called ‘Taking in the Good’ & is all about remembering a time perhaps recently, when things went well. See if you can notice as much detail as possible about what happened & how you felt. Bring this memory front & centre into the present moment, right here right now & allow yourself to savour, to enjoy it!
3. Remember the bad stuff but don’t be defined by it. Remind yourself that you’ve overcome challenges and have learnt from them. Watch your words! Words can feed our negative brains or they can support our gratitude!
So, go 24 hours without complaining! And instead say thank you & be grateful for what happens
Final take
if it’s difficult, we’ll learn from it, if it’s great, we’ll enjoy it!
“gratitude is a two-step process: 1) “recognizing that one has obtained a positive outcome” and 2) “recognizing that there is an external source for this positive outcome.” ”
The not-so-small small print
There is none! Simply return to this part of the website daily to get the next part of this program. No payment or subscription required. This is a resource we are sharing with all of you through the website and aiming to help our youngsters, in the various stages of their lives. This program contains information and practices that are aimed for two different age groups and we intend to mostly post the primary level information in the morning and the secondary level in the afternoon. Please leave us a comment and let us know how you are getting on or get in touch if you require additional support. If you want to be notified of new content, courses and free resources subscribe to our mailing list.
Z is for Zzzzzz’s. Summer Resilience Program Final Entry (Secondary) with thanks to Karen Bluth, to the Sleep Foundation & the Greater Good Science Centre at UCLA Berkeley Youth for their ‘zzzzz’ advice & to Education Scotland for their inspiration for this programme x