Resilience – Page 9 – Happy Schools

5 Simple Ways to Stress Less

September 3, 2020

Instead of making a list of resolutions that you know you won’t achieve, set yourself the goal of being happy, calm and in control at work every day. Here are five provenpsychological effects that can help, or harm, your stress, productivity and happiness. 1. Confirmation Bias – What You See is What You Get We notice and remember things that confirm our beliefs and discard those that don’t. Keep this in mind when you argue with a difficult colleague, negotiate with a challenging parent, or complain about an unfair school leader. If you already see them as ‘difficult’, ‘challenging’or ‘unfair’, you’ll continue to do so, even in the face of contrary evidence. Resolve to put these biases aside and approach…

Juggling Work-Life Balance Whilst Teaching Remotely

August 20, 2020

Stevef

Resilience

Achieving work-life balance is difficult at the best of times. However, the unprecedented changes and uncertainty brought about by COVID-19 have made it even more challenging. The rapidly changing environment has been both unsettling and demanding. Staff have had to quickly adopt new approaches, learn new technologies, retrofit lessons to suit the new approach and support the mental well-being of students, ALL in a time of personal stress and anxiety. The uncertainty brought about by COVID-19 outbreaks may result in a return to remote learning for periods of time. The following strategies are intended to help you in these uncertain times. Keep Perspective You are not alone. Angela Duckworth, Professor of Psychology and author of “Grit” writes that people’s stress…

Avoiding DHS (Deferred Happiness Syndrome)

June 25, 2020

Stevef

Engagement

Have you ever said…“I’ll be happy when…….. “…this week is over!” “…I’m on holidays!” “….the kids leave home!” “….the house is paid off!” OR “….I’m on long service leave!” These are examples of deferred happiness syndrome (DHS). Deferring or putting off our own happiness until some later time. We have all heard that we should make the most of every day but most of us just get by from one day to another. We all know that we should make the most of every day and most of us have good intentions. However having good intentions isn’t enough. It is our actions that ultimately count. A great strategy for avoiding DHS is to set a deadline (e.g.…

7 Stages of Overcoming A Setback

June 10, 2020

Stevef

Resilience

In Emotional Intelligence at Work, US psychologist Hendrie Weisinger identifies seven stages most people experience after a set back. Similar to Elizabeth KublerRoss’s stages of grief, he says, ‘You need to experience and manage each stage, successfully moving through each one. Failure to do so keeps you stuck in a particular stage and further from your comeback.’ The sequence of stages is not set in stone. You might experience several at once; you might move between stages; you might return to one already passed. But, Weisinger says, it is essential that you work thoroughly through each stage… 1. Disbelief – overcome it. The first reaction has been likened to a lull before an emotional storm. “This isn’t really happening to…

Learning to Live With the Quirks of Others by Ken Warren

June 4, 2020

Stevef

Resilience

Do you know someone who is quirky – who has peculiar aspects of their appearance thinking or behaviour that are unique to them? To be honest, I think we all have our own personal quirks – things that make us who we are, that give us personality, and make us special. My wife, Christy, tells me I am very special. If we are sufficiently odd or different, we start entering the world of the eccentric. I believe eccentrics add much colour to the world and are very much underappreciated. To be honest, I admire eccentrics for the diversity they bring to the world and for being truly themselves. When I told Christy that I aspire to become an eccentric, she…

All You Need Is Love by Keith Abraham

May 21, 2020

Stevef

Resilience

Such a great song from the Beatles. In actual fact, we really need love now! As I have been chatting with audiences all around the world sharing my concept of choosing your mindset—or what I call an amplified attitude—I have been sharing six key mindsets each of us needs to have in this environment of uncertainty. Now, it’s not about having all six, it’s about picking one and focusing on it with such intensity that every cell in your body believes it. This mindset coupled with a high level of intensity changes how you turn up every day. It influences how you walk, talk, think, what you say to others and most importantly what you say to yourself. Here are…

A Letter to Parents

May 14, 2020

Stevef

Resilience

The following is an excerpt from Gabbie Stroud’s excellent book “A Letter to Parents” Dear Parents & Caregivers, The entire process of parenting is a kind of letting go, isn’t it? Right from that moment when a newborn leaves its mother’s body our children are always growing away from us, growing up, becoming independent. And that’s exactly the way it should be. We have to be careful, though, that we give our children space to grow. If we do too much for them, they won’t grow up—in fact, they might grow down. There’s a funny sort of climate surrounding kids these days: we’re so worried about internet predators, stranger danger, drugs and terrorists that we want to protect our children…

Find your calm to prevent reactivity

April 30, 2020

Stevef

Resilience

I bet you can remember from your childhood that one teacher who stayed back after the bell to talk you through a tricky question, or the sports coach who reminded you that you have what it takes or the boss who let you extend a deadline to help take the pressure off. These people were our champions, our greatest supports who went that little bit extra to make sure we succeeded or had the opportunity to learn when things were hard. They were there to help us test and expand our comfort zone and to this day we remember fondly, even if they pushed us when the situation felt too hard. I can remember Mrs Wills. My third-grade teacher, who…

Be More Positive – the 30 Day Challenge

April 23, 2020

Stevef

Resilience

In times of uncertainty it is helpful to remain positive and optimistic. Day 1 Choose a positive mantra and repeat it Day 2 Think about what you can be learning from your current challenges Day 3 For worst case scenarios, imagine the best thing that could happen Day 4 Share a great memory with a friend you haven’t seen this month Day 5 Print an inspiring quote and attach it to your bathroom mirror Day 6 Call someone to say thank you Day 7 Give a genuine compliment to three people Day 8 Cut negativity from your life by unfollowing, deleting and removing negative influences Day 9 Learn something new Day 10 Take some time outdoors Day 11 Meditate…

What To Do When Things Go Wrong

April 16, 2020

Stevef

Resilience

Despite the best planning in the world, things still go wrong. Here’s how to handle any breakdown and maintain your sanity… DECLARE Anytime anything does not turn out as you expect – or looks like it won’t – you can declare a breakdown. You might say (even to yourself): “That’s a breakdown – that’s not what I wanted or expected.” This allows you to take a moment, catch your breath and adjust course. This distances you from the challenge and allows you to stay calm in the face of any crisis. NAME To make it easier to resolve, identify what is not working. Declare a breakdown in something specific. For instance, I will be late for my meeting…