Student Well Being Workbook: Learning To Thrive and Flourish
Student Well Being Workbook: Learning To Thrive and Flourish
Student Well Being Workbook: Learning To Thrive and Flourish
Well Being
Learning to Thrive and Flourish
Author: Robert Malowany Illustrator: Said Jiddawy
Table of
Contents
3
Introduction
4
Identifying Arousal Stage &
Self-regulation Strategies
7
Goal Oriented Success
9
Growth vs. Fixed Mindset
13
Resilience
15
Challenging Negative Self-talk
& Negative Bias
17
References
Introduction
Most would agree, that health is im-
portant. When you have good physical Well-being or being able to thrive or
health, there is more that you can do. flourish as a student is a skill. Just like
This is the same for mental health. But learning to play a musical instrument, it
just like with physical health, a lack of takes practice and a bit of hard work.
illness does not mean good health: It’s something you can train for and get
• A lack of pain or disease does not better at over time.
necessarily equate to being physically
healthy;
• A lack of mental illness does not
mean one is mentally healthy;
• A lack of maladaptive behavior
does not mean one possesses resilience.
1 Shanker, 2012 4 of 17
Identifying Arousal Stage & Self-Regulation Strategies
and focused. This state is optimal for and difficulties with sleeping.
learning and often allows us to focus at
our best. We are often most productive Self-regulation refers to the manner
and learn most efficiently in this state. in which an individual deals with stress,
in all its many forms, and then recovers
When arousal levels are too high our from the energy expended.2 Ultimately
brain reacts by shutting down various the goal of self-regulation is to recognize
systems within our body and brain in or- and reduce problematic levels of stress in
der to conserve energy to deal with the order to achieve levels of calmness that
stress levels. In essence, our brain goes allows a person to function at a more op-
into “survival mode” and learning be- timal level. Self-regulation is not about
comes much more difficult. Additionally, self-control, being strong or weak in situ-
overall general performance typically ations. Rather, it is about addressing the
decreases. Symptoms of this can often over-stretched nervous system which is
include increased sweating, headaches, facilitated by chronic or too much stress.
muscle tension, inability to concentrate
Reflection
a. Recall a time in your life when maybe your stress levels were higher than usual.
How did that impact you?
c. Review “In the Moment Ways to Lighten the Stress Load” at https://self-reg.ca/
wp-content/uploads/2017/08/1_2_Example-In-the-Moment-Ways-to-Lighten-the-
Stress-Load-V2.pdf.
Learning to Thrive and Flourish
Then identify ways that you can plan to help lighten your stress load as you
continue as a student in your program (feel free to use this worksheet: https://self-
reg.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/s_3_6_In-the-Moment-Ways-to-Lighten-the-
Stress-Load-DIY-V2.pdf).
Student Well Being:
2 Shanker, 2016 5 of 17
Identifying Arousal Stage & Self-Regulation Strategies: Reflection
Then identify what you can be doing to restore your energy levels (feel free to use
this worksheet: https://self-reg.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/s_3_7_Ways-to-
Restore-Energy-DIY-V2.pdf).
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Goal Oriented Success
Research shows us that a clear con- be done. Breaking down our goals into
tributor to happiness and success is sub-goals and prioritizing what needs to
working toward your goals.1 When we be done helps us to be organized espe-
strive for something that is personally sig- cially when we are overwhelmed with
nificant to us and see the steps that will other things in life.
take us there we often benefit from;
• Greater feelings of purpose and In addition, we need to have the en-
control, ergy to work on our goals. If our goals
• Increased self-esteem and confi- are a priority in our lives, then so should
dence and decreased levels of worry be taking care of ourselves so that we
and anxiety, can have the energy to carry out our
• Better prioritizing skills, goals. When goals are unrealistic or
• Increased ability to cope with chal- if we do not have the personal energy
lenges along the way (resilience), and to focus on what needs to be done to
• Opportunities to engage with oth- achieve our goals, this contributes to
ers. disappointment, decreases in confidence
and increases negative self-talk.
Passion and perseverance (“grit”)
for what we are doing helps us to stay Read: https://hbr.org/2007/10/manage-
your-energy-not-your-time
focused. However, the more our goals
are clear and organized, the easier it Wa t c h : h t t p s : / / w w w. y o u t u b e . c o m /
is to persevere through what needs to watch?v=gsinZ_xzzDo (2:01)
Learning to Thrive and Flourish
Student Well Being:
1 Lyubomirsky, 2008 7 of 17
Goal Oriented Success
Reflection
a. Identify your general goals for being in this program.
b. Break down these goals into clear steps. Include when, where and how you
will work on these steps. If the step is unclear, then it might need to be broken
down further. For example, if one goal is to ensure you complete all readings
before class, identify how many hours you might need to complete this each week
and when in the week this will get done.
c. Imagine what it would be like if you achieved your goal(s). What would that
look like? How would this impact other parts of your life?
d. Self-care will ensure you have the energy to focus on the tasks related to your
goals. List things that you can be doing on a regular basis which would contribute
to your self-care.
e. Letting your friends and family members know about your goals and informing
them of how you may need their support can be beneficial. Who can you share
these goals with?
Learning to Thrive and Flourish
f. Use the “Simple Goal Setting Worksheet” on the next page regularly to clarify
your goals and plan them out. Use a new worksheet for each goal.
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Goal Oriented Success: Reflection
My goal is:
1.
2.
3.
1.
2.
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Growth vs. Fixed Mindset
According to Dweck 1, mindset is better rather than using them as a way
the perception you have about your- to judge their performance. To facilitate
self. You might believe you are intelli- growth mindset, one needs to change
gent, attractive, creative, a good team how they look at effort and difficulty.
member, good with relationships, etc.,
or you might believe that you are not
these things.
1 Dweck, 2006 10 of 17
Growth vs. Fixed Mindset
Reflection
Watch: https://www.ted.com/talks/carol_dweck_the_power_of_believing_that_you_can_improve
(10:21)
b. What adversities are you experiencing in school or in your personal life that
can be challenged by adopting a growth mindset. That is, what can you learn
from these situations to help you move forward as opposed to assuming you can-
not do anything about the situation?
c. Write out a statement defining something you believe you cannot do (i.e.: “I am
not good at writing assignments.”).
Now add the word “yet” to the end of the sentence. How does this change your
understanding of the statement?
How might you use “the power of yet” in your work as an Early Childhood profes-
sional?
Learning to Thrive and Flourish
d. Read “20 Guidelines for Developing a Growth Mindset” (to be provided and
put on BB). Choose one of the guidelines and reflect on how you might challenge
yourself to utilize this wisdom.
Student Well Being:
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Growth vs. Fixed Mindset: Reflection
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Resilience
Resilient people generally are in back” to assess what is really going on.
touch with their emotions and have a Compassion and empathy to others and
healthy way of relating to themselves. to oneself often help to avoid judgement
While we cannot change our immedi- and facilitate understanding of the situ-
ate gut-level feelings to situations which ation, and that we are all human. This
our mind and body produce, we can also contributes to our ability to consid-
change how we respond to these feel- er the situation more clearly, and then
ings. When faced with adversity or come up with a constructive solution or
challenges it is helpful to “take a step response to the adversity or challenge.
Reflection
a. Think about a time when you performed well in spite of challenges or difficul-
ties. What got you through the challenges or difficulties?
How can you apply these things to the challenges related to being a student?
b. Why do you think that there are some days when you can get through challeng-
es and other days these same challenges seem overwhelming? What’s the differ-
ence?
What strategies can you apply to have more of the days when you are being
resilient?
Learning to Thrive and Flourish
Student Well Being:
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Resilience: Reflection
Research shows that the topics listed on this picture/wordle are connected to
Resilience. Pick one and identify why you think it helps a person to be resilient.
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Challenging Negative Self-Talk &
Negative Bias
Negative self-talk is often an auto- challenges our basic way of thinking and
matic response of the mind based on can offset our experiences of stress and
beliefs people hold about themselves. It increase happiness.1
is this “Inner-Critic” that judges and mon-
itors weaknesses and reinforces them. It Wa t c h : h t t p s : / / w w w. y o u t u b e . c o m /
watch?v=iHfsIzHQ5ac (5:02)
is normal for most people to give more
Wa t c h : h t t p s : / / w w w. y o u t u b e . c o m /
attention to negative thoughts, events or watch?v=2hHNq45rEnU (4:44)
perceptions (negative bias). Often this
comes from experiences of when we
judge ourselves in a negative manner
repeatedly and this becomes our basic
way of thinking (which contributes to
pessimism). Although negative self-talk
is not always a bad thing as sometimes it
helps to us stay safe in specific situations,
chronic negative self-talk can lead to an
unending cycle of negative thoughts, de-
pression and burnout.
Reflection
a. Think about a time when you engaged in negative self-talk. Identify how it
impacted how you felt and your thoughts.
Would you ever say these things to a colleague or friend? Why/Why not?
Record your thoughts on how being more optimistic might have changed the situa-
tion.
b. Give yourself a break from negative self-talk and take some time for “positive
blame.” Identify something that has gone well in your past.
Identify the things for which you were responsible that contributed to this success.
How were you able to do these things? How did you come up with the ideas that
led to success?
What can you do to make this spill over into other parts of your life?
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References
Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: the new psychology of success. New York: Random House.
Fredrickson, B. L., Cohn, M. A., Coffey, K. A., Pek, J., & Finkel, S. M. (2008). Open hearts build
lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal re-
sources. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95, 1045–1062. DOI: 10.1037/a0013262
Fredrickson, B. (2009). Positivity: Groundbreaking Research Reveals How to Embrace the Hidden
Strength of Positive Emotions, Overcome Negativity, and Thrive. New York: Crown.
Keyes CLM. The mental health continuum: From languishing to flourishing in life. Journal of Health
and Social Behavior. 2002;43:207–222.
Keyes CLM. Promoting and protecting mental health as flourishing: A complementary strategy for
improving national mental health. American Psychologist. 2007;62:95–108.
Learning to Thrive and Flourish
Lyubomirsky, S. (2008). The how of happiness: A scientific approach to getting the life you want.
New York: Penguin Press
Shanker, Stuart (2012). Calm, Alert, and Learning: Classroom Strategies for Self-Regulation. Toronto,
Ontario: Pearson Canada.
Shanker, Stuart (2016). Self-Reg: How to Help Your Child (And You) Break the Stress Cycle and
Successfully Engage with Life. Canada: Viking.
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