The topic of this week's student support group was on how thoughts and perceptions can influence our outlook on life. We considered how insecure thoughts can interfere with our ability to make healthy choices, while positive, self-affirming thoughts can develop the ability to deal with disappointments and traumas in a healthy, common sense manner.
Each group member was asked to write a statement that would help them through a present challenge in their lives. Here are some of those statements. Some have been authored by group members, others are anonymous quotes members have used to maintain a state of health and well-being.
* There are people who love and respect me for who I am, not who they want me to be.
* I may not be able to heal others but I can always heal myself.
* No smile is more beautiful than the one that struggles through the tears.
* Giving up doesn't always mean you're weak. It sometimes means you're strong enough to let go.
* I am powerful to create my own life.
Do you have a poem, a verse, a song that helps you shift your thinking when you are facing a life challenge?
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Student support groups are effective because the activities are designed for self reflection, healthy communication, and the development of problem solving skills. Today's group activity is a good example. It consists of three questions.
1. Think of a time in your life when someone tried to control your thoughts, feelings, or actions. Use one word to describe how you felt.
2. Think of a time when you tried to control someone else's thoughts, feelings, or actions. What happened?
3. Have you ever taken control of some aspect of your own life? For example, decided to stop a harmful behavior, chose to stop worrying?
After answering these three questions, we discovered some simple but powerful truths.
The only person you can ever control is yourself.
You have the power to choose your thoughts, feelings and behaviors.
We can care about those we love, but we can't control them.
These truths have implications for educators. We may want to control the behaviors, thoughts, and feelings of our students. But if we resort to control, we actually lose our ability to be a positive influence in our students' lives.
So how do we influence others?
Build trust. Be an inspiration. Encourage thinking. Model hard work and perseverance.
How do you influence others?
1. Think of a time in your life when someone tried to control your thoughts, feelings, or actions. Use one word to describe how you felt.
2. Think of a time when you tried to control someone else's thoughts, feelings, or actions. What happened?
3. Have you ever taken control of some aspect of your own life? For example, decided to stop a harmful behavior, chose to stop worrying?
After answering these three questions, we discovered some simple but powerful truths.
The only person you can ever control is yourself.
You have the power to choose your thoughts, feelings and behaviors.
We can care about those we love, but we can't control them.
These truths have implications for educators. We may want to control the behaviors, thoughts, and feelings of our students. But if we resort to control, we actually lose our ability to be a positive influence in our students' lives.
So how do we influence others?
Build trust. Be an inspiration. Encourage thinking. Model hard work and perseverance.
How do you influence others?
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