We thank our Urbandale High School students this month for sharing their Encouraging Words.
#webelieveinU
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When we think about health and well-being, much of our body of knowledge is based on research into disease, disorders and disabling conditions. But we can’t presume that the absence of illness results in wellness. If our body of knowledge for wellness is stemming from illness, we may want to broaden our research by more closely examining wellness, happiness, and joy in order to learn tips and strategies for cultivating greater levels of positive emotion in our lives which has been shown to lead to greater success on all levels.
Shawn Achor is a Harvard grad, lecturer, researcher, global consultant to Google, Facebook, & hundreds of companies worldwide,
Ted Talk presenter (with over 20 million views) and author of The Happiness Advantage. In The Happiness Advantage, he shares cutting-edge psychology and neuroscience research that unequivocally demonstrates that people perform at their best when they are in a positive (happy) state—not negative, neutral or stressed. In addition, happiness, like intelligence, is not a fixed ability, meaning that, “studies have found numerous ways we can rewire our brains to be more positive, creative, resilient, and productive—to see more possibility wherever we look.” Research shows that our thoughts, daily activities, and behaviors can literally shape our brain—our brain changes in response to our thoughts and circumstances. Achor shares that our external environment can only predict 10% of our long-term happiness, which means, “90% of our long-term happiness is predicted not by the external world, but by the way our brain processes the world. And if we change our formula for happiness and success, we can change the way that we can then affect reality.”
Cultivating happiness is a practice—it’s not something you either have or don’t have—it’s something you work on. Achor’s research has shown these simple daily practices and tactics have the ability over time to raise a person’s happiness baseline. Of course, some activities will resonate with you more than others, but taking an active role in increasing your happiness level is the aim of these tactics…you could consider the following:
- Gratitude—write down 3 new things every day for 21 days that you are grateful for (you may find you want to keep this going after 21 days!).
- Journaling—about 1 positive thing you’ve experienced over the past 24 hrs allows your brain to relive it.
- Meditate—take 5 minutes a day to watch your breath go in and out—focusing only on your breath. Find something to look forward to—anticipating a future fun event or activity lights up the pleasure centers in your brain as much as the actual event itself.
- Commit conscious acts of kindness—even the smallest act of kindness like holding a door open for someone, shoveling a neighbor’s sidewalk, or writing a 2-minute email thanking someone each morning helps to decrease our levels of stress and contributes to our positive mental health.
- Infuse positivity into your surroundings—post meaningful quotations in your office or locker, compliment someone who may not often receive enough kindness, turn off negative media, and make time to get a breath of fresh air in your day.
- Exercise—we know about the powerful endorphin boosts that exercise releases but it also can improve motivation, feelings of mastery, reduces stress and anxiety, and helps us get into the ‘flow’ (where things just seem to click).
- Spend Money (but not on stuff)—spending money on doing activities with others was found to produce longer-lasting feelings of happiness than spending on material items for ourselves.
- Exercise a Signature Strength—studies have shown that the more you use your signature strengths (i.e. exercising a skill or strength of character attribute) the happier you become. Incorporate your strengths into your daily activities to help increase your levels of happiness.
Again, these tactics may or may not resonate with you and there may be others that work better for you, but the aim is to shift our mindset from thinking that happiness is fixed when in reality our level of happiness is dynamic and we have the ability to increase our own happiness levels. When we’re operating in a positive state of mind, not neutral, negative, or stressed, we are more effective, creative, solution-oriented, and successful.
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Welcome to the October 2019 "U In 2" with Superintendent Steve Bass sharing 2 topics in 2 minutes about important updates taking place in our district. #theUin2
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- Flyer Hub (flyers for community activities and events)
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Urbandale Community School District has been named a 2018 All Star Award winner by Constant Contact. The annual award recognizes the most successful 10 percent of Constant Contact’s customer base, which includes over 600,000 customers worldwide, based on their significant achievements using email marketing to engage their customer base and drive results for their organization during the prior year.
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Educational Equity Statement
It is the policy of the Urbandale Community School District not to discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, sex, religion, marital status (for program), ethnic background, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, age (for employment), or socio-economic background (for program) in its educational programs and its employment practices. There is a grievance procedure for processing complaints of discrimination. If you have questions or a grievance related to this policy, please contact the District office at 11152 Aurora Avenue, Urbandale, IA or call 515-457-5000. The District’s Equity Coordinators are Dr. Keri Schlueter, Coordinator of Student Services (schlueterk@urbandaleschools.com), Loren DeKruyf, Director of Human Resources and Operations (dekruyfl@urbandaleschools.com), and Dr. Crista Carlile, Director of Teaching and Learning (carlilec@urbandaleschools.com).
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