Positive Psychology & Stress Resilience
I have one intention in mind when I walk into a classroom:
In this short video I share the thoughts that go through my mind as I walk into a classroom and meet my psychology students for the first time. I also discuss the specifics of how I connect with and encourage students each new day.
Visit my YouTube Channel for more fun and uplifting videos.
A statement I tend to agree with.
Understanding ourselves better, including our brains, is always the first step in tapping into what’s possible, within, and all around us.
Did you know that fear and excitement share the same set of neurotransmitters, including dopamine, glutamate, and acetylcholine.
And the best way to shift from performance anxiety to excitement is to say one sentence on repeat.
Watch my latest YouTube video “Shifting from anxiety to excitement” to discover the simple phrase for shifting out of nervousness during high anxiety situations.
And learn why telling someone to “calm down” when they’re anxious rarely works.
Related Post: Are you left brain or right brained?
Recently, I was invited to do a Leadership Training and Development Workshop at a local kickboxing club.
This is where I go to cool my jets and find my joy. So, I was more than excited to take the leadership team’s mental fitness up to the next level!
During the mental fitness training session, I discussed how the 3 C’s of Thriving Under Pressure from my TEDx Talk could enhance the performance and well-being of the Kersey Kickbox Team.
Using personality assessment, team mapping, and real-life examples, I harnessed the team’s many strengths to benefit both the club’s membership and the trainers themselves.
But don’t take my word for it… Watch the video and see for yourself!
Come join my YouTube Channel by clicking here.
If you’re anything like me, my first instinct is to fix the problem.
To try and save loved ones from adversity.
Instead of rushing in, we take a step back.
Ask them what they need.
In doing so, we validate the person and their experience.
Helping them stay true to who they are.
What comes – also goes.
Welcome it all.
The idea we have for our life rarely, if ever, matches up with the life we end up with.
Yet something we seldom realize in the thick of difficulty.
Success is not a straight line.
This is the exact time when we need others to hold the light for us. To be an encourager. To show us the way.
Dreams ↔ Failure ↔ Destiny
1. Encourage people by sharing your own stories of difficulty and overcoming.
This helps others understand that no one begins their success journey at the top of the mountain. And that each failure is an opportunity to rise up. Again and again.
2. Hold a safe space for loved ones to ‘not be ok’ when overwhelmed.
Rushing anyone through difficult emotions will prolong feelings of fear, threat, and danger.
Instead, we can flip the switch by leaning into “the overwhelm” and asking: “What are you trying to teach me?”
3. The ultimate encouragement strategy is to believe in someone, especially when they don’t.
This helps shift their mindset from not enough to overflowing. Creating a new heightened vision for life’s unexpected bumps and detours.
In my TEDx Talk I discuss how to THRIVE under pressure using 3 stress resilience tools: challenge, control and commitment.
The purpose of this talk and my blog is to help students develop positive coping techniques in fun, interactive, and uplifting ways.
By first focusing on what is right, before examining what is wrong, students can be transformed by their challenges and adversities.
If you like, please share this TEDx video with friends and family on social media. The wider its reach, the more people I can help thrive under pressure!
What motivates you. What excites you. What angers you. What lifts you up!
If you can’t comprehend your own emotions and motivations, how will you ever understand the behaviour of others?
One way of doing this is to schedule time at the end or beginning of your day for quiet contemplation and self-reflection.
Alternatively, enjoy a 2 minute “Self Check In” at the top of each hour.
What you will find is the more consistently you pay attention to your own drives and desires, the better you will understand the emotions and motivations of others.
In the video below, I share the simple exercise I use to enhance self-awareness in myself and others. Can you guess the EQ questions I ask students?
To hear my “one word” — check out the 1 min video above. 📌🎥
With time, I have come to realize that failure has always been my greatest teacher. Each failure pointed me in a better direction. Helped me to develop strength and authenticity. Ultimately unveiling who I was and what I was destined to become.
Learning from failure is the ultimate goal. That said, not everyone responds to failure in the same way, at the same time.
Our reaction to failure is determined by several factors, including:
The key to supporting someone experiencing failure is not to rush them through the healing process. Yes, in the long run, the gifts of failure outweigh the costs. But we must be sensitive to how dark it feels in the eye of the storm. Only then can move towards the light.
Under the right conditions, failure strengthens us, adds to our self-knowledge, and enhances the quality of our lives.
But we have to look UP to see it.
OPEN our minds to BELIEVE it.
The next time you see a 30 km, 40 km, or even 100 km sign — take it as an opportunity to visualize where (and who) you want to be at that age.
Additionally, use each “sign” as instant reflection time for contemplating: 1) what you need to do more of and 2) what you need to let go of to get there.
Accordingly, I ask students a lot of questions.
So it’s only fair that students get to ask me questions too!
