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Booklet

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IntroductionWelcome to the BITE BACK Mental Fitness Challenge booklet.

NOTE: This booklet is only needed if you’re having trouble accessing the online version of the BITE BACK Mental Fitness Challenge. This booklet is supported by the BITE BACK Mental Fitness Challenge Workbook available from the Youth Educator page of Bite Back at www.biteback.org.au/youtheducators/home

After reading each section of this booklet, complete the activities for that week in your Mental Fitness Challenge workbook. This will help you increase your understanding of how you can build your mental fitness.

We hope you’re feeling ready to learn how to build your mental fitness.

So, let’s get started!

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What is gratitude?

Gratitude is the positive feeling you get when you stop to notice and appreciate things in your life.

A feeling? Well, yes. Gratitude is not just saying the words ‘thank you’; it’s actually all about the positive feeling that comes with being grateful.

So, there’s a deeper reason why you grew up being told to say “thank you” for almost everything. And it’s not just to have manners - it’s all about habits. If you get into the habit of noticing the things to be grateful for in your life, you’ll begin to see more of the brighter side.

Whether it’s something small like a nice sunny day, or something bigger like going on a holiday – the more you appreciate the good, the more you will start to see and feel the good.

What are the benefits ?

Apart from the obvious positive and wonderful feelings you’ll get from experiencing gratitude, experts have found that it can also improve your overall happiness. So, those feelings aren’t just for the warm and fuzzy effect – they’re much more powerful than you might think.

When you tap into those positive feelings of gratitude, you can use them to help you become closer with friends and family, lower any negative emotions such as anxiety, and fight off the black dog (depression). You will also find it easier to bounce back from difficult moments, and have space to enjoy the important stuff in life.

WEEK ONE - GRATITUDEThankfulness . Gratitude. No doubt you’ve heard it before. Probably because it’s kind of a big deal in the psychology world.

How to build gratitude

It’s great to know about all the benefits of practising gratitude, but unless you find a way to build it into your everyday life, it will probably just find its way onto your list of ‘things-you-know-you-should-do-but-really–never-get-around-to-doing’.

The trick to becoming more grateful is simply to pay attention to the big AND little things in your life you can be grateful for. It could be a funny moment, hearing your favourite song, a cool breeze or a delicious snack! You might even realise there are more things in your life to be grateful for than you think

Gratitude journal One of the easiest ways you can start making a habit of being grateful is by simply writing down a few things a week that you are grateful for.

If you’re stuck on ideas on what you could put in your gratitude journal, here’s a tip: don’t overthink it! Remember – you can even be grateful for the smaller things like:

- The sun on your face- Warm water on your back in the shower- The comfort and joy from being around your pet

Create a Thank You blog Share the gratitude love! Make your own space online where you can share what you are grateful for.

Take some grateful photos If you’re not into writing, maybe you could just take a photo each day of something you appreciate. Hailey Bartholomew from the 365 Project , took a photo a day for a whole year and began to notice many things in her everyday life that she otherwise would have missed.

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Tell someone! It’s a crazy thought, we know. But if you’re grateful for someone, tell them! There is nothing better than being appreciated or even just hearing positive thoughts from someone you know. And when you are generous with what you say to others, it can actually make you feel happier too. And don’t worry, if you can’t actually reach the person you want to –then you can always write a letter and not send it!

Write a letter of gratitude to yourself Sometimes it’s easier to be grateful for the things around us, but don’t forget to be grateful for yourself. What are you proud of? Recognising your strengths and appreciating the small things can really help with your overall happiness.

Be creative Draw a picture, paint, make a gratitude vision board, make a box of things that you are grateful for or write a poem - the possibilities are endless. But if you’re the type of person who finds creating things relaxing, then this might be for you!

What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness is about being in the moment, in the now. Being fully present. It’s a way of paying attention and being aware of what’s taking place right now, as opposed to getting caught up thinking about the past or the future.

Let’s take a deeper look:

Mindfulness is intentional.

This means that you’re TRYING – and hopefully succeeding – to be mindful. To focus on what’s happening to you in that very moment. Being aware of the internal (your thoughts) and the external (sights, smells and sounds). Mindfulness is about being open-minded

Don’t question things, don’t judge those around you, don’t analyse your thoughts. Just be.

Mindfulness – what have you done for me lately?

There are untold benefits to mindfulness. And we’re about to tell you all about it.

Practising mindfulness gives you a clearer head and trains your brain to slow down. And it’s a great way to deal with school stress.

Not only are you calmer and more able to process what’s happening around you, but you also get to fully immerse yourself in all the things that happen in day-to-day life.

WEEK TWO - MINDFULNESS

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Mindfulness actually shifts the way your brain and nervous system functions- in a good way! When you practise mindfulness you go into a regenerative phase that relaxes your body and uses less energy so that you can heal, rest and restore yourself. This gives your body and mind a chance to cope with whatever is going on around you.

How to build mindfulness through practise

When you’re starting out, mindfulness can be hard. But the key to success is practise, practise, practise (do I sound like an old piano teacher?). Because the more you do it the better you get.

Here are 2 great ways to build a life that includes mindfulness:

• Just breathe - take a couple of minutes and focus on your breathing. Likemeditation. If you get distracted or your mind wanders off, that’s ok, it happensto all of us. Just bring your attention back to your breath.

• Savour the moment – stop. Look around. Take time to savour the momentand appreciate everything around you. It might be the great meal you’re havingor the beautiful scenery. It might even be a pair of limited edition Nikes. That’sfine too.

What are connections?

In psychology, connections are considered one of the most important things in life.

We’re talking about relationships or friendships with anyone around you. Family, friends, partners, teachers, even your coach.

3’s good companyWe’re going to say it upfront: you don’t need hundreds of friends to feel happy. It’s about quality, not quantity.Psychologists suggest that if you have at least 3 friends or family members that are REAL connections, then you have a solid foundation to build happiness.How Connections can help youThere are so many benefits to having good connections that we don’t know where to begin. But begin we must, as you’ve ended up here wanting to read some good stuff!

So here we go. Connections with others will:

Make you feel goodPretty simple right? Sharing what’s going on in your life with others makes all the difference and nothing feels better than getting along really well with friends and family.

Reveal the secret of how to be happyEver wondered how to be happy? Get connected! That’s right, research has shown time and time again that those with great friendships and relationships lead happy lives. Oh, and guess what? The happier you are, the more likely you are to attract more quality connections!

WEEK THREE - CONNECTIONSAs human beings we need connection. By connection, we mean relationships with others. Having solid and dependable relationships with others is vital to your overall wellbeing. Good connections with others can help you learn how to deal with school stress, help you lift low self-esteem and bring on a flood of positive thoughts.

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Provide solid supportYour connection with others can be the support you need in life to get over the hurdles that will undoubtedly come your way. And that support can come in many forms – from giving you a lift to school, to just listening and offering advice.

Increase your wellbeingConnecting with others is great for our mental health. Psychologists have found that they give us meaning and can help when it comes to depression and anxiety.

Show you the love!It is with our personal connections that we experience the greatest feeling of happiness, the emotion known as LOVE. All we need is love, right?

How you build connections

You probably know this already, but creating or keeping good relationships requires effort. Right?

Here are a few tips to building or maintaining great connections:Let them hear your positive thoughtsIf you’re feeling something positive about your friend or family member…tell them! Say thank you out loud. Do you love them? Shout it from the rooftops (unless after 11pm – you gotta be considerate, right?). Research shows this improves relationships tenfold. So, let them hear the good stuff…it works wonders.

It’s about time.We’ll explain. Relationships simply don’t work if you don’t make the time. So, connect often, create an activity outside of school to do together.

Play (and fight) nicely.Disagreements, or fights, are inevitable. They’ll happen now and then. But fight nicely. That means try and stay calm and listen to their side of things too. If you must agree to disagree that’s fine too. Just do so and then move on. Holding grudges can ruin connections, bring on anxiety and leave you feeling sad.

What are strengths?

Strengths are an important part of your personality and who you are in general. Now, don’t be mistaken. We’re not talking about talents. Text messaging at the speed of light isn’t a strength (not in this regard anyway). Strengths are what come naturally to us - they’re part of who we are.

What are the benefits of knowing and using your strengths?

Want to know how to be happy? How to build confidence? What to do when feeling sad? Identifying what your strengths are, and then using them, is a great way to help boost your happiness, increase self-confidence and succeed at whatever you choose to do.

When you focus on your strengths you’re more likely to be more motivated, capable, and up for life’s challenges. You’re also more likely to experience flow - that feeling of being at your best, being on a roll - because activities that give you flow are usually those in which you are using some of your top strengths.

The combination of all these things means that using your strengths helps boosts your wellbeing, happiness and success.

How to build your strengths

The first step is to identify your top strengths. The best way to build your strengths is to use them every day. Simple! Because when you’re using your strengths, you’re at your best – full of confidence and positivity.

So find your strengths from the list on the next pages, along with various ideas on how to use them (and some inspiration suggestions too!).

WEEK 4 - CHARACTER STRENGTHSPsychologists have found that every single one of us has certain strengths. In fact, they identified 24 strengths that we all have to varying degrees. We’ll be checking those out in the next section (How to build your strengths).

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Stre

ngth

Exp

lana

tion

Tips

to

build

Cre

ativ

ity/

na

lity

You

are

grea

t at

th

inki

ng o

f ne

w a

nd

crea

tive

way

s of

doi

ng

thin

gs o

r so

lvin

g pr

ob-

lem

s.

•C

reat

e a

draw

ing,

pai

ntin

g, p

hoto

grap

h or

sho

rt f

ilm; o

r ge

t in

volv

ed in

the

scho

ol p

erfo

rman

ce.

•M

ake

a ca

rd fo

r a

frie

nd.

• Th

ink

of n

ew, c

reat

ive

way

s to

sol

ve p

robl

ems.

Cur

iosi

tyYo

u ar

e in

tere

sted

in

and

curio

us a

bout

the

w

orld

and

love

new

ex-

perie

nces

. You

are

in-

tere

sted

in a

nd c

urio

us

abou

t th

e w

orld

and

lo

ve n

ew e

xper

ienc

es.

• Tr

y a

new

food

you

’ve

neve

r ha

d be

fore

.•

Are

any

of

your

frie

nds

from

a d

iffer

ent

cult

ure?

Ask

the

m a

bout

it.

•Re

ad a

boo

k or

mag

azin

es o

n a

new

top

ic t

hat

inte

rest

s yo

u•

Goo

gle

som

ethi

ng y

ou’v

e al

way

s w

ante

d to

kno

w a

bout

.•

Wat

ch a

mov

ie y

ou w

ould

n’t

norm

ally

see

.

Ope

n-m

inde

d-ne

ss/

C

ritic

al t

hink

ing

You

thin

k th

ings

th

roug

h an

d ex

amin

e is

sues

fro

m a

ll an

gles

be

fore

mak

ing

any

deci

sion

s.

• Th

ink

abou

t a

stro

ng o

pini

on t

hat

you

have

fro

m a

diff

eren

t po

int

ofvi

ew; w

hat

is t

he o

ppos

ing

argu

men

t?•

Talk

to

som

eone

who

fol

low

s a

diff

eren

t re

ligio

n or

cul

ture

, has

diff

eren

tta

ste,

or

diff

eren

t vi

ewpo

int

to y

ou. R

eally

list

en a

nd t

ry t

o un

ders

tand

whe

re t

hey’

re c

omin

g fr

om.

• Th

ink

abou

t th

e la

st t

hing

you

did

tha

t yo

u w

eren

’t c

ompl

etel

y ha

ppy

wit

h. B

rain

stor

m b

ette

r id

eas

for t

he f

utur

e.

Love

of

Lear

ning

You

love

lear

ning

ne

w t

hing

s an

d be

ing

know

n fo

r the

kno

wl-

edge

you

hav

e.

•Le

arn

and

use

a ne

w w

ord

ever

y da

y•

Read

a n

ew b

ook.

•Fo

llow

a g

loba

l eve

nt t

hrou

gh T

V, n

ewsp

aper

s or

the

Inte

rnet

•Re

sear

ch a

top

ic o

n go

ogle

sch

olar

.

Pers

pect

ive

and

Wis

dom

You

have

a m

atur

e w

ay o

f lo

okin

g at

the

w

orld

tha

t m

akes

se

nse,

so

you

can

give

ot

her

peop

le g

ood

advi

ce.

• Tr

y to

reso

lve

an a

rgum

ent

or d

isag

reem

ent

you

are

or h

ave

been

in.

• Th

ink

abou

t w

hat

mot

ivat

es y

ou t

o m

ake

the

deci

sion

s yo

u m

ake.

•G

ive

advi

ce (

if s

omeo

ne a

sks

for

it!).

Hon

esty

/ In

teg-

rity

You

are

hone

st. Y

ou

spea

k th

e tr

uth

and

live

your

life

in a

gen

u-in

e w

ay.

•C

atch

you

rsel

f te

lling

a li

e; e

ven

it’s

a s

mal

l one

. Try

to

stop

you

rsel

ffr

om t

ellin

g sm

all,

whi

te li

es t

o fr

iend

s an

d fa

mily

. Mak

e yo

ur li

st o

f lie

ssh

orte

r ev

ery

day.

• Tr

y no

t to

get

sw

ept

up in

pee

r pr

essu

re w

hen

mak

ing

deci

sion

s.•

Mea

n w

hat

you

say!

Try

to

act

in a

way

tha

t re

flec

ts w

hat

you

say.

Bra

very

You

are

stro

ng a

nd

cour

ageo

us e

noug

h to

de

al w

ith

chal

leng

es

and

take

on

diff

icul

t si

tuat

ions

.

•S

peak

up.

•D

o so

met

hing

tha

t pu

shes

you

out

side

of

your

com

fort

zon

e. If

you

’resc

ared

, giv

e it

a s

hot!

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on’t

be

afra

id t

o be

com

e fr

iend

s w

ith

som

eone

who

mig

ht b

e a

bit

diff

eren

t.

Pers

iste

nce

You

fini

sh w

hat

you

star

t. Y

ou w

ill w

ork

tow

ards

goa

ls d

espi

te

the

chal

leng

es t

hat

you

mig

ht fa

ce a

long

th

e w

ay.

•M

ake

a lis

t of

thi

ngs

to d

o an

d do

one

thi

ng o

n th

e lis

t ea

ch d

ay.

•C

ompl

ete

all y

our

hom

ewor

k w

itho

ut a

ny in

terr

upti

ons

– no

pho

ne c

alls

,no

em

ails

, no

Face

book

, no

chat

, no

snac

ks.

•Pl

ant

som

e pl

ants

or v

eget

able

s. T

end

them

so

that

the

y gr

ow.

•W

rite

dow

n so

me

of y

our

goal

s an

d pl

ans

and

put

them

up

arou

nd y

our

room

so

that

the

y ca

n in

spire

you

eac

h da

y.

Zest

You’

re e

nerg

etic

and

pa

ssio

nate

abo

ut li

fe.

You

thro

w y

ours

elf

into

eve

ryth

ing

you

do.

• Th

ink

of w

ays

to f

ind

an a

ssig

nmen

t ex

citi

ng a

nd e

ngag

ing.

• D

o rig

orou

s ph

ysic

al a

ctiv

ity

that

you

’ve

alw

ays

wan

ted

to d

o –

bike

rid

ing,

hik

ing,

run

ning

, sin

ging

, dan

cing

.•

Invi

te f

riend

s ov

er, w

atch

a c

omed

y an

d ha

ve a

goo

d la

ugh.

•C

eleb

rate

you

r ne

xt a

ccom

plis

hmen

t!

| 14

Kin

dnes

sYo

u ar

e ki

nd a

nd g

en-

erou

s an

d w

ill g

o ou

t of

you

r way

to

do n

ice

thin

gs f

or o

ther

s.

•D

o th

ree

rand

om a

cts

of k

indn

ess

each

wee

k; s

ecre

tly

do s

omet

hing

nic

efo

r a

fam

ily m

embe

r, a

frie

nd, o

r ev

en a

str

ange

r.•

Vis

it s

omeo

ne y

ou k

now

who

is in

hos

pita

l or

in a

nur

sing

hom

e. B

ring

them

som

ethi

ng t

hey’

ll en

joy

– fl

ower

s, m

usic

, foo

d or

boo

ks•

Sha

re•

Don

ate

your

tim

e as

a v

olun

teer

or

star

t a

proj

ect

of y

our

own

to d

ora

ndom

act

s of

kin

dnes

s.

Love

You

valu

e lo

ve a

nd

clos

e re

lati

onsh

ips.

Yo

u lo

ve o

ther

s an

d th

ey lo

ve y

ou.

•A

ccep

t a

com

plim

ent

wit

hout

squ

irmin

g. J

ust

say

“tha

nk y

ou”.

•W

rite

a no

te t

o so

meo

ne y

ou lo

ve a

nd le

ave

it fo

r the

m t

o fi

nd.

•D

o so

met

hing

wit

h yo

ur b

est

frie

nd t

hat

they

real

ly lo

ve d

oing

.•

Tell

your

fam

ily a

nd b

est

frie

nds

how

muc

h yo

u lo

ve t

hem

. Fin

d di

ffer

ent

way

s to

sho

w t

hem

.

Soc

ial

Inte

llige

nce

You

have

a g

ood

unde

rsta

ndin

g of

yo

urse

lf a

nd o

f ot

her

peop

le. Y

ou h

ave

good

in

sigh

t in

to y

our

own

mot

ives

and

moo

ds

and

can

judg

e th

e m

otiv

es a

nd m

oods

of

othe

rs.

•If

som

eone

new

join

s yo

ur s

choo

l or

club

, mak

e hi

m o

r he

r fee

l com

fort

-ab

le in

you

r gr

oup.

•W

hen

som

eone

ann

oys

you,

try

to

unde

rsta

nd w

hy h

e or

she

is d

oing

wha

t th

ey’re

doi

ng.

•N

otic

e w

hen

frie

nds

do s

omet

hing

tha

t is

diff

icul

t fo

r the

m a

nd c

ompl

i-m

ent

them

for

it.

Fairn

ess

You

trea

t ev

eryo

ne

equa

lly a

nd fa

irly.

•Li

sten

to

othe

r pe

ople

wit

hout

inte

rrup

ting

the

m•

Adm

it it

if y

ou’v

e m

ade

a m

ista

ke.

• Tr

y to

incl

ude

othe

r pe

ople

in g

roup

act

ivit

ies

or c

onve

rsat

ions

.•

Writ

e a

lett

er t

o th

e ed

itor

of

a ne

wsp

aper

abo

ut a

n im

port

ant

issu

e.•

Volu

ntee

r for

an

orga

niza

tion

tha

t ca

mpa

igns

for

hum

an r

ight

s.•

Stan

d up

for

som

eone

who

is b

eing

tre

ated

unf

airly

.

Lead

ersh

ipYo

u ha

ve v

isio

n an

d ar

e go

od a

t m

akin

g th

ings

hap

pen

by

orga

nisi

ng a

nd le

adin

g pe

ople

.

•O

rgan

ise

a ge

t to

geth

er w

ith

your

frie

nds,

or

a su

rpris

e pa

rty

for

afr

iend

.•

Go

out

of y

our w

ay t

o m

ake

a ne

w s

tude

nt fe

el w

elco

me

at s

choo

l.•

Lead

an

acti

vity

, ass

ignm

ent

or p

roje

ct a

t sc

hool

, see

king

hel

p fr

omot

her

grou

p m

embe

rs. E

ncou

rage

peo

ple

who

don

’t u

sual

ly s

peak

up

tosh

are

thei

r op

inio

ns.

Team

wor

kYo

u w

ork

wel

l in

a gr

oup

or in

a t

eam

. Yo

u w

ork

hard

for t

he

good

of

the

grou

p.

•Pl

ay a

tea

m s

port

.•

Wor

k on

ass

ignm

ents

or

hom

ewor

k w

ith

your

frie

nds.

See

how

you

can

help

eac

h ot

her.

•St

art

a so

cial

gro

up fo

r pe

ople

wit

h th

e sa

me

inte

rest

s.

Forg

iven

ess

If y

ou a

re w

rong

ed,

you

tend

to

forg

ive

peop

le f

or m

akin

g m

ista

kes.

•Le

t go

of

a gr

udge

.•

Writ

e a

forg

iven

ess

lett

er. Y

ou d

on’t

hav

e to

sen

d it

, but

read

it t

o yo

ur-

self

eac

h da

y fo

r a

wee

k.•

If s

omeo

ne h

urts

or

upse

ts y

ou, t

ry t

o un

ders

tand

thi

ngs

from

the

ir pe

r-sp

ecti

ve, t

hen

thin

k ab

out

whe

ther

you

r re

acti

on is

hur

ting

the

m o

r you

Mod

esty

You

don’

t ne

ed t

o br

ag

abou

t yo

ur a

ccom

-pl

ishm

ents

. You

let

them

spe

ak fo

r the

m-

selv

es.

•D

on’t

tal

k ab

out

your

self

for

a w

hole

day

.•

Thin

k of

som

ethi

ng t

hat

a fr

iend

doe

s be

tter

tha

n yo

u an

d co

mpl

imen

thi

m o

r he

r on

it.

•C

once

ntra

te o

n re

ally

list

enin

g to

oth

er p

eopl

e ra

ther

tha

n ju

st w

aiti

ngfo

r you

r tur

n to

spe

ak.

•A

dmit

you

r m

ista

kes

and

apol

ogis

e to

oth

er p

eopl

e.

| 16

Prud

ence

You’

re a

car

eful

per

-so

n. Y

ou t

hink

thi

ngs

thro

ugh

and

cons

ider

al

l the

opt

ions

bef

ore

you

say

or d

o th

ings

.

• Th

ink

twic

e be

fore

say

ing

anyt

hing

. Do

this

at

leas

t 10

tim

es a

wee

k an

dno

tice

the

eff

ects

on

othe

rs.

•N

ext

tim

e yo

u ne

ed t

o m

ake

a bi

g de

cisi

on, c

onsu

lt w

ith

othe

r pe

ople

.W

eigh

up

the

pros

and

con

s.•

Vis

ualis

e th

e co

nseq

uenc

es o

f yo

ur n

ext

five

dec

isio

ns. C

onsi

der t

he im

-pa

ct e

ach

deci

sion

may

hav

e to

mor

row

, in

one

year

’s t

ime

or in

10

yea

rs’

tim

e.

Sel

f-C

ontr

olYo

u ha

ve d

isci

plin

e.

You

can

keep

you

r fe

elin

gs a

nd a

ctio

ns in

ch

eck

whe

n yo

u ne

ed

to.

•St

art

an e

xerc

ise

prog

ram

and

do

it e

very

day

for

a w

eek.

• Tr

y no

t to

gos

sip

abou

t fr

iend

s or

oth

er p

eopl

e.•

Nex

t ti

me

you

get

upse

t, t

ry t

o th

ink

real

isti

cally

abo

ut t

he s

itua

tion

.H

ave

you

over

reac

ted?

•W

hen

you

need

to

focu

s on

you

r ne

xt a

ssig

nmen

t, t

ry t

o re

mov

e an

y di

stra

ctio

ns –

pho

ne, i

nter

net,

TV,

mag

azin

es –

unt

il yo

u ge

t it

don

e. If

the

assi

gnm

ent

is re

ally

big

, bre

ak it

dow

n in

to s

mal

ler t

asks

wit

h br

eaks

inbe

twee

n.

App

reci

atio

n of

B

eaut

yYo

u no

tice

and

app

re-

ciat

e ex

celle

nce

and

the

beau

ty a

roun

d yo

u. Y

ou’re

one

of

thos

e pe

ople

who

w

ill s

top

to s

mel

l the

ro

ses!

•V

isit

a g

alle

ry.

• Ta

ke p

hoto

s of

the

bea

utif

ul t

hing

s yo

u se

e•

Stop

and

not

ice

obje

cts

of b

eaut

y –

sunr

ise,

sun

set,

clo

uds,

str

eet

art

-as

you

go

thro

ugh

your

day

.•

Dec

orat

e yo

ur ro

om. H

ang

a fa

vour

ite

pict

ure,

pai

nt t

he w

alls

, put

up

phot

os o

f yo

ur f

riend

s, o

r m

aybe

cre

ate

a sp

ace

to c

hill

out.

•Fo

r you

r ne

xt a

ssig

nmen

t, fo

cus

on p

rese

ntat

ion

as w

ell a

s co

nten

t.

Gra

titu

deYo

u no

tice

the

goo

d th

ings

tha

t ha

ppen

to

you

and

you

don’

t ta

ke

them

for

gra

nted

. You

th

ank

peop

le.

•M

ake

sure

you

say

tha

nk y

ou t

o pe

ople

thr

ough

the

day

. Ack

now

ledg

eth

e lit

tle

thin

gs t

hat

wou

ld u

sual

ly g

o un

noti

ced,

as

wel

l the

big

.•

Cre

ate

a bl

essi

ngs

jour

nal -

Bef

ore

goin

g to

bed

eac

h da

y, w

rite

dow

nth

ree

thin

gs t

hat

wen

t w

ell d

urin

g th

e da

y, o

r ch

eck

out

Than

k Ta

nk.

•W

rite

a th

ank

you

lett

er t

o so

meo

ne y

ou a

ppre

ciat

e•

Set

asi

de t

ime

each

day

to

savo

ur a

n ex

perie

nce.

For

hel

p or

idea

s, li

sten

to t

he A

mpl

ify

trac

ks o

n Po

wer

Up

•Re

min

isce

abo

ut g

ood

tim

es –

reco

gnit

ion

you

rece

ived

, an

achi

evem

ent,

prai

se, a

con

nect

ion

to s

omeo

ne.

Hop

e/O

ptim

ism

You

expe

ct t

he b

est

for t

he f

utur

e an

d yo

u pl

an t

o ac

hiev

e it

.

•W

rite

dow

n 3

goal

s an

d yo

ur p

lans

for

ach

ievi

ng t

hem

.•

Thin

k ab

out

a ti

me

in y

our

past

whe

n yo

u ov

erca

me

a di

ffic

ult

situ

atio

n.St

ore

it in

you

r m

emor

y an

d br

ing

it t

o m

ind

next

tim

e yo

u fa

ce a

har

dti

me.

If y

ou’v

e go

ne t

hrou

gh it

bef

ore,

you

kno

w y

ou c

an d

o it

aga

in.

•Li

st a

ll th

e ba

d th

ings

tha

t ha

ppen

ed t

o yo

u ov

er t

he p

ast

wee

k. N

oww

rite

dow

n th

e po

siti

ves

that

cam

e ou

t of

tho

se t

hing

s.

Hum

our/

Pl

ayfu

lnes

sYo

u lik

e to

laug

h an

d to

mak

e ot

her

peop

le

laug

h.

•M

ake

at le

ast

one

pers

on s

mile

or

laug

h ea

ch d

ay.

•W

atch

som

ethi

ng t

hat

mak

es y

ou la

ugh

out

loud

!•

Sur

roun

d yo

urse

lf w

ith

funn

y fr

iend

s.•

Rem

embe

r the

thi

ngs

you

love

d do

ing

as a

you

ng c

hild

–dr

essi

ng u

p,pl

ayin

g ga

mes

, goi

ng ic

e-sk

atin

g -

Why

not

do

them

now

? B

e pl

ayfu

l.

Spi

ritua

lity

You

have

str

ong

be-

liefs

abo

ut t

he h

ighe

r pu

rpos

e an

d m

eani

ng

of t

he u

nive

rse.

• Tr

y m

edit

atio

n. F

or h

elp,

list

en t

o so

me

Pow

er U

p tr

acks

.•

Read

a b

ook

abou

t an

asp

ect

of s

pirit

ualit

y th

at y

ou m

ight

be

curio

us

abou

t.•

Get

to

know

peo

ple

of d

iffer

ent

relig

ions

| 18

What’s the meaning of meaning?When your life has meaning you have a purpose in life. And purpose has a wide and loose definition. It can be about feeling connected to others, or be about belonging to or contributing to something bigger than yourself, like your school. It’s about discovering what has meaning in YOUR life, so it’s something different for everyone.

How do you find it?

You don’t necessarily go looking for meaning, because the reality is that you should be looking within. Where exactly? By looking at your strengths. You simply have a bigger chance of finding something meaningful if you are using your strengths to connect with something bigger than yourself. For example, if you’re good at, or appreciate art, you might find meaning in working in a gallery

What can meaning do for you?Creating meaning in your life gives you purpose, and having a purpose makes you happy. Oh, and when you’re happy there’s a ripple effect that can transform your wellbeing. How about that?

So just by creating meaning you can feel happy and healthy?

We know, it sounds crazy, but here’s how:

Connecting with others

Lots of us gain some kind of meaning by belonging to something larger than ourselves, like a team or community or a cause.

When this happens you tend to spend time with other people who share your values and have the same interests as you. It also helps you to define your identity and makes you feel good about who you are, especially when you spend time with like-minded people.1

WEEK 5 - MEANING AND PURPOSE

You now have a larger social network, more people to connect with, and this can seriously boost your happiness.2

Motivation

Having a purpose (a direct result of having meaning!) motivates you to achieve your chosen goals.3 Having purpose and goals in your life gives you something to work towards, and totally pays off when you achieve what you’re aiming for.4 And how do you feel when you achieve goals? Happy as some guy called Larry.

Thinking of Others

Gaining meaning by acknowledging something bigger gives you a reason to focus beyond just yourself. When you’re focused on others you gain unique perspectives and you can recognise and appreciate what you have to be grateful for.

Now you can see the connection between meaning and wellbeing. In the end, having meaning in your life means you’re less likely to feel down or depressed, and more likely to enjoy higher self-esteem and general wellbeing.3

How to create meaning in your lifeWhoa. Heavy question right? Well, not if you don’t make it one! Creating meaning in your life can be as simple as joining a community or cause that goes beyond your own personal needs.

But it must be directly related to something you’re interested in or talented at – it’s just much easier that way to find that passion and drive to really commit.

What gives you meaning?

Obviously, you need to first figure out what gives you meaning and purpose in life. And to do that you need to ask yourself some questions like these:

• What are you passionate about?

• Where are your personal strengths?

• Do the above 2 questions have any common answers?

• Are these things truly meaningful to you? How do they give you meaning?

• Do they give you a sense of worth?

• When you’re feeling sad, do these things give you a lift?

• What would your life be like without your family? Your friends?Your community?

| 20

Finding the above questions tough to answer? You’re not alone! They’re not meant to be easy so don’t be too hard on yourself.

This might help:

Imagine that you’ve just been awarded a “lifetime achievement award” and you have to write your acceptance speech. What would you write?

Think of all the good things you want to achieve in life and how you’d like to be remembered. Focus on being positive.

Go on, give it a go. Just write a one-page speech. You might be surprised by the results…

What they said…

So we wanted to know what gave others meaning and put the question out there on Facebook (where else, right?) Here’s what we heard back.…

• Relationships with family and friends

• Belonging to a cultural, sporting or creative community

• Doing volunteer work

• Campaigning for a cause (e.g. eradicating poverty, animal cruelty,climate change)

• Travel (increasing awareness and appreciation of other cultures andtraditions)

• Nature (noticing that you’re part of a bigger picture)

• Bringing positive emotion to others, like making people laugh

• Being creative/creating music or art

• Helping people/having a positive impact on other people’s lives

• Meditation

• Spirituality/religion

1. Shearer, L. (2001, September). When the friendly skies are not so friendly. Georgia Magazine, 80.

2. Tennen, H., and Affleck, G. (1999). Finding benefits in adversity. In Snyder, C. R., (ed.). Coping: The Psychology of What Works (pp. 279-304). New York:

Oxford University Press.

3. Steger, M. F. (in press). Experiencing meaning in life: Optimal functioning at the nexus of well-being, psychopathology, and spirituality. In Wong, P. T. P. The

human quest for Meaning (2nd Edition): Theories, Research, and Applications (Personal and Clinical Psychology). New York: Routledge.

4. Lyubomirsky, S. (2008). The How of Happiness: A new approach to getting the life you want. (p. 231). New York: The Penguin Group.

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