Words of Wellness
Words of Wellness are resources for students and the college community to access and utilize to improve and maintain their overall wellness.
The Wellness Center’s Counseling and Wellness Services are available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to provide counseling, consultation, and referral services, remotely via phone or Zoom, for currently registered students, but we wanted to share additional resources that may be beneficial during this time.
On March 31, we are sharing resources that focus on Positive Psychology. The goal of Positive Psychology is to build happiness and well-being. Today’s post will share information about the basic premise of Positive Psychology, ways to integrate Positive Psychology practices into our lives, and exploring our strengths.
What is Positive Psychology?
Psychology Today describes Positive Psychology as:
“Positive psychology is a branch of psychology focused on the character strengths and behaviors that allow individuals to build a life of meaning and purpose — to move beyond surviving to flourishing. Theorists and researchers in the field have sought to identify the elements of a good life. They have also proposed and tested practices for improving life satisfaction and well-being.”
The following, brief article from Psychology Today describes the main concepts of positive psychology: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/positive-psychology
When is the last time you asked yourself what your strengths are?
Explore your strengths in various areas of your life with this Strengths Exploration worksheet from Therapist Aid: Strengths Exploration Worksheet
- Research in positive psychology has shown that learning to use strengths in new ways can improve well-being. Strengths-based interventions involve identifying strengths, understanding how they are used, and learning new ways to apply them.
- By using the Strengths Exploration worksheet, you will be able to identify your strengths, and then explore your roles in different areas of life (relationships, professional life, and personal fulfillment). You can begin to think about ways in which you currently use these strengths, along with new ways you could begin using them.
- Perhaps this list of positive traits will assist you in identifying your strengths: Positive Traits
Positive Psychology Practices
The following links provide ways we can integrate positive psychology into our daily routines to improve our overall well-being.
Gratitude Exercises
Research in positive psychology indicates that those who practice gratitude have lower self-reported levels of depression and stress, and they’re more satisfied with their social relationships. Not only that, but the effects can be long-lasting.
Positive Psychology Thought Prompt Cards
The Positive Psychology Prompt Cards are designed to put this technique into action by prompting you to think about positive moments from the past week. The deck consists of 24 cards, each with a simple, unique, and meaningful prompt.
Positive Psychology Prompt Cards
TED Talk Video
Playful Inquiry – Try This Anywhere – Robyn Stratton-Berkessel
What’s the best thing that’s happened to you today? The language we use to ask questions can have a significant impact on the answers we get.
Inquiring about what works in the world, and the positive things that give us life are one way to create a whole new story, according to Robyn Stratton-Berkessel in this talk. In her career as a positivity strategist, her focus is on facilitating strength-based change to develop high-impact, positive change organizations, and people.
Playful inquiry is more than just one technique in her toolbox; it’s a perspective shift that can be life-changing. Throughout the talk, Stratton-Berkessel shares many eye-opening experiences of its power in action – from executive retreats with Google to a cab ride with a driver who fought in World War II.
By the end, we’ll understand why asking the right questions could be just what we need to realize what gives our lives meaning. And we might be astonished to find out what she learned by asking this question herself!
Video Link: TED Talk: Playful Inquiry
Wishing you a week full of wellness and positivity!
Counseling and Wellness Services Staff
Siek Campus Center, room 270
Contact us by phone at (518) 629-7320 or by email at counseling@hvcc.edu.
To visit our website click here.
Published: Wed, 31 Mar 2021 11:45:29 +0000 by k.weeks