by Lynn Soots | July, 2017 | Classroom Reflections
The unfortunate thing about this world is that good habits are so much easier to give up than bad ones.~Somerset Maugham Upon taking this course, I thought it was a course teaching the positives of psychology. I wondered, to myself, there must be a course called Negative Psychology. I did not expect anything close to what I encountered this semester and I can say that this by far was my favorite course. Creating Patterns of Positive Triggers An Ah-Ha moment for me in the course was going through the book Habits of Happiness by Braco Pobric. I enjoyed the book and I really like how practical and simple the actions and steps were to creating positive habits for yourself. One of the things that I would point out as a part of an Ah-HA moment would be about “triggers”. The book Habits of Happiness talks about “triggers” as a technique that one could use to create better and positive habits. For example, a trigger for me in the morning to get up is my alarm and when I sit up, that triggers me to turn on the news which then triggers me to brush my teeth. As you can see, if we can recognize what those triggers are, we can use them to our advantage and create positive habits. This is something I have been struggling to create a better lifestyle that I can stick to. Now, now after going through the book, I am able to put into place meaningful habits. Now, I can set routines that I can be successful in and keep long term. I am...
by Tiffany Mascoto | July, 2017 | Classroom Reflections
Before Taking Positive Psychology my thoughts about the course were: positive, optimistic, pessimistic, scared, stressed, with a little anxiety because I didn’t know what to expect. I was excited to learn what is was all about because I have never taken positive psychology before. I wanted to know what it consisted of and all of its aspects although I’ll be honest I was a bit afraid of the course. Positive Tools: FLOW, Compassion, Self-love… An Ah-Ha moment for me was learning about positive psychology and compassion. Compassion is an emotion and expression that you can share with many individuals if you choose too. Compassion is a skill that I am still trying to master. To have the art of compassion you can express yourself in so many different feelings and ways. I learned about self-love or to love thyself regardless or any outcome, the problem you may face that there is always something you can make positive out of a bad situation. Positive psychology has given me so many different tools that I can utilize in life such as FLOW. According to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, a pioneer of the scientific study of happiness, flow is a type of intrinsic motivation of the mind. In his words, “you do what you’re doing primarily because you like what you’re doing. To actually know how to have full involvement with an activity that you may desire or like such as singing, acting, teaching, counseling, painting, playing an instrument and working towards being good at it is having FLOW. Most people don’t know how to find their flow or don’t work hard to continue...
by Rebekah Leonard | July, 2017 | Classroom Reflections
“In a relationship, when communication starts to fade, everything else follows.” Before Taking Positive Psychology I was not sure what to expect. I thought the class would be about how to have a more positive attitude and outlook on life. This class taught me many great things from breaking bad habits, hope, temperament, and personality, to FLOW, emotional behavior, and creativity. Positive psychology pushed me to look more within myself to find the things that may need a bit more work. An Ah-Ha moment for me was learning about HABITS. I have found myself in quite the rut as of late, and to study and learn about changing habits was very POSITIVE for me. I learned that habits are more than just the things we do day in and day out. Habits are behaviors that take little to no thought process. For example, like brushing our teeth or taking the same route to and from work every day. Habits can be as easy to break as they are to keep, it is merely whether you want to change or not. Make it a Habit to Engage in the Conversation Habits and communication go hand in hand. There is a statement I have heard in the past, “keep your ears open and your mouth shut”. “Communication skills are essential for empathizing with others, for understanding their concerns, and for setting the stage for interpersonal problem solving” (Carr, A Pg. 175). I am sure we all have had or tried to have, a conversation with the type of person that likes to rule the conversation, constantly cutting you off, or wanting...
by Tessa Hartness | July, 2017 | Classroom Reflections
“Be you, the world will adjust. -Unknown” Before my journey started in Positive Psychology, I really was unsure of what to expect. Things crossed my mind like happiness and how to live a bubbly lifestyle. I was curious if this information was going to be beneficial to me, and my quest to become a high school teacher or counselor. I wanted my perception to be open and just take the class to see how I could promote a more positive lifestyle for myself and others around me. A huge turning point in this course for me is known as the concept of FLOW. Achieving FLOW Through What You Love Alan Carr, the author of Positive Psychology, wrote, “FLOW is the subjective state that people report when they become engaged in controllable but challenging tasks or activities that require considerable skill and that is intrinsically motivating…” 1 . This is such a fascinating concept that humans reach through diverse manners. For instance, someone can achieve flow through writing in a journal, a meaningful conversation, competing in a sporting event, or various visual art activities, which happens to be one of my areas where I reach flow. This brings me to a state of peace where I can express myself fully. Painting Myself into the Picture of FLOW Acrylic painting is my preferred medium. Seeing the colors mix and creating perfect shades becomes a challenge that I have to figure out. Discovering how to add color in order to create tints and shades on the canvas is methodical and a bit overwhelming at times. Finding something to spark an idea is...
by Jennifer Fairlie | July, 2017 | Classroom Reflections
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit” Aristotle Before taking Positive Psychology I thought the class would be about methods to become more positive and to remain positive through many situations. I felt this would be a great course for me to help identify ways to become positive in situations that I find difficult and to maintain my positivity when I feel weak. Creating Habits and Finding the BoOST Although I have been told that I am a very positive person, I know that it is just an image that I show others. I feel discouraged more often than I admit. Personally, I wanted to find a way to improve this. After starting this class, I realized, although we did cover methods to get and stay positive, there is so much more than I thought there would be. We looked at how individuals operate and look at the world. There were think tank dicussions about importance of how habits make an impact on life and how having some pessimism is a good thing (only if it is to help us maintain realistic goals). We gave examples of how to increase our confidence levels through the FLOW process and how to boost self-esteem. This class turned out to not only be more effective than I thought it would but that there is much more that goes into having positivity in life than I originally thought. Positive Life – The Small Things Create the Whole My Ah-Ha moment was learning about how much habits have an impact on my life. I always knew...
