Find JOY in learning!DECEMBER 2016 CHARACTER EDUCATION LESSON #2

Learning Target

I can find joy in my personal learning by:

1. Doing my own work 2. Having a good attitude & believing in myself

3. Finding my strengths and interests 4. Putting forth time and effort

Having a good attitude & believing in myself…

Do yourself a big favor this holiday season… give yourself the gift of a good attitude and start believing in yourself!

Having a good attitude is choosing to look at things from a positive perspective.

Ask yourself… “Is my glass generally half empty or half full? Do I tend to point out why I don’t want to come to school or hate doing my homework? Or do I look at the positive things that happen at school? Do I often blame other people for my school (and life) experiences or do I take charge of my education and my life?”

Wake up and choose to have a good attitude!

Remember that YOU control your attitude. Adopt beliefs that frame events in a positive way. Create a "library" of positive thoughts. (Remember our precepts?) Avoid angry or negative media. Use a more positive vocabulary.

Do the Research…

Research shows: A positive attitude makes you happier and more resilient, it improves your relationships, and it even increases your chances of success in any endeavor. In addition, having a positive attitude makes you more creative and it can help you to make better decisions. To top it all off, there are studies that show that people with a positive attitude live longer.

https://daringtolivefully.com/positive-attitude

Struggling to find the positive?

1. Have a Morning Routine. How you start your morning sets the tone for the rest of the day. Make sure that you have an attitude-boosting morning routine that puts you in a good mood so that you can start the day off right.

For example… look in the mirror and tell yourself you are awesome and you are going to do good things today. Put positive messages on your mirror if you struggle to come up with your own statements!

“I will conquer my math assignment today! I will have a great day! I can do this! I am getting better every day! I deserve good things.”

Attitude of Happiness…

2. Carry An Attitude of Happiness With You. Instead of waiting for external things to make you happy, be happy and

then watch how that influences the things that go on around you. That is, instead of telling yourself that first something good has to happen, and then you’ll be happy, be happy first. Happiness is an attitude, not a situation.

Appreciate the small things…

3. Relish Small Pleasures. Big pleasures—graduation, getting married, being promoted,

having your book published—come too infrequently. Life is made up of tiny victories and simple pleasures. With the right mental attitude, watching the sunset, eating an ice cream cone, and walking barefoot on the grass are all you need to be filled with joy.

Train your brain to know that the little things truly are the best things in life.

Smile! It’s easy… it’s free… it’s fun

4. Smile. Smiling will give you an instantaneous attitude boost. Try smiling for a

minute while you think of a happy memory or the last thing that made you smile. Smiling releases endorphins and serotonin, also known as the feel good hormones. It’s a lot easier to adopt a positive attitude when the chemicals being released by your body are conducive to well-being.

Time to Upload…

5. Upload Positivity to Your Brain. Read books with a positive message, listen to music with uplifting

lyrics, and watch movies in which optimism helped overcome obstacles and win despite the odds. Change your attitude for the better by uploading as much positivity into your brain as you possibly can.

It’s YOUR responsibility…

6. Take Responsibility. The sooner you learn this lesson… the better your life will be!)

At any moment your attitude can be that of a victim or of a creator. The first step you need to take to shift from victim-mode to creator-mode is to take responsibility. Here’s the attitude of a creator:

I create my life. I am responsible for me. I’m in charge of my destiny.

Life is Hard… Be resilient!

7. Stop Expecting Life to Be Easy. The truth is, life gets tough at times. For all of us. It can even be

painful. But you’re brave and resourceful. Know that sometimes things won’t be easy, and adopt the attitude that you have what it takes to deal with anything that life throws at you.

Know that there are people to help you, listen to you, care about you, and want to help you! You don’t have to do it alone.

An Attitude of Gratitude…

8. Use Gratitude to Improve Your Attitude. When you find yourself focusing on what’s wrong in your life, what

you don’t have, or what you’re missing out on, adjust your attitude by feeling gratitude.

Studies show that having an attitude of gratitude is beneficial for every aspect of your life: being grateful improves your health, your mood, your relationships, your school satisfaction, and on, and on. If you need an attitude lift simply think of all the things that you have to be grateful for.

When you change your attitude…

You will naturally start to believe in yourself! You can do it. Not only will these things help you find joy in learning… but joy in LIFE!

https://daringtolivefully.com/positive-attitude