Pathway to Wellbeing - Week 2
Welcome to The Wellbeing Journey. We begin this journey together by looking at what we mean by wellbeing and the different areas of our lives this affects. Each week there will be time to get to know each other, have some input from a variety of speakers and then discuss all that we have heard and how we might apply this.
This week we will be thinking about how our mindset affects our wellbeing. The human mind is wonderful and complex; the way that we think can be as unique as we are. But there are some guiding principles that we are going to look at today that will help to ensure that the way we think (our mindset) is contributing to our overall wellbeing.
Starter Questions
- Would you describe yourself as a “glass half empty” or “glass half full” person?
- What do you understand about the word “mindset”?
How does our mindset impact our wellbeing?
Introduction
Discussion Questions
1. When you meet someone for the first time, how do you like to introduce yourself? What themes do we use to define ourselves?
2. Can you think of a time when confidence in your own identity has been challenged? How did you overcome the challenge?
3. Studies by researcher Carol Dweck revealed that there are two opposing mindsets. With a fixed mindset, people believe their qualities are fixed traits and therefore cannot change. Alternatively, with a growth mindset, people have an underlying belief that their learning and intelligence can grow with time and experience. Do you tend to have a growth mindset or a fixed mindset? When do you think you got stuck?
4. In your lifetime, who has inspired you to grow?
5. How often do you reflect on your life? (Often, sometimes, never?)
Take a moment to look at the dials from last week and reflect on where you assessed you were in each category. The dials are below as a reminder.
Activities/Tools
Discuss together in twos and threes online in breakout groups or in the room.
1. When you completed the dials last week, which of the subjects did you find most difficult to be honest with yourself about?
2. Take a moment to look over the ‘8 Tips on How to Live a Stress-Free Life’ below. Which tip seems most relevant for you right now? Pick one to focus on over the next few weeks.
3. Take back control: At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic psychologist Dr Henry Cloud explained that, as human beings, we struggle with feelings of insecurity when we feel that we are not in control of events. His suggestion was to make two lists: one concerning things that we can’t control; the other, things we can control. We can then choose not to take responsibility for the first list and to act on the second list.
Discuss how these lists could help improve your mindset in the coming week.
Final Thought
We look forward to seeing you next week!
