The end of the year holds a lot of hope, excitement, and also the feeling of rushing to the finish line.
It may seem impossible to arrive to work on time, get everything done, and then make it home to relax at the end of the day. While it seems impossible it is not. Or at least it doesn't have to be impossible.
According to neurosurgeon James Doty, we can manifest a better life. In fact he states that "when our attention is intentionally focused on what we want and why, change is possible."
Dr. James Doty is a Neurosurgeon, author, and founding director of Stanford's Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education. His story starts in poverty, trauma, and suffering. Statistically he should not be wealthy, world renowned, or successful; yet he is all of this and more, he thrives. In his book Into The Magic Shop, he shares the life lessons that changed his life. Lessons from the mother of a magic shop owner.
Doty, shares that one day, while riding his bike away from the mess at home, he found a magic shop. The owner was out and the shop was being watched by the owner's mother. This woman told Doty she did not know anything about the magic in the shop but she could teach him another kind of magic, mind magic.
After that day Doty would keep returning to the magic shop. He states he went because the woman offered him cookies and her full attention. She was present. She was present for him. And having someone in his life give him their full attention mattered to him. That was what he needed and lacked.
That time in the late 1960's started Doty's path to where he is today.
Through his education and research Doty has learned and shared with us a fact we all need to know and practice, "when you are caring and focused on others, this actually is when your brain networks function at their best."
Dr. Doty states that our attention can be directed and redirected in a way that can change our brains. He shares that we can strengthen our grey matter; which is the neuro tissue that helps us learn and grow.
Doty talks a lot about the idea of manifestation. While this sounds like a magical type of thinking, it isn't. It is rooted in brain training, goal setting, growth mindset, visualization, optimism, and mindfulness.
How does all of this apply to us? How does it apply to our school and our students?
We can start by taking in the simple lesson of the woman from the magic shop. Our full attention matters. Our students know when we are giving them our all and when we are phoning it in. As we creep to the end of the year we too have wandering minds. Spring Fever doesn't just afflict our students. We want to be done too. We want to have a break too. Our minds are wandering just the same as our students. So how do we help our brains so we then can help our students' brains?
Mindfulness. Growing our own grey matter. Visualizing how we want to end the year. Coming in each day with optimism. Setting our own goals for success. Manifesting what we want. And focusing on the students.
There is a lot out there that wants to steal away our attention. We need to utilize the tools we have to help redirect our attention.
When you put on mindfulness for your class, participate. Join in. Do it. Be mindful.
Try An Inner Explorer to help set your minds on the right, positive, finishing line bound track.
K-1: #160 Choices
2-4: #155 Tricks on the Mind
5-8: #159-160: Positive Outlook and Purpose
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness:
1 out of 6 youth experience mental health conditions. Only half of those youth will receive treatment.
50% of all lifetime metal health begins by the age of 14.
The average delay between onset of symptoms and treatment is 11 years.
In 2020, 1 in 5 youth reported that the pandemic had a negative impact on their mental health.
In 2020 there was a 31% increase in mental health related ER visits among adolescents.
According to the CDC:
In 2021 4 in 10 students reported they felt persistently sad or hopeless.
In 2021 1 in 5 students reported seriously considering suicide. And 1 in 10 students have attempted suicide.
The US Department of Health and Human Services reports that the most common mental health concerns for youth are; anxiety, depression, ADHD, and eating disorders.
How can we support our students and their mental health?
2 out of the top 3 ideas on the list put out by the CDC are; mindfulness and social emotional learning. Two things we already promote at as a school. Are you promoting them in your class? Do you take time to practice mindfulness with your students?
If you haven't started utilizing Inner Explorer, start! During the month of mental health awareness make it a point to promote positive mental health habits.
Did you know that research shows, what we focus on expands? This goes deeper than always being positive and the power of positive thinking. Studies show that those without depression symptoms tend to form more positive memories and have more positive memory recall. By utilizing mindfulness we expand the positive parts of our brain and promote positive memories and positive recall.
Mental energy matters.
I am sure many of you have heard the expression, neurons that fire together wire together, in short this means that the more we expand the positive parts of our brain the more we wire our brain for the positive. Mindfulness promotes the expansion of the positive and the increase in positive wiring.
A good mindfulness practice is a simple one that follows three steps.
Pause
Reframe
Kindness and Compassion
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Pause to think and reflect. (without judgment)
Reframe the thought. (we do not have to be positive but we can reframe a situation to see more than the negative.)
Kindness and Compassion toward yourself for where you currently are and where you would like to be and for how you are working on getting there. Be kind to your current self. Show compassion as you work toward a more positive future.
Remember the best way to teach this to your students is to first teach it to yourself.
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