Happy 2022.
We are back. Some may be happier about that than others. My three-year-old just wants to skip pre-school and head to kindergarten, my 5th grader is glad to be back with her friends, and my ninth grader is as always indifferent- he attends school for friends and sports.
For some parents there has been anxiety around returning to in-person. For other parents they are glad to have their students returning to routine.
No matter where you or your student fall on the continuum of happiness to return, Welcome Back!
Having a mindful mindset can help us meet challenging emotions head on.
Research shows us that pushing aside negative emotions can do more harm than good. Research also shows that allowing negative emotions to control our lives, also does more harm than good. So the question is; what do we do with negative emotions? The answer; we learn to feel them, understand them, and then let them go.
As I came into work today the podcast I started yesterday stopped working. I was frustrated. I started to allow the frustration to distract me. This could have taken over and I could have been a distracted driver. I chose to practice mindful emotional awareness. I stated to myself, I feel frustrated. I continued my self-talk and told myself I could check on the podcast later and reminded myself I had another podcast I wanted to listen to this week. I started the other podcast, took some good breaths and drove calmly and safely.
The better we become, as adults, at identify and expressing our emotions in a healthy way; the better our children will become too.
I work diligently with three-year-old on expressing, identify, and letting go of emotions. When she cries I tell her she can cry if she needs to but that when she is done we need to take a breath and keep going. I tell her that she can be sad when she needs to be, but don't stay sad. I let her know when her behavior frustrates me and I stay calm and give her clear If...Then... statements. I'm not going to tell you it works perfectly every time, but I will tell you it helps me and I can see it helps her.
I will become frustrated from time to time and when I feel it begin to overwhelm me I take big deep breaths and say it out loud. It helps me to regain my perspective.
As we start a new year, let's take some time to pause, breath, and gain perspective.
Mindfulness works.
This year I want to try my best to give you some bite-sized mindful moments to carry with you.
This week's bite-side mindful moment is simply an encouragement to take 5 minutes today to be grateful. List in your head or on paper (I use an app on my phone called ReWi) and list 3 things you are thankful for and why.
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