I recently had the pleasure of attending a meeting with members of the Lake County Office of Education (LCOE) to learn about what’s going on in local education. There are so many wonderful, hardworking people shepherding our Lake County children along! Since I was an educator for 24 years, I can’t help but be curious!
I also decided to visit the LCOE website and, wow, did I learn even more about some of the awesome programs that are being held. Educators have partnered with local native tribes to become trained in ‘Going Beyond Land Acknowledgements’ with the esteemed Redbud Resource Group. This training gave everyone a deeper understanding of respectful practices in educating our country’s native children.
There are myriad STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) programs ongoing at Taylor Observatory and beyond, facilitated by Learning Support Specialist Jennifer Kelley. Taylor Observatory, owned by LCOE, always offers fascinating classes, workshops, and public programs to learn about science and astronomy in their 36-seat classroom, equipped with a 16-inch research-grade telescope, as well as their 32-seat planetarium. Another great program I learned about is the Science of the Positive framework, developed by The Montana Institute, which focuses on fostering positive environments that can help build on strengths to create lasting change in the community.
Next, I happened upon a Prevention Magazine article called ‘9 Science-Backed Tips to Find Happiness and Feel More Joy’. Although the Prevention article was not written by The Montana Institute, but by podcast host, news correspondent, and author Dan Harris, I drew parallels to the Science of the Positive and Harris’ philosophies. Other publications, such as Psychology Today, cite numerous studies showing how important positive self-talk is for regulating mild anxiety. True, there is an abundance of advice for happiness making the rounds recently. Some of the advice we may have heard to achieve happiness may be valid. Even something as commonly communicated by happiness experts, such as practicing gratitude, visualizing positive outcomes, or even smiling, can activate positive emotions.
It truly is a learning curve to be able to cut yourself some slack in certain instances. Many of us show more compassion to others, and we tend to criticize ourselves for not achieving goals we’ve set for ourselves. It appears that by placing a positive bent in our self-talk rather than chastising ourselves repeatedly, we become better at digging out of a downward spiral. Reminding ourselves that we would not talk to our best friend the way we sometimes speak to ourselves, for example, can turn a downward or negative bent into a more positive experience.
It is truly heartening to see all that is going on in our county, and that experts are available in print and podcasts to aid in reframing some of the challenges we may face while helping us grow. It really is true what some experts say, that is, while we may have no control over many external circumstances, we do have control over what we choose to think about and respond to. When we choose to lean toward positivity, we aren’t living in la-la land or denial; instead, we use tools to navigate the difficulties and, simultaneously, retain hope.
