Week#2: Getting started on the right foot

Video

Do thoughts affect things? Discussion Do thoughts affect things? Do you believe that this is a real experiment?

Video Part 2

Do you get the opportunity to do what you do best every day? Do you consciously think about how to use your talents to each day? Is it natural for you to access your talents – to capitalize on? How do you ensure that? Academics Each student learns and studies best in different ways. The best way for you to prepare for your next exam, paper, or presentation might be different than the way your roommate, classmates, or your friends prepare. How you think, learn, study, and work best is unique to you. Leverage your talents to help you "do what you do best" in the classroom. How do you prefer to study -- in a quiet corner of the library, listening to music in your room, or with a group of friends? StrengthsQuest can help you thrive in your academic career by showing you how you can leverage your talents to approach your coursework through a focus on what you naturally do well. By using your strengths in your studies, you can take greater control over your academic future. To learn more about how to apply your talents to your success in the classroom, check out Chapter 7 of StrengthsQuest. You will need to sign in to view this content. StrengthsQuest can improve and deepen your relationships by helping you see and appreciate other's talents.

Positive Psychology Positive Psychology is the scientific study of the strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive. It is founded on the belief that people want to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives, to cultivate what is best within themselves, and to enhance their experiences of love, work, and play. Martin Seligman How we can help build upon successes

Strengths A strength is a naturally occurring talent multiplied by knowledge and skill. Knowledge is that which is learned. Skill is knowledge put to practice. Knowledge and skill increase with experience, education, and use. Talent is inborn. It is a natural propensity. It cannot be learned. Talent alone is not enough. A person may have a natural propensity towards music (or art, or sports) but without practice and education, the talent goes to waste. Tom Rath, StrengthsFinder 2.0 Natural talent multiplied by time put into practicing = strength One way to understand the orientation of those who adhere to a strengths-based approach to practice is to ask, What are the factors in life and in helping that make things go well? It is odd, when you think of it, that even though we know that most people in the midst of significant challenges and stresses do better than we might expect and do not eventually succumb to the pressures of their lives, that social workers know so little about them. On the other hand, they have a prodigious lore about those who, at least initially, fall or fail under these stresses and ordeals.