Even though change is inevitable, we can focus our efforts on building awareness, strategies, and skills that will help us learn, adapt, and integrate new developments as they arise. With Creating PEACE of MIND you can feel confident you will be up to whatever challenge tomorrow may bring. This reader friendly guide will allow anyone to: Apply life-changing psychological research in your home, business or classroom today Help your children see the value in challenge, effort, and perseverance Learn how to give effective support, praise, and feedback for maximum growth Develop understanding of concepts using hands-on sorting activities and stories Understand the power of language and the harmful hidden intentions words can hold Using familiar concepts to focus on what matters when facing change and challenge in daily life, PEACE stands for purpose, engage, adapt, contribute, and evolve. These integrated concepts build confidence with navigating transitions and setbacks. They are also the foundation of a powerful shift in education called personalized learning. A useful guide for those: Going through or preparing for transition Looking for purpose Feeling overwhelmed by constant change Parents, teachers, coaches, leaders, colleagues and friends empowering others to learn and grow
Creating Peace of Mind
Focusing on What Matters in a Changing World
By Jill M. ReidAuthorHouse
Copyright © 2016 Jill Reid
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-5049-6624-5Contents
Preface, ix,
Part I: How Is the Water? A Foundation for Creating PEACE of MIND, 1,
• A Changing Tide: Accepting Change as Part of Life, 1,
• A Clear Reflection: How Clear Feedback Moves Us Forward, 4,
• The Ripple Effect: How Beliefs About Ability Can Change Everything, 8,
• Riding Unexpected Waves: Learning To Swim No Matter What, 13,
• Muddying the Waters: How Society and Assumptions Can Keep Us Swimming Upstream, 15,
• A Single Drop: Building Identity Supports PEACE of MIND, 16,
Part II: Lessons From Nature: Growing PEACE of MIND, 20,
• Gardeners in Training: How Leaders Shape Learners, 20,
• Purpose: Perfection or Progress?, 23,
• Engage: A Seed Is Just a Seed until It Gets Sown, 27,
• Adapt and Adjust: Surviving Setbacks Without the Sugarcoating, 33,
• Contribute: Growing Community and Being Fruitful, 35,
• Evolve: How Is It Growing? Regular Weeding, 39,
Part III: Tools for Building — Instead of Fixing, 42,
• Building Versus Fixing: No One Should Ever Feel Broken, 42,
• Planning Ahead: Having Tools at the Ready for Emergencies and Regular Maintenance, 45,
• FACE IT: Moving Through Frustration, 46,
• PEACE of MIND Activities for Concept Development, 54,
• Apple Applications: The Story of Ace and Able, 61,
• Changing the PACE: Graphic Organizer for Supporting Change, 68,
• Teacher Workshop Outline, 72,
• Parent Workshop Outline, 72,
• Student Workshop Outline, 73,
Appendix, 75,
References and Suggested Resources, 81,
Acknowledgements, 83,
CHAPTER 1
Part I
How Is the Water? A Foundation for Creating PEACE of MIND
* * *
Be the change you wish to see in the world.
— Gandhi
A Changing Tide: Accepting Change as Part of Life
In a world that is always changing, learning has become less about collecting information and more about building skills to adapt and integrate developments as they come. Change will always be part of life, and the information that follows is designed to combine useful strategies and perspectives to build confidence in doing so. Preparing adults and children for an unknown future requires a comprehensive look at how we deal with change.
Definitions of Change
• a variation or deviation
• the substitution of one thing for another
• a transformation or modification
Comparing living to swimming brings various mental images to mind. Do you envision floating on a still lake, being swept away in a rushing river, jumping into a crowded swimming pool, or maybe just keeping your head above water in a stormy ocean? Different points in our lives may match these images.
In the last several years, I have imagined standing in the ocean. I am facing the beach and being slammed by one powerful wave after another. Each time an unexpected wave crashes down upon me, I am briefly disoriented. When I try to stand, the sand beneath my feet slips away as the wave recedes. If I fight to stand and not move, I have a difficult time. If I choose to face the ocean and dive into an approaching wave, the experience is much easier to manage. In life, the waves just keep coming because change is inevitable. I am realizing how I choose to deal
