Everyone - 'Start the Day Right'

Recently, I had the pleasure of visiting a school a few weeks after they had all starting using my character strengths cards (based on the VIA Institute's Science) as a resource in their classrooms. Although I was there to facilitate a workshop, they were definitely leading the way as the ideas they shared with me about how they had been using the strengths day to day absolutely blew me away!

I really loved the following idea and it is very simple, easy and effective. Some of the teachers talked about using the strengths to 'start the day right'. Simply picking a strength to consider throughout that day after choosing just one in the morning, first thing. Teacher talked about how they would encourage the children to think about that strength and apply it in as many ways as possible whilst going about day to day things. For an example, take kindness; think about your day today so far. If you had woken up and made the decision to focus on your strength of kindness, would your day have been different? Which situations could you have applied kindness to? Could conflict have been avoided? Could you have made someone's day?

A simple, quick discussion can set the children (and staff) on their way to a strengths driven, thoughtful pathway for the day.

Powerful indeed.