Writing Your Happiness Notebook, Does That Work?
Suddenly there is this marvelous idea in my head: tomorrow I’ll start with a happiness notebook!
As a teacher of 11 and 12 years old kids who are nervous about going to secondary school, who have all kinds of hormones flying around in their bodies, who are trying to find out how to cope with challenges at home, and who seem to be very cool but anxiety is always there, I wanted to give them a helpful tool.
A tool that is unique for them, to use in situations they choose. A tool that makes them smile and in the moment of a (starting) smile, there is this chance to ‘turn around’, get your hope back and look at things differently, despite everything.
I’m getting all excited and happy creating this idea in my mind! At least once a week we are going to work on two pages in our Happiness Notebook. One page for writing and one for drawing. So, at the end of the year, they will have at least 15 ideas about how to feel (a little bit) happy. Next year I’ll start right away in September :-)
- By doing this we make it concrete so that we can consult it when we are not feeling happy at all.
- By doing this we practice thinking about ‘happiness stuff’; what makes us smile?
- By doing this we hopefully remember the assignments while being with someone who could use an uplifting smile
- By doing this we realize what is important to us.
It’s all about creating tools to empower yourself, to enlarge your well-being in moments when you’re not feeling okay. For my beautiful kids in school I love to think by reading in their Happiness notebook makes them feel more okay in their changing, unfamiliar skin.
A few assignments I have in mind:
1. Drawing a small mandala while hearing instrumental music. Coloring the mandala with dark colors and drawing and coloring everything around it with light colors. Write on the page next to it about a problem you have and also write about ‘the good things’ in your life (do you have a place to sleep? Do you have friends? Is there something in school you like? etc.)
2. Write down everything you can do to make someone smile, just for free. Draw various smiles.
3. Write down what kind of activities make you smile, and make you feel good. Make drawings of things you like to look at.
Just stock your possibilities to smile again in a Happiness Notebook and consult it when feeling down and depressed. At home or at school!
Smile, Ella