Seeing What Is: Character Strengths, Mindsets, and the Stories We Tell Sylvia Kennedy-Godin February 4, 2019

Our thoughts are conditioned by our experiences. As humans, we all tell stories about our lives. If we are not paying much attention, our stories will be mainly a product of our conditioning (due to our society, schools, family history). We may find that we tend to adopt certain roles and play out certain situations over and over again. BUT our brains are plastic and we can think different thoughts than the ones we are conditioned to think! In this workshop, we will explore the thinking choices we make. We will reflect on the habitual ways in which we approach people and situations. We will learn about mindsets, such as Growth Mindset and Challenge Mindset and how working with mindsets can open up possibilities for new action, growth, and change in our lives. We will talk about play and courage and see how the mindset we use influences our willingness to take on challenges and ability to function well under stress. We will explore our own character strengths and values and see how we can use those as secret superpowers to help us focus on meaning and purpose in our daily lives. Learning objectives - participants will: learn about brain plasticity and the ability to change with experience; become familiar with growth mindset and challenge mindset and understand why mindset is important in daily life; identify their top five strengths and find ways to apply them to stressful situations.