Answer the following questions reflectively in your journal. These questions apply to you as a person but can also be modified for use in the classroom with students.
Gratitude/Change of Mindset
1. Write five things that you are grateful for in your life. These can be anything that deals with you as a person. Write as much as you wish about your gratitude on this subject. You are not boasting. You are showing thankfulness—a key personality trait/value of a resilient person.
2. Write two to three sentences about something that you are not happy about. Write three ways that you can be grateful for that situation. You are looking for the silver lining, the positive, in a situation that makes you unhappy.
Identifying Strengths
1. Write two to three sentences about an issue you had to overcome.
2. What resiliency strategies did you call upon?
3. What did you learn about yourself?
4. How can you use this strength now?
Forgiveness
Read this fully before performing this exercise.
1. Close your eyes.
2. Visualize the person you need to forgive in your mind directly in front of you.
3. Reprimand this person in your mind for the wrongs they have done to you.
4. Stop reprimanding after one to two minutes.
5. Imagine you are the person you are forgiving, and think of reasons why they treated you this way. Really think of a reason, whether it applies to you personally or not.
6. Think of the lessons that you have learned from this situation and this process of forgiveness.
7. In your mind, shake the person’s hand or give them a hug and imagine saying, “I forgive you.”
8. Write in your journal how this made you feel.
After answering the questions above, take a short break to reflect on what you have written. If you are working individually, add any additional notes that may have come to mind. If performing this exercise in a group or with students, have another member of the study group share their answers as you listen without judgment, and then you do the same.
