Category: Culture

Contextual World

Pay Attention to Your Surroundings As You Go

Social Fitness Challenge #13: On the way to and from work/school, use all five senses to take in information about your surroundings. Share what you notice with a friend.

Have you ever left a room and turned off the light, only to realize someone was still in there? Or maybe you took the wrong exit out of habit of driving to a certain location? Every day, you probably engage in acts that seem to occur automatically or unconsciously. Running on autopilot is normal and, in many cases, helpful. However, when you overly rely on automatic behaviors, you begin to miss important details in your environment. This week’s challenge is to encourage you to turn off your autopilot and observe your surroundings in a thoughtful way. You may notice the smell of a restaurant you didn’t know was there, the view from the bridge you drive over, or the grumbles of someone in need. Reinforce what you learned by sharing your insights with a friend. By being mindful of your environment, you are practicing an important trait of an everyday hero.

Start a Conversation with Someone You Barely Know

Social Fitness Challenge #10: Have a conversation with someone you don’t usually talk to.

As humans, we tend to unconsciously group people into categories. This can cause us to treat certain people preferentially or with prejudice, without us ever realizing it. Any group of people that we feel that we belong to is considered an ingroup, and they are usually made up of people we feel united with due to a common origin, belief, goal, culture, or situation. People that we do not think of ourselves as being a part of are referred to as outgroups. The people whom we categorize into our outgroups are usually different from us in some fairly obvious (to us) way, such as appearance, culture, or religion. They also tend to be people that we do not know as well. Therefore, a great away to begin to break down outgroup prejudice is by having a conversation with someone you don’t usually interact with.

Ask for Help, Don’t Wander Aimlessly!

Social Fitness Challenge #7: Practice asking for help.

This week’s challenge may sound simple. However, asking for help is not an innate ability at which all people excel. Asking for help is a skill that can be developed through practice. Everyone differs in the situations in which they feel comfortable asking for help. This week’s challenge is to encourage you to step outside of your comfort zone and ask for help in situations where you would normally avoid doing so.

Find more information at the Heroic Imagination Project.

Pay Attention to Your Life!

Social Fitness Challenge #6: Throughout the day, take short breaks to practice mindfulness though breath awareness. Be sure to sit comfortably and close your eyes.

The following guide will lead you through a breath awareness exercise. This is only one example of many ways to develop mindfulness through breath awareness. We encourage you to find one that best serves your needs.

 

Continue reading “Pay Attention to Your Life!” →

Compliment a Person Each Day!

Social Fitness Challenge #5: Give a sincere compliment to at least one person every day this week.

There are two very different ways that you can respond to your daily experiences. One way limits your choices, diminishes your creativity, and narrows your point of view. This response is referred to as mindlessness. The other possible way in which you can respond to your experiences is known as mindfulness. It does just the opposite. Mindfulness and mindful-reflection give you the power to perceive a wide range of potential responses to a given situation and to choose the one that seems right to you.

When you give someone a compliment you are making a mindful choice to create a positive environment by helping those around you feel good about themselves.

Put Your Thanks in Writing!

Social Fitness Challenge #4: Write down 3-5 things every day for which you are grateful.

The definition of gratitude is the quality or feeling of being grateful or thankful and appreciative.

Keeping a gratitude journal, where you write down five things each day you feel grateful for has been associated with greater well being according to the research of Robert Emmons, described in his book, Thanks!. You may be grateful for particular colleagues, loved ones, or what you found to be fun or meaningful during the day. Examples may also include the color of the sky or your first cup of coffee, or how your morning exercise routine left you feeling refreshed and alive.

You may notice, as you do this, that you are more likely to acknowledge a colleague or friend, or a member of your family. According to the research, you are also likely to notice within weeks that you feel happier and healthier.