I had started a blog on the clean slate, the promise, and the possibilities that the New Year bring. But then I just didn’t have the brain power to finish it….

I’m hearing similar complaints of brain dead-ness from facilitators, friends, family and even my 4-year-old daughter. Holiday travel and socializing can be incredibly rewarding and fun, but even that positive energy expended is energy nonetheless and a lot of us are heading into 2010 with our tanks moving towards empty.

To make matters worse, many of our students are in the same boat. It may be a new semester and a new year, but the ground is still hard and cold, the leaves are still gone from the trees, and we are still faced with many of the same obstacles to overcome. All of this makes it hard to jump into new academic territory.

To ease the teacher and student zombie plague that may be going around your school, here are 5 Project Happiness Tips for greasing up those neural circuits and getting your brains running again:

1. Practice gratitude. Use the Facilitators’ Guide (p. 60-64) to find the ‘Waves of Appreciation’ moments throughout the Project Happiness Handbook and spend 5 minutes in class thinking, writing, talking or drawing about the positive things in your life. Alternatively, check out Gratitude Log, a cool website that not only provides you with opportunities to show appreciation, but lets you send others virtual gratitude ‘gifts.’ Gratitude Log will even remind you when you’ve gone a few days without being grateful so there’s no slacking!
2. Reset your mindset. Using ‘Changing our Mindset’ on p. 50 of the Handbook as a guide, focus on effort and the distinction between the “why bother?” mindset and the “growth and learning require effort” mindset. Start out with some physical effort. Take a class walk, do some jumping jacks, or put on a song and dance (might I recommend ‘Party People’?…). Once you’ve got those endorphins going, have everyone think of one area in their lives where they’d like to apply more effort and then take a class pledge to put that effort in this week. With the support of each other, you might be able to get over that low energy hump.
3. Take the ‘How Full Is Your Cup?’ survey on p. 118 of the Handbook. After adding up your scores, give yourself and the class 5 to 10 minutes to add just a little bit of self-compassion to your cups. Sit and stare out the window, doodle, bring in some fun magazines to leaf through, watch a silly video, or do the meditation on p. 31-32 of the Facilitators’ Guide.
4. Shake the zombie blah’s by reaching out. Work through ‘Finding Happiness…Sharing My Piece’ on p. 165-166 of the Handbook and then send students (and yourself!) out to commit a random act of kindness. Declare a homework holiday for a day to give everyone more incentive. If you want to get really fancy, print out Smile Cards for students to give to the recipients of their kindness.
5. Lower your standards! Teachers – and students – often have ridiculously high standards, particularly at portentous times like New Year’s, birthdays, graduation, etc. Discuss ‘Reflecting on Guilt’ on p. 88 of the Handbook and then extend that discussion from guilt about the past to what I like to call generalized anticipatory guilt[2]: that feeling that you already know you’re overcommitted and you already know you’ll ‘fail’ someone or something, you just don’t know what. Afterwards do a basic meditation in which you breathe in your own goodness and breathe out the murky feelings of guilt. You can even try the guided meditation below.

Take advantage of the new year to not have to ‘TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE NEW YEAR!!!!’: renew, rest, relax and enjoy a zombie-free 2010!

The End of Guilt Meditation Technique:

(adapted from the Meditation Society of America’s Meditation, with several changes to make it secular and more accessible to adolescents)

Sit in a position of comfort. Relax your mind, body, and emotions. Allow your breath to flow at its natural pace. Refocus your attention on your breath if you get distracted from your meditation. In your mind’s eye, visualize a figure of love in your life. It could be a parent, a friend, a relative, or even an author or thinker you admire. See that person in as great detail as possible.

Now place yourself in front of and facing your figure of love, in a sitting or standing position. Visualize yourself covered with many, many layers of ultra-fine energy, much like the layers of skin on an onion. Each of these layers were created by the process of labeling your actions as “bad” or “wrong”. In reality, nothing you’ve ever done has been either “good” or “bad”, “right” or “wrong”. They have just been things that occurred in your life. If they could be labeled or judged, what they would be are opportunities to appreciate your humanness, your similarity to everyone around you.

With every breath you take, picture this figure of love offering you forgiveness, with kind words, a hug, or simply a nod.
Now visualize your guilt coatings melting off and the forgiveness healing the wounds and pain they caused.

As the final layers are peeled away, you realize that there is nothing left within but your own perfect self, as it was meant to be. Allow yourself to experience acceptance, love and joy.

Smile and breathe.

[1] I’m referring to figurative brain death, of course. And, yes, as a linguist I am fully certified to make up new words…even if they are silly.
[2] Again, I am fully licensed to make up not only words, but whole syndromes – don’t worry!

Tracy Bianchi, School Counselor/Faculty Member
Menlo School
Menlo Park, California
A recipient of Project Happiness’ 2009 Radiant Heart Award for outstanding teaching, Tracy makes use of her dual roles as teacher and counselor to give students tools for resilience, self-awareness and wellness. Her positivity and energy are infectious, creating a school climate of acceptance. Adolescence is a time when one’s self-esteem can be greatly influenced.  Tracy is using the Project Happiness Handbook to make sure this peer influence positively supports students, nurturing confident and compassionate leaders. (read more »)

Educating the Heart; Educating the Mind
Educating the Heart; Educating the Mind
The Radiant Heart Awards are yearly awards given to two select individuals whose contribution to the education of our youth includes compassion, kindness, and love. These year’s honorees are Oram Ramirez and Tracy Bianchi.

Oram Ramirez is a teacher at Marshall Elementary in San Francisco’s Mission District. We honor his commitment to educating global citizens; introducing young minds and hearts to themselves and guiding his students through the discovery of greater possibilities. Oram introduced Project Happiness to his 3^rd grade class once a week on Friday mornings. Closely working with the Project Happiness team, the curriculum, intended for teenagers, was easily adapted for younger children. By helping Project Happiness pioneer its programs in elementary grade-levels, he made it possible for countless other teachers and students to take part in this movement promoting individual and social well-being and greater happiness.

Tracy Bianchi is very familiar with the challenges facing young people. As the head counselor of Menlo School, she has put together a key volunteer team to be on call in case of any emergency, such as the types we are hearing about widely, from unprecedented stress to suicide. The great news is that the model she is creating can be replicated in any community. It brings community together with the experts to make a difference. This is innovative thinking at its best, and it is a blueprint that leads to deep and lasting change. Tracy is bringing Project Happiness to her school and empowering students to develop the positive practices that promote authentic happiness.