workbook-creating-a-life-thats-on-course

Creating a Life that's On Course For You and Your Students 2016 On Course National Conference Pre-Conference Workshop Thursday, April 7, 2016 Bill Johnson, Workshop Facilitator Student Success Navigator, Life Design Catalyst and Instructor Advising and Personal Development Center School of Health and Human Sciences University of North Carolina at Greensboro Creating a Life that's On Course: For You and Your Students Timeline and Table of Contents Workshop Timeline  Morning Session – 9:00am to 12:00pm  Lunch – 12:00pm to 1:30pm  Afternoon Session – 1:30pm to 4:30pm Timeline and Table of Contents On Course Principles Life Design Models: SPARCK and Meaningful Work Tree of Contemplative Practices Design Your Life Project Topics/Activities  Session Guidelines, Workshop Interest and Intention  Laser-Focused Coaching  Thought-Provoking Questions  Life Design U Worksheet  Lollipop Moments  What’s Important to Me, Values Assessment  Value Tags  Portfolio Life, Inspired Work and Play  Potential Project Ideas  Business Blueprint  Desired Feelings  Desired Dream List  Idea Exchange Worksheet  Life Change Challenge and Worksheets  Seven Word Life Motto  Letter to Future Self 11 13 14 15 18 19 20 22 24 25 28 30 Contact Information Evaluation of Pre-Conference Workshop 31 32 On Course Eight Choices of Successful Students… CHOICES OF SUCCESSFUL STUDENTS CHOICES OF STRUGGLING STUDENTS Successful students ACCEPT SELF-RESPONSIBILITY, seeing themselves as the primary cause of their outcomes and experiences Struggling students see themselves as Victims, believing that what happens to them is determined primarily by external forces such as fate, luck, and powerful others Successful students DISCOVER SELF-MOTIVATION, finding purpose in their lives by discovering personally meaningful goals and dreams Struggling students have difficulty sustaining motivation, often feeling depressed, frustrated, and/or resentful about a lack of direction in their lives Successful students MASTER SELF-MANAGEMENT, Struggling students seldom identify specific actions consistently planning and taking purposeful needed to accomplish a desired outcome And actions in pursuit of their goals and dreams when they do, they tend to procrastinate Successful students EMPLOY INTERDEPENDENCE, building mutually supportive relationships that help them achieve their goals and dreams (while helping others to the same) Struggling students are solitary, seldom requesting, even rejecting offers of assistance from those who could help Successful students GAIN SELF-AWARENESS, consciously employing behaviors, beliefs, and attitudes that keep them on course Struggling students make important choices unconsciously, being directed by self-sabotaging habits and outdated life scripts Successful students ADOPT LIFE-LONG LEARNING, finding valuable lessons and wisdom in nearly every experience they have Struggling students resist learning new ideas and skills, viewing learning as fearful or boring rather than as mental play Successful students DEVELOP EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE, effectively managing their emotions in support of their goals and dreams Struggling students live at the mercy of strong emotions such as anger, depression, anxiety, or a need for instant gratification Successful students BELIEVE IN THEMSELVES, seeing themselves capable, lovable, and unconditionally worthy as human beings Struggling students doubt their competence and personal value, feeling inadequate to create their desired outcomes and experiences Life Design Models The Tree of Contemplative Practices (from The Center for Contemplative Mind in Society http://www.contemplativemind.org/practices/tree) Design Your Life Project The Design Your Life Project is a series of “meetings” over the course of the first-year where students learn about themselves The Program addresses the most pressing question for college students today – What should I with my life? As structured, Life Design Catalysts (similar to academic/success coaches) work with a small number of students over the course of the academic year to not only understand who/what they want to be in life, but to then create experiences pertinent to their life An important component of this is the chances to not only connect with their instructor, but to connect with teaching assistants (undergraduate and/or graduate students) and to their fellow students as well Components/Principles        Life Design Process Contemplative Practices Holistic Engagement/Intrinsic Motivation Entrepreneurial Spirit Laser Focus Coaching Self-Directed Learning Open Education Resource Design Your Life Project in Action Courses  HHS125: Design Your Life I: What Could I Do With My Life (1 credit)  HHS135: Design Your Life II: (Re-) Design a Life You’ll Love (1 credit)  HHS130: Meditation for Life (1 credit)  ENT/HHS250: Purpose-Driven Entrepreneurship (3 credits)  HHSXXX: Personal Branding for Health and Human Science Entrepreneurs (3 credits) Programs  Rites of Passage Minority Male Mentoring Program  Design Your Life Learning Community Trainings/Workshops  Life Design Catalyst Coach Training Certification Program (next training – May 17-20, 2016) Other Projects  Life Design Studio (A makerspace to Design Your Life) – proposed 2016-17  Student/Self- Designed Multidisciplinary Program/Major – proposed 2016-17  Certificate/Minor in Leadership and Life Design – proposed 2017-18 Creating a Life that’s On Course for You and Your Students Pre-Conference Workshop 2016 On Course National Conference Session Guidelines  Engage fully – Allow yourself to be present for the day  Be attentive to time – at the start of the day, during breaks, at lunch, and at the end  Be mindful of equal sharing of time for self and for others  Please turn off cell phones, tablets, laptops, etc  No judgment zone  Have fun!  Other: Why did you attend this workshop? What you hope to learn/accomplish by the end of the workshop? What needs to happen in order for you accomplish your intention? Laser-Focused Coaching Laser Focus Coaching is a short and focused technique used by Life Design Catalysts to help their students and/or clients identify and work through change needed quickly Use this coaching technique when you aim to get the desire outcome in the shortest amount of time It's usually seen as intense, fast, and focused This technique gets to the source/root of the problem quickly and gets clients moving forward immediately To be effective utilizing Laser Focus Coaching, you need to think quickly on your feet, be flexible, utilize what you have, and make sure to stick to the outcome – getting results Laser-Focused Coaching – Get Results FAST!!! Usefulness of Laser Focus Coaching:  Uses intuition and experience on what he or she things about situation  Helps identify a narrowly defined and clear goal that needs to be resolved immediately  Gets to the heart of the matter quickly, without much "story" or explanation  Spend less time on obstacles and more time on solution  Helps client eliminate/minimizes effect of feeling stuck or blocked  Allows coach to go deeper rather than broader, which maximizes time and helps you stay focused  Help clients commit to action and be accountable for results  A great way to get results when working with small groups Laser Focus Coaching question format (use as you see fit): What you want? (Alternate: What’s one specific thing that you’re looking for in this session?) If achieved, what will it get you? (Alternate: Why is this important for you to accomplish it?) What would this change allow you to in your life now that you couldn’t before? Why you want/need to make this change right now? How have you been successful in the past? (Alternate: What’s something from a past success can you use in this situation?) What you need to right now to get started? Other Helpful Laser Focus Coaching Questions  What are the possibilities?  If you had your choice, what would you do?  What are possible solutions?  What if you and what if you don’t?  What else?  What other ideas you have about it?  How does this fit with your plans/way of life/values?  What will you have to to get the job done?  If you could anything you wanted, what would you do?          What was the lesson/learning? What will you do? By when? In the bigger scheme of things, how important is this? How could you improve the situation? If you were at your best, what would you right now? What else can you to honor your values? What are you holding back? What you want? What action will you take? *** Catalyst Coaching Questions Useful for This Workshop ***  What were your results of this activity?  Share at least one thought about this activity…  Describe how you felt as you were engaged in this activity…  Describe how you felt after you completed this activity…  What is at least one thing you learned from this activity?  When thinking about what you currently in your work (or aspire to as work), who you think would find this activity useful and/or how could they benefit from doing this activity?  How would you share this activity with others?  What’s next? Describe how your life might be different now that you’ve completed this activity… Thought-Provoking Questions At the beginning of each semester, students are asked a series of thought-provoking questions to: (1) get them to start thinking about various aspects of their life, and (2) set the stage for the exploration and reflection they’ll have to in class I use the answers from both sets of questions below to provider a sense of how you’d like to structure your classes for the rest of the semester Kick-Ass Questions About Life - HHS125 course What’s always on your mind? What you think about a lot? If you were in a bookstore, what section would you gravitate towards first? If you were on the computer/internet, what would you spend your time reading or searching most? What are at least three things you care about most, other than family, friends, and meaningful relationships? What positive things people say about you? What people thank you for most often? Who inspires you? Who would you most like to be like? Who are your heroes, your role models? Who you envy most? What you help with that seems natural or easy for you? What people come to you for? When you’re at your best, what does it look like? What are you amazing at doing (can be work- or life-related)? What are you great at? What you particularly well? When you feel most powerful, passionate, free, incredibly useful, excited, and/or inspired? Who you want to help? Who would you like to inspire? Whose lives would you like to change? If you had a chance to be known for something special or unique, what would it be? How you feel you contribute (or could contribute) to society? 10 How would you like to be seen, recognized, acknowledged, awarded, praised – now and/or in the future? What’s the legacy you want to leave behind? If you were to die tomorrow, what would you want people to say about you? 11 What is your biggest fear? What’s the thing that scares you the most in life? 12 How would you define success? And what would success look like for you? 13 What you REALLY want for your life? Where to Start – Questions to Start the Idea Exploration Process (from “Why Do So Many Entrepreneurs Hate Their Lives,” by Jonathan Fields - http://www.jonathanfields.com/entrepreneurs-hate-lives/) – HHS250 course What I care about? What I hold sacred, both in business and life? What lights me up, what would I work hard to for free? What empties me out, emotionally, psychologically and physically? 7 10 11 Who I want to serve? Do I care more about serving or building? What I value on a non-negotiable level? What am I great at? What am I terrible at? How I want to spend each day? How I want to live my life? 25 26 Precious Prepared Prestigious Pretty Pristine Prized Productive Professional Progressive Prominent Prosperous Proud Provocative Pumped up Purposeful Qualified Quiet Quirky Radiant Radical Ravishing Re-energized Ready Reassured Rebellious Reborn Receptive Recharged Recognized Redeemed Refined Reflective Refreshed Rejuvenated Relaxed Reliable Relieved Religious Remarkable Renewed Renowned Replenished Resilient Respected Responsible Restored Revered Revitalized Revived Revolutionary Rich Right Robust Romantic Safe Satisfied Saved Secure Seductive Self-accepted Self-assured Self-confident Self-disciplined 27 Self-expressed Self-loved Self-reflective Self-reliant Self-satisfied Selfless Sensational Sensual Serene Serendipitous Sexy Significant Simple Skilled Smart Smooth Sociable Soft-hearted Solid Sophisticated Sparkling Special Spectacular Spirited Spiritual Splendid Spontaneous Stable Stellar Stimulated Strengthened Stretched Strong Stunning Stupendous Successful Sunny Super Superb Superior Surprised Supported Surprised Sweet Tenacious Tenderness Terrific Thankful Thrilled Tickled Touched Tranquil Transformed Tremendous Triumphant Trustworthy Truthful Turned on Understood Unique United Unlimited Uplifted Valiant Validated Valued Vibrant Victorious Visionary Vivacious Welcomed Whimsical Whole Wise Witty Wonderful Worthy Wow Youthful Yummy Zany Zesty Once you select all of the words that describe how you want to feel, use the spaces below to choose NO MORE THAN TEN (10) words that BEST describe how you want to feel - today and every day See these words as the words that are going to bring you the focus and clarity you need to direct your life – now and in the future! 10 28 Desired Dream List Your Desired Dream List identifies the things you’d like experience at some point in your life Your Dream List should be about those experiences you’d like to have – now and in the future, based on your Desired Feelings Use the categories and examples below to identify a few of the things that you’d like to be, do, or have that are really important to you For this exercise, you will need to come up with at least TWO items for each of the eight different categories; of course, more are always welcomed! Make sure to be as specific as possible; for example, instead of writing, “Be a better person,” write something more specific, such as “spend at least once day a week with my family ” or “volunteer at homeless shelter once a week.” Remember, this is YOUR Desired Dream List, not a list of things that others want you to achieve Categories Work/Career/Education Money/Finances Lifestyle/Social Family/Friends/ Relationships Personal Growth/SelfManagement Health/Well-Being Recreation/Fun Religion/Spirituality Start a business, get high school/college/professional degrees, get certificates, find job/employment, identify career/vocation, be a mentor to someone, join professional organizations and associations, create professional group Increase income, reduce debt, create retirement, savings, emergency fund, limit expenses, get health benefits, reduce taxes, create budget, give to charity Purchase clothing, housing, vehicles/transportation, electronics and/or technology equipment, community work, improve self-image, start dating Spend quality time with parents, spouse/life partner, siblings, children, relatives, childhood friends, pets, co-workers/colleagues, bosses, roommates Live according to values/life purpose, work on goals/dreams, learn new skills; managing time/life, get organized, reduce clutter, eliminate bad habits, create rituals Address physical, mental, relaxation, exercise, diet/nutrition, happiness, reduce stress Travel, adventure, sports, music, arts/crafts, hobbies, writing, add play time, cook Develop regular practice (prayer, church attendance, etc.), read scriptures, increase belief in higher power, faith, worship, serve those less fortunate, meditate, yoga Examples Work/Career/Education  Write a book/e-book  Host a training/workshop  Find a mentor  Start a business  Become expert in something  Get a degree/certificate Family/Friends/ Relationships  Go to a show with friends  Be a role model  Go on a family trip  Host a family get-together  Make a nice dinner for partner  Plan a fun day with your kids Recreation/Fun  Learn a new art or craft  Go on a long hike  Travel to exotic place  Participate in a new activity  Go horseback riding  Go sky-diving or parasailing Money/Finances  Create a retirement account  Create scholarship for student  Create a savings account  Donate 10% of salary to charity  Eliminate credit card debt  Create a budget Personal Growth/Self-Management  Learn to play an instrument  Learn a new language  Take a photography class  Attend a self-help workshop  Get rid of clutter in your room  Eliminate a bad habit Religion/Spirituality  Meditate minutes every day  Be grateful for something daily  Pray every day for a month  Go on mission trip  Read scriptures every day  Learn to forgive Lifestyle/Social  Purchase a new house or car  Throw a kick-ass party  Develop close friendships  Be a guest on TV/Radio  Volunteer at local charity  Join a local club or group Health/Well-Being  Eat fruit/veggies every day  Complete a 10K run  Stop eating fast food  Achieve a certain weight  Stop smoking  Relax 10 minutes every day 21 Desired Dream List (Your name) Work/Career/Education Money/Finances Lifestyle/Social Family/Friends/ Relationships Personal Growth/Self-Management Health/Well-Being Recreation/Fun Religion/Spirituality 22 Idea Exchange Worksheet Dream #1: List of Ideas Dream #2: List of Ideas 23 Life Change Challenge (based on TED talk “Try Something New For 30 Days” by Matt Cutts http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/matt_cutts_try_something_new_for_30_days.html It’s been noted that it takes an average of 66 days to incorporate a new habit in one’s life The Life Change Challenge will have you find one thing that you would like to add, subtract, change, and/or improve in your life The Life Change Challenge can be for 7-days (one week) or 28-days (one month) As you watch the inspirational TED talk “Try Something New For 30 Days” by Matt Cutts (http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/matt_cutts_try_something_new_for_30_days.html), try come up with three (3) things you would be willing to work on right now Think of things you would like to add to or subtract from your life, things you would like to change You may want to choose something big (i.e writing a book) or something small (i.e stop eating candy) You may want to choose something that’s keeping you from moving forward in your life (i.e cleaning clutter) or something that will significantly add to your life experience (i.e a walk in the park) Remember, regardless of what you choose, you will be doing this for the next or 28 days And here are some examples of things you’d like to add, subtract, or change: Stop smoking… Write in a journal every day… Move my body/be active days a week… Clean up the clutter in one room… Meet someone new… Watch at least one TED talk… Drink water instead of soda… Study at least hour each day… Meditate for at least 5-10 minutes… Eat a piece of fruit… Sleep for hours… Limit computer/tv use to hour… Be grateful for something… Read a book for at least 30 minutes… Do something special for someone else… Connect with a mentor/faculty/staff member… _ _ _ _ _ _ Now, from your list above, choose one item from your list you are willing to – remember, for the next or 28 days! Write your choice in the space provided on life change challenge worksheet that accompany this document For your first item, choose something that is fairly easy to do, easy to identify, and is something that you would be motivated/excited to You will also be asked to identify a partner or two to hold you accountable to complete it In fact, you may even want to have this person work on something as well – that way, you can hold each other accountable to get something done together in a month! Note: Whatever you decide to choose to work on for the next month, be AS SPECIFIC as possible! The more specific you make it, it will be easier to track and complete For example:   Not specific enough: “I plan to eat healthy every day.” Specific: “I will eat at least one piece of fruit every day.” As you come up with your “something new,” think about how your life might change if you were able to successfully complete this And then imagine what life would be like if you continued living your life completing one-month challenges for the rest of this year – and the rest of your life! 24 Life Change Challenge 7-Day Commitment Worksheet Name: Date: _ I promise myself to work on this “activity” over the next days: Why this “activity” is important to me: _ Accountability Partner(s): _ _ What I will to stay on track this week/What good thing happened this week doing this activity: _  - A good day; took steps to make positive change! Day Date  - Not a good day; did not take steps to make change (circle one) Notes (What action did you take – if any?)               25 Life Change Challenge 28-Day Commitment Worksheet (Adapted from Skip Downing’s 32-Day Commitment) I promise myself to this new thing over the course of the next 28 days: _ _ _  - A good day; took steps to make change! Day 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Date  - Not a good day; did not take steps to make change (circle one) Notes (What action did you take – if any?)                                                         After 28 days, how successful were you completing this “project?” How has it changed/impacted your life? Use space below for brief comments: 26 Seven-Word Life Motto The Seven Word Life Motto is a statement that describes how you want to live your life every day It’s a purpose statement with restrictions Why a Life Motto? And why words? (from dictionary.com)  A motto is: (1) a maxim adopted as an expression of the guiding principles of a person, and (2) a sentence or phrase expressing the spirit or purpose of a person  In numerology circles, the number “7” is seen as being spiritual, reflective, introspective, and possessing wisdom and completeness To create your Seven Word Life Motto, use the words listed in the “Inspiration” and “Action” sections below, as well as the exercises and activities done over the past two days, to construct your Life Motto Inspiration Inspiration words are words that motivate you, words that excite you, words that may be used to describe you, words that make you feel great Place a check next to or circle all of the words that resonate with you the most Note: If there are words that are not listed that fit you better, add them to your list Achieve Peaceful Wish Freedom Imagine Amazing Patience Unique Natural Delicious Wow Appreciate Interesting Embrace Grow Courage Joy Rewarding Renew Strong Grand Wonder Refreshing Satisfied Laugh Fulfilling Inspire Special Vision Fun Great Outrageous Wise Exciting Create Explore Possible Love Service Play Strive Thrive Paradise Magic Holistic Cherish Delightful Happy Lead Hope Meaningful Smile Generous Precious Worthy Believe Discover Best Heavenly Live Pleasure Reflect Treasure Alive Special Outstanding Dream Beautiful Empower Success Passion Relax Transform Brilliant Timeless Action Action words describe how you will help others, words that inspire you to take action Place a check next to or circle all of the words that resonate with you the most Note: If there are words that are not listed that fit you better, add them to your list Discover Empower Teach Prepare Encourage Inspire Change Motivate Lead Promote Coordinate Enable EducateCoach Demonstrate Develop Explain Instruct Nurture Show Influence Counsel Study Make Design Assist Facilitate Evaluate Deliver Support Collaborate Build Worship Listen Share Surrender Savor Prepare Promise Pursue Live Improve Imagine Heal Dream Eliminate Direct Gather Constructing Your Life Motto Engage Create Advise Entertain Train Advocate Guide Inform Cultivate Examine Connect Enlist Contribute Construct Uplift Transform Restore Rejuvenate Love Lift Free Express Foster Provide Help Feed Employ Mentor Unlock Reclaim Invite Explore 27 Your Life Motto is the story of your present and future It must be EXACTLY seven (7) words - no more, no less Remember that your life motto describes how you want to live your life every day, starting today Your Seven-Word Life Motto can be:  One statement;  A series of small statements;  Seven individual words;  Or any combination of statements and/or words that work best for you If you aren’t sure what to write, ask for help in constructing your motto Bill's Life Motto  How I live my life every day: Dream Big Live with Purpose Inspire Others  How I serve others in my work: Achieving more than one ever thought possible! Life Motto Examples (from previous classes/workshops)  Weaknesses are just your few strengths unconquered  Lead others, serve others, and maintain integrity  Be lovely, be loyal, and live enchantingly  God has your back, just keep faith  Remain receptive Let faith be your guide  Today makes you who you are tomorrow  Appreciate Life Maintain health Remember to play  Be happy Be strong Be free Always  Live intentionally Be for others Cultivate peace  Make each moment inspiring with life’s beauty  Ambition should be stronger than any fear  Live through captured moments from the past            Ambition is key The gate is excellence Dream spontaneously Love patiently Live open-mindedly Have faith Love one another Anything’s possible Never be afraid to make an impact Discover daily Lead with integrity, optimism, love Live every day like it’s my last Persevere through challenges Achieve success Gain wisdom Clearly conscious, serving God and people faithfully Connecting people to their God-given destiny Play every day Live for each moment Magic is something I create every day Now, write out your Seven Word Life Motto Feel free to use any of the words from the choices today, as well as from the choices of the previous assignments in this class Come up with the seven words that describe how you want to live your life on a daily basis, words that will inspire you when you get out of bed in the morning When you're feeling down, there will be the words that will inspire you to move forward! And remember, it must be EXACTLY SEVEN WORDS! Note: If you have a chance, share your seven word life motto with at least three people that you know you well and see how they feel about your life motto Write your Seven Word Life Motto on the Life Design U Worksheet 28 Letter to Future Self The Letter to Future Self provides you an opportunity to look at how you’d like your life to look like at some point in the future Use this as an opportunity to write yourself a letter indicating all of the things you were able to and achieve over the course of a period of years (but at least one year into the future) How you want your future self to be? What goals and dreams will you have completed? What would be your desired status in the following areas: career, business, education, finances, family, friends, love, health, spirituality/religion, recreation, personal growth, service? Make sure to write your letter as if you’ve already achieved these things Take several minutes to make a mental picture of a time in the future where you'd like to be Why did you pick this point in the future? What thoughts/feelings did you have when you placed your desired time period? What kind of support you need to move forward? What problems/mistakes/obstacles you foresee as you move forward towards this future? What you think would be your most profound decisions to make? Then spend a couple minutes making a mental list of what you are learning now that could be helpful in moving forward in the future If you could sit with your older self and share an important piece of advice, what would it be? Start a letter to yourself Include as many details as you like about the future Be as empathetic as you can be towards your future self; be respectful of the feelings you have and the understanding of the decisions you'll make Have fun thinking about your future Give some advice to your older self What can your present self offer that might help you in the future? Say whatever you think could be a wake-up call for you Be gentle, blunt, or funny; be kind but firm Before putting your pen down, be sure your letter includes a statement of love and forgiveness for your current self Be sincere and generous, and reassure yourself that your path to the future will be great! After all, you survived and made it to today! When you're done writing, consider for a moment whether the message in your letter might be relevant to any current issues in your life My Contact Information Bill Johnson, aka “The Dream Dean” Student Success Navigator, Life Design Catalyst Coach, Coleman Foundation Entrepreneurial Fellow, and Instructor Advising and Personal Development Center School of Health and Human Sciences University of North Carolina at Greensboro Office e-mail: whjohnso@uncg.edu Office phone: 336-207-6795 Home e-mail: thedreamdean1@gmail.com Home phone: 302-465-0440 Work web site: http://www.uncg.edu/hhs/advising-center/index.html Personal Blog: http://thedreamdean.wordpress.com Twitter: thedreamdean1 30 2016 ON COURSE NATIONAL CONFERENCE EVALUATION OF PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOP CREATING A LIFE THAT’S ON COURSE FOR YOU AND YOUR STUDENTS I very much value your thoughts about this workshop Your specific feedback helps me make course corrections as I move toward my goal of promoting culturally responsive, learner-centered education that empowers students to be active, responsible learners, thus significantly increasing academic success and retention Note: Please use the other side of this sheet for additional comments… Please rate the overall value of this workshop to you (circle one): Poor 10 Excellent Specific concepts/strategies I will use/adapt include: What I liked best about the workshop content and/or facilitation Ways I think the workshop content and/or facilitation can be improved I'd also like to say or add The On Course e-Newsletter is published monthly and contains learner-centered strategies For a free subscription, legibly print your email address: Email: _ 31