Well-being Primer

• We explore the science of positive emotion, and how positive emotion can be cultivated, rather than passively experienced.

• We explore the research on optimism, and learn that optimism is not a personality trait you either possess or lack, but a practiced way of interpreting and engaging with the world around you.

• We discuss explanatory style (how individuals explain setbacks to themselves), and help you reflect upon how your current explanatory style may work for or against you.

How students make sense of the world can affect what follows. Learning about optimism and explanatory style gives you powerful tools to reflect upon your own perspective.

• Resilience is not the absence of struggle, but the capacity to absorb difficulty, adapt, and grow through it. We discuss how this is a skill that can be developed, not just a characteristic that some people possess.

• We explore how resilience relates to your strengths, relationships, and coping strategies, so you have something sustainable to reach for when facing challenges.

Resilience is not about being unaffected by difficulty, it is about having the resources to meet it. Students who build this capacity don't just survive challenges; they grow through them.

• We explore evidence-based strategies for managing stress (e.g., mindfulness, physical movement, sleep hygiene, cognitive reframing).

• We consider how to manage your own stress and integrate these practices into a realistic routine.

• We also explore how some stress signal the need for coping strategies, while other stress signals the need for outside support, normalizing both responses.

• We develop a personalized stress management plan that reflects your own patterns, preferences, and vulnerabilities, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.

Stress is an inevitable part of life, but suffering under it is not. Students who leave with a personalized, practiced set of tools are better equipped to meet pressure with steadiness rather than crisis.

• We explore that self-compassion, treating oneself with the same kindness one would offer a good friend, is a foundation for sustained wellbeing.

• We discuss three core components of self-compassion: self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness. We apply these to the pressures, failures, and uncertainties of life. We discuss harsh self-criticism, perfectionism, and imposter syndrome that can especially common in high-achieving academic environments.

• You learn techniques to practice self-compassion, and how you can utilize these in moments of failure, disappointment, or self-doubt.

In environments that reward achievement, self-compassion can ground students after setbacks, and makes the pursuit of excellence sustainable, rather than punishing.

• Students explore the role of relationships in wellbeing, as well as the various types of relationships individuals cultivate in their lives.

• We discuss the research about forming and maintaining meaningful relationships, and investigate the role of behaviors like self-disclosure.

The quality of one's relationships can be a predictor of well-being. Learning how to build and sustain positive relationships with care and intentionality is one of the most valuable investments an individual can make.

• Students are introduced to the research on gratitude, and how practicing gratitude can measurably improve mood, relationships, and overall wellbeing.

• We explore gratitude practices (e.g., gratitude recounting, reflecting, and expressing) to identify which practices could fit within the student’s life.

• Students explore how gratitude can be a grounding tool during stressful periods, focusing on what is present and meaningful, and redirecting from what is lacking.

Practicing gratitude is one of the simplest and most effective ways to raise wellbeing. Students learn how and why to cultivate such practices.