December

Keep Your Head Up | Focus on the Bright Spots 

How might you intentionally focus on the bright spots in the final few weeks before the end of the first semester of the year? 

What if we told you that with an intentional focus and effort, we can actually train our brains to fight a wired negativity bias. When times get tough, we have to be intentional with what we focus our attention on. Our brains have a negativity bias perceiving negative stimuli faster and more intensely than positive stimuli. It takes the brain one-tenth of a second to process and store negative content. On the other side, it takes a full twelve seconds to process and store positive stimuli. This provides such evidence to support the fact that we have to intentionally put effort and focus into finding the bright spots and elevating what is going well right now. So, our challenge to you during the month of December is to focus on those bright spots including your strengths, assets, skills. Focus on the small wins. Tell your mentor about your bright spots or record them in a video journal or written reflection. 

Check out some of the strategies below to help you keep your head up and to focus on the bright spots. You matter. You're important. We are so glad you're hear with us in Stafford County Public Schools.