Student Responses — Think Better--Live Better

Student Responses--How Well-being Strategies Can Help You

To increase positive well-being, one can learn from others' experiences to gain perspective; and, by learning about others' experiences, one can gain an understanding of what can be done to increase positive well-being. Each semester, students in my high school positive psychology class write a response to a very simple question—how has the study of positive psychology impacted you? Below are some of the most recent collections of these responses. I hope they can give others hope that change is possible.

—See past student submissions at the bottom of the page.

Female, 18

Positive Psychology has given me new ideas and perspectives when it comes to character strengths. I had never learned about there being 24 different character strengths that contribute to your well being and personality. My top 3 turned out to be love, humor, and self-regulation. Learning about these three allowed me to recognize little ways that I behave and show these three strengths. This class has helped me to practice my character strengths more often and I will continue to do so. Learning about these strengths has helped me to work on my relationships and use my strength of self-regulation to have more self-control in stressful or negative situations.

Male, 18

Positive psychology has helped me with having more positive emotions in my daily life. I think that the gratitude journals really helped with identifying that there are way more positive things in my life than negative. Also this class is very relevant to things outside of school and in your future. I like that this class helps you with relationships and how to keep them healthy. I really enjoyed this class and I think everyone should take it.

Female, 17

Positive psychology has impacted me by teaching me to better understand others. I am now more compassionate and better able to navigate my friendships and relationships. I have learned how to reframe and work through different scenarios and emotions in positive ways. I have learned the importance of expressing gratitude, especially to others, and the impact it can have on both myself and others. One of my biggest takeaways from the course is to be mindful and present in all areas of life, especially with others.

Male, 18

Positive Psychology has impacted me greatly in my day to day life by being able to express more gratitude, enjoy the smaller things in life and looking at stress differently. Not only am I expressing more gratitude but I'm seeking times where I can express gratitude, this has made a huge impact on my life. This class has allowed me to enjoy the moment I am and slow down, slowing down has made me be more aware of the situation I'm in and enjoy it. Flipping my view of stress upside down has made me think of stressful times as times of growth and has rewired my brain to be optimistic about stress. These three things have had such a huge impact on my life and have allowed me to better reach well being.

Female, 17

Positive psychology has impacted my life greatly. It has completely changed the way I look at happiness. I no longer view it as something you gain but something you build has you improve your well-being. Positive psychology has taught me how to better improve my relationships. I've learned to become more mindful when I'm around my family and friends and be in the moment more often. Not only has being mindful improved my relationships but also my success in life. In school I've learned to focus on being more mindful and I've watched my grades improve as I'm more engaged in class and with my homework. Positive psychology has also impacted the way I deal with stress. Instead of avoiding aspects in my life where I encounter stress I now view it as something positive rather than negative. I have learned to deal with stress by having more kind acts towards others, reaching out towards others, and having a positive mindset. Positive psychology has also impacted my life as a student athlete . I've learned the importance of having willpower in my life. It has helped me exercise my willpower that has allowed me to practice softball more often, exercise more ,and do my homework when I need to. Positive Psychology has impacted my life as I've been able to improve relationships around me, face stress with a positive mindset, and exercise willpower.

Female, 16

This positive psychology course has really changed my perspective on my own life and others’ lives. I have become more in tune with my emotions and have become better and monitoring how I feel. I have become better at seeing more optimism rather than negativity in daily life, and that has made me feel better about myself and situations. I also have had a change in perspective on engagement in activities and willpower. I have harnessed better ways to get things done and manage tasks. Overall, I have become a better person within myself and now have a better understanding of emotions.

Male, 17

Positive psychology has impacted me by allowing me to realize and understand a lot of things that before I didn't know about, such as allowing me to learn about my own character strengths and now I am able to use them in my everyday life to improve my own well being. I also was able to learn so much on how to improve and better your well being.

Male, 17

Positive psychology has helped me understand what well being is and how to achieve it. It also taught me how to live better and build stronger relationships with people. I’ve improved my life in many ways because of this class.

Male, 16

The study of positive psychology has impacted my life in numerous ways. I have incorporated positive psychology into my life by watching out for the four horsemen of the apocalypse in my relationships with my family and my friends. I also avoid the “sins” of speaking when I'm talking or making a point. Another way positive psychology has affected me is by gratitude journaling. It has helped me be more grateful to the people in my life and to the things that happen to me. I think the most important thing I've learned this semester is the power of willpower. The simple strategies I learned in the unit, like brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand have been very helpful because I have struggled getting things done that I considered boring or annoying ever since I was a small child. Another way positive psychology has affected my life is by helping me out in AP Psychology as well. Many things we discuss in either class can relate and be used in the other, causing me to perform better in both classes. Finally, another way positive psychology has affected my life is by helping me notice what can impede my flourishing, like bad habits or depressive symptoms. By being able to notice and catch these symptoms while they're happening, I have improved my well being. All in all, I believe positive psychology was worth studying and has improved my well-being immensely.

Female, 17

It takes time to begin something new or develop a fresh aspect of your life. It has always been easy for me to say that I will change and become a productive and mindful person. However I have never given my time and energy towards it, until I took this class. I have developed different ways of thinking and going about life after diving into positive psychology. Something as simple as gratitude can go a long way. Writing in my gratitude journal three times a week has helped me. I learned to appreciate the little things more. Before learning about positive psychology, I never would have given a second thought to going to lunch with a friend or my mom washing my clothes for me. Now I think about the moments and value them. When I go about my life, I realize in the moment that I am experiencing something positive and I make a mental note of it to write down later. This goes hand and hand with mindfulness. I learned how to be mindful of my positive thoughts and times in my life. Recognizing that in the moment allows me to respect the experience more and live it while it’s happening. In addition to being mindful of positive experiences, I have learned how to direct my thoughts and focus when I am experiencing something bad. For example, I used to get really stressed out at work. Now, whenever I get overwhelmed, I become mindful of my feelings and try to calm myself down. Giving recognition to those thoughts can prevent unnecessary conflict and stress. Having the skill of mindfulness has also allowed me to connect with my peers. I can pick up on their emotions and try to level with them. If I get into an argument with a friend, I acknowledge that they are talking out of anger and are not being mindful of their behavior. This allows me to forgive them easier because I understand what they were going through and that they did not mean it. In the end we are all human and we should make the best out of our life. A big takeaway was to just appreciate what I have and try to live my life with the best attitude. Positive psychology has overall allowed me to become a better person, recognize my own feelings and others, and value the little things.

Male, 17

The most impactful part of positive psychology has been our focus of mindfulness, helping me in all elements of well-being, specifically engagement. When we started to talk about mindfulness, I realized that a good portion of my day was spent daydreaming, or on autopilot. After going out of my way to change this I realized I am more in the moment when hanging out with friends, driving by myself, or playing tennis. When I am living in the moment I am more engaged, feel more purposeful, and can more easily cultivate authentic connections.

Female, 17

The study of positive psychology has impacted my life in multiple ways. At the top of my list I would say the ability of understanding and strengthening my relationships is the most important to me. I’ve been able to expand my relationship with my parents the most. I have put a lot of things we've learned over the semester into perspective when it comes to being with them and communicating to them. My family has a very rocky relationship, when someone in our family is stressed instead of talking to each other we have small arguments over whatever was bothering us. Instead of having our typical outbursts I've worked on communicating to them when something is going on. For example, if I'm the one that’s stressed I tell them that I'm stressed with school or whatever the reason is and that I just need some time alone to calm down and relax. In the past, where they may have come into my room to tell me to do something like chores or school, they now wait until I come out or say that I'm feeling better. I've also been able to express my gratitude towards them more. Even when it comes down to the smaller things like making dinner or doing the laundry and so on, I always say thank you and that I love them. Occasionally when I have free time I'll take over some of the tasks that they usually do so that they can have a break. The second thing I've learned is that not everyone is meant to be in your life. Unfortunately I had to learn this when it came to two of what I thought were my closest friends. I had been going through a rough time with some personal issues and I had asked them if I could talk to them. One of them agreed and helped me a little but the other had shut me down and told me to get over it. The next day I found out that the second friend had actually removed all contact with me and had begun talking to the other friend about me. Over the week I heard more and more about how they were talking about me so I confronted the first friend. She completely denied everything and just like the second friend, removed all contact with me. While some friends may be there to support you, there are also others that are there for the opposite reason. They seem great until something in your life happens and then they completely change. I came to the realization that I hadn't done anything wrong in the situation and that they were just toxic people in general and they needed to be cut out of my life because in the end they were not healthy to be around. Through those experiences I began to appreciate a lot of smaller things that my other friends did for me like listening to me when I needed to talk about something and helping me to overcome whatever it is. I've learned that being alone sometimes is not a bad thing and that you don't always have to be around people, and I took time to appreciate the time when I was alone whether it be in my room doing art or when I'm out and about doing photography. The things i've learned over the semester have helped in so many aspects of my life but I think the impact it has had on my relationships by far beats everything else it has helped with.

Male, 16

Positive psychology and its concepts are used in my life on a daily basis. Since I began to actively practice mindfulness, I find it easier to absorb information and self-regulate. Being aware of my character strengths, my areas of struggle, and tendencies, equips me to buffer and improve my well-being. Having the ability to recognize hostile language has been crucial to my interpersonal communication growth. In the past, the language I used often was riddled with criticism. I had not realized that the way I cogitate my thoughts and ideas has a significant impact on others’ well-being. Being mindful of how I articulate my thoughts has opened numerous opportunities for strengthening my relationships with family and friends. Practicing mindfulness on a daily basis also helps me remember and do tasks more efficiently. Being actively engaged in a task promotes brainstorming how to do something faster or make something better. I have noticed improvements in cognitive processing speeds since I began practicing mindfulness, because the more I am actively thinking, the easier it becomes. The Earth is a crazy place, so I found it pretty important to learn how to focus. I also find it important to have a clear understanding of negative emotions and their purpose. Having the tools to label my own negative emotions is the first step for me to feeling better. If you can label the emotion, you have a much better chance at figuring out the cause. As of now, I have little to no difficulties identifying and coping with negative emotions. These concepts, amongst many others, are all used in my day to day life. And having an understanding of them has been critical to my development as a person.

Student, 18

I have incorporated positive psychology into my life in many ways. I have used mindfulness to be able to focus on my present more. I was one to ruminate on my past and have high anxiety about my future, and through focusing on my surroundings, perspective, experience and reaction to those factors of life I have been able to focus more on my current situation and present moment which has led me to enjoy life more. I also was able to change my stress mindset. Through procrastination and avoidance of my stress I altered my mindset on stress, and saw it as something that I could avoid and have little to no responsibility for the things I procrastinate on. This class helped me to realize that stress is natural and that we cannot avoid it, and that we only stress about the things we care about. It has taught me to use my stress as fuel for my goals and responsibilities, like helping me to work harder in school and also in my hobbies and interests. I love philosophy, fashion, and music, and I have found that research has been very intriguing again recently and I enjoy reading up on what I find interesting again. I have also been able to experience flow more due to this class. I have been able to stay working hard and have started to see the fruits of my labors due to this. It has also allowed me to utilize my character strengths more. My top three were curiosity, love of learning, and appreciation of beauty and excellence. Through positive psychology I have been able to realize what makes me, “me.” I am a curious person, who loves and desires to experience and see the beauty in human life, all aspects and corners of it. I see the world as almost a beautiful tragedy, for there are an innumerable amount of events that deserve tears, but there are an equal amount of joyous moments that should be given the honor of a smile. The tragedy of mortality is what makes it all the more worth it, though. I have been able to use these characteristics of myself to defeat my own fears of expectations, failures, others’ perspectives through mindfulness, and even death all through mindfulness. I have also been able to point these towards my interests, mainly philosophy. Philosophy is for people like me who still have that child-like curiosity, are always questioning things, and wanting to find true meaning in their lives. I have been able to deepen my understanding of the very first roots to human knowledge and the pursuit of it, and in turn have been able to better understand the basis of positive psychology better through ethical ideals, rationalism, and always asking “Why?” I have been able to self generate meaning and purpose through all of this, which would be to experience the human condition to the fullest extent and inspire others to do the same. I want to spread the same fire and beauty I see in life to others, and have been able to do so through showing my gratitude to my friends and family and completing my goals that they have helped me work towards. It has led me to appreciate what I have in life much more and to achieve more for them and myself.

Female, 18

The study of positive psychology has really impacted my everyday life. I went into this class fresh out of a break-up and I felt like I had to start over. I have never had a good relationship with my family, I just broke up with my boyfriend, and the only family I had anymore were my coworkers. I felt lost and confused because everything I had worked so hard for, mentally and physically, was gone. I signed up for this class honestly just hoping for an easy “A” but now I couldn’t be more grateful that I did sign up for this class. I have learned so much about the positives and negatives of emotions. I look forward to going to this class so I can sit there and think, rather than be working on a math assignment constrained by the 30 minutes I have on my lunch break at work. I used to be a major overthinker, everything had a negative, and also a positive, but I would focus on the negative. I now look on the brighter side of things without using “toxic positivity”. I also was intrigued by the topic of toxic positivity. How only having positive thoughts or emotions can negatively affect you. You need to be able to feel those negative emotions to positively affect yourself. I grew up in a world where I had to be positive. I would get yelled at for feeling anything besides a positive emotion. I can’t even put into words how much this class has helped me. It helped me not hold grudges and to forgive, and that there is only so much you can do as a person, you just can’t do it all, even if you try. This class has also reinforced the idea of optimism, which is the thought that negative events won’t last long, or having the ability to bounce back, or that setbacks are limited. This class has hit me in the heart. I was able to relearn all the emotional tactics I had learned but in a more positive light. I allow myself to feel the emotions. I’m not sitting at work feeling numb anymore. I can feel my emotions so thoroughly and I love it. I accept it. I may be super emotional to the point where everything makes me tear up, but I love it. I love going to work and crying a little bit because my coworkers and I had a good time and they were supporting me. I love crying at movies not meant to be cried at like FernGully. I love being able to just feel for once, with no negative backlash. One of the most beautiful things I have experienced is being able to cry because someone did something nice for me. I was so numb because my family told me I wasn’t allowed to feel. I still stay positive and optimistic, and I’m still able to express my gratitude towards people, but it’s not forced anymore. It's a pure, raw, authentic, feeling for people. I was being trained to be a military officer, to be rough and numb, but now I get to tell my friends how much I love them, without it feeling awkward to me. I know how to express love and other emotions healthily. I get to cry telling a friend how much I love her. I get to feel proud of other people. I get hurt because people I love hurt. I don’t feel selfish taking care of myself anymore. I don’t feel like I am forced into a bubble. My life was full of so much love and color when it felt like everything was murky and dull for the better part of 17 years. I get to sit down in class and get to know those around me, free of judgment. I love doing the gratitude journals and the positive emotions to help me recognize the good in my life. I am not ignoring the bad, I am not shoving the bad away. I am still feeling it, but it’s just dampened compared to the good in my life. I have journals in my home now to help me remember the good. I have forgiven people in my life when I was raised to hold grudges. I don’t hold on and claw into people who have hurt me in hopes that it changes. I can accept my realities and move on. I don’t feel like a dog begging to stay anymore. I was never able to let go, I used to stay beyond all reason because I just couldn’t let go. Now I am, it’s not a numbing experience for me anymore, I get to be grateful for the experience, I get to hurt because it happened, and I get to let go. I lost what I had left relationship-wise with my family this year, and I wasn’t devastated, I was just able to move on with life. I have this radiance with me now, where I am able to make people happy. I love the people around me so much, not for any particular reason, just because I do. I am so happy to encounter the people I do in my everyday life. This class has helped me realize that amongst everything, life can be a breath of fresh air. I have never felt so loved and loving in my life.

Age 17

Positive psychology has impacted me greatly on how I understand my emotions as well as happiness. Before, I didn't realize how my thought processes affected my mental health. By using methods such as the gratitude journal, I am able to reflect positively on my day which helps improve my well-being. Not only this but it changes my perspective when it comes to other people and their emotions as well. By learning how to be more engaging I can build more positive relationships as well as understand other people better. I have also learned how to deal with willpower and how I can improve this to better help myself.

Male, 18

Female, 17

Throughout the semester of positive psychology, I had a lot of personal struggles I was dealing with. It was perfect for me to be in this class as I gained multiple strategies and tactics to help better cope. It was cool to see how positive psychology can impact someone in real time (even if that person was me). Something that really helped me was changing my perspective on stress and using it as a motivator instead of something that made me want to procrastinate more. Also, the constant expression of gratitude has lifted my spirits when I practice it and actually apply it to my daily life. I would say positive psychology has overall impacted my life in a positive manner and I will continue to practice it even though I am not in the class anymore.

Male, 17

Positive psychology has impacted me by allowing me to realize and understand a lot of things that before I didn't know about, such as allowing me to learn about my own character strengths. Now I am able to use them in my everyday life to improve my own well being. I also was able to learn so much on how to improve and better my well being.

Female, 16

This positive psychology course has really changed my perspective on my own life and others lives. I have become more in tune with my emotions and have become better and monitoring how I can feel. I have become better at seeing more optimism rather than negativity in daily life, and that has made me feel better about myself and situations. I also have had a changed perspective on engagement in activities and willpower. I have harnessed better ways to get things done and manage tasks. Overall, I have become a better person within myself and now have a better understanding of emotions.

Female, 17

Male, 17

Positive Psychology has impacted me greatly in my day-to-day life by being able to express more gratitude, enjoy the smaller things in life and looking at stress differently. Not only am I expressing more gratitude but I'm seeking times where I can express gratitude–this has made a huge impact on my life. This class has allowed me to enjoy the moment I am and slow down–slowing down has made me be more aware of the situation I'm in and enjoy it. Flipping my view of stress upside down has made me think of stressful times as times of growth and has rewired my brain to be optimistic about stress. These three things have had such a huge impact on my life and have allowed me to better reach well being.

Female, 17

Female, 18

Male, 18

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