Tips for wellness from our Mental Health In Schools Team
“It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer” – Albert Einstein
Persistence
Persistence is all about keeping going, even when times are challenging. It is normal to want to give up when you are going through something difficult, but if you can stick with it and overcome the obstacles, you will be closer to achieving your goals.
Having a growth mindset will help us persist, which means you believe you can learn, grow and develop your skills by putting in the hard work and practise. This can be tricky, so make sure you reach out to friends and trusted adults to support you.
Our tips for persistence:
- Break the goal down into smaller steps. You can set yourself smaller goals that are more achievable, to help you reach your ultimate goal. Make sure the smaller goals are linked to your ultimate goal; this may help to encourage you to keep going, as you will be able to measure your progress.
- Try something new – this could be a new hobby, sport, craft activity, or puzzle. Having a go at something new can help to develop your persistence, whilst also having fun. You might find it challenging at first, but you will receive a greater sense of reward and achievement by sticking with it!
- Positive self-talk – instead of saying “I can’t”, add “yet” onto the end of the sentence. This tells your brain that it might be difficult, but you will get there in the end.
- Talk to yourself like a friend – we are often kinder to our friends than we are to ourselves, when we go through challenging times. Practise talking to yourself like you would talk to a friend! What advice would you give if a friend told you they were rubbish at something? What would you say if they felt they wanted to give up?
- Practise mindfulness. A good way to improve our mental wellbeing is by paying more attention to the present moment and the world around us. Think about sounds and smells around you, what can you see, and how does this make you feel. By being more aware, this can improve our mental wellbeing and enable us to improve skills such as being persistent.
Please contact [email protected] for information and advice about mental health and well-being for your child and your family.