Wellbeing

• Cultivate gratitude (see tab this section)
• Practice forgiveness (see tab this section)
• Savor (be in the moment) pleasurable, wonderful things that are happening now
• Develop optimism (see video in this section)
• Remember a time when you experienced a positive emotion
• Act like you do when you feel positive emotions
• Put yourself in situations where you are more likely to feel positive emotions
• Be more mindful of your feelings in general
• 10 Quick Ways to Reduce Stress (video)

The benefits of gratitude:

• Lower risk of certain psychiatric illnesses (depression, anxiety, substance misuse and bulimia)
• Among people with PTSD, gratitude predicts better daily functioning
• Higher life satisfaction
• Higher ‘authentic living’ (behaving consistent with values and beliefs)
• Stronger relationships (may be related to more willing to forgive)
• Increased hours of sleep and feeling of well-restedness
• Less envy
• Less materialistic
• More positive emotions
• More empathic, forgiving and helpful
• More time spent exercising
• Fewer reported physical symptoms
• Higher optimism

Emmons & McCullough (2003); McCullough, Tsang & Emmons (2002); Wood, Froh & Geraghty (2010)

How to do it:

• Within 2 hours of going to sleep, write down 3 things that happened today that you are grateful for.
• Include your role in bringing these things about.
• Must do for at least 14 days.

See 3 Good Things app under the Apps section.

• Take the Values in Action (VIA) Test. Take your top three character strengths and apply them in one new way this week. For example, if Forgiveness is one of your top strengths, think about how you might apply it to someone whom you never considered needing forgiveness.
• To cultivate interests and discover strengths, ask yourself:
  
  • Where does my mind wander?
  • What do I avoid?
  • What would I do if I weren’t afraid?
• Then engage these – spend time on them, congregate with others who share them, practice, set goals that reach a bit.
• Know that getting stuck and feeling frustrated are part of the learning process.
• Believe in the blessing of failure.
• Set goals that cause you to reach a bit – don’t be afraid of mistakes.
• Celebrate your progress, even if it is slow.
• Think about how your goals serve others.
• Be comfortable being in the minority of thinkers.
• Take the Grit Scale Survey

John Cacioppo, PhD

• Unplug – put away screens and devices
• Do small favors – do something helpful or nice for others. Their gratitude will make you feel more connected.
• Work together – take a task that you usually divide up and do it with someone else.
• Engage people around your differences – we usually join around our commonalities. Share ideas or opinions that may help you and the other person grow in knowledge.
• Just say hello – Oprah Winfrey (John Cacioppo, PhD)

• Active Constructive Responding
  
  • Will you be there for someone when things go right?
    
    • Active Constructive (Joy Multiplier): Authentic, enthusiastic support. Ask questions that flesh out the achievement or success. Highlight or get your partner to talk about his/her role in bringing about this outcome.
    • Passive Constructive (Conversation Killer): “That’s nice.”
    • Passive Destructive (Conversation Hijacker): “That reminds me of the time…” or “Well, did I tell you what happened to me today?”
    • Active Destructive (Joy Thief): “Well too bad there’s no raise to go along with it.” or “You’re in for a big headache.” or “Be careful what you wish for.”

Obviously, the Active Constructive response builds and deepens relationships. Give it a try. Practice it. Developed by Dr. Shelly Gable at UC Santa Barbara.

• Who is your community? How do you stay connected to it?

Faith | Family | Science | Politics | Justice
Leisure | Social Causes | Professional Organizations

• What (values) brought you to the field of healthcare in the first place? How can you apply this in your learning environment every day?

Values - Your Core

Acceptance | Commitment | Loyalty | Reason
Credibility | Equity | Gratitude | Tolerance | Honesty | Respect | Peace
Responsibility | Humility | Industriousness | Charity | Trust | Mercy
Optimism | Patience | Flexibility | Integrity | Compassion
Generosity | Sincerity | Wisdom | Autonomy
Competence | Moderation | Justice | Generosity
Hope | Dependability | Fortitude | Self-Control | Perseverance

• If one of your values is Compassion, what is one way you can foster compassion in your co-workers?
• If one of your values is Justice, how can you make sure that an underprivileged patient gets everything she needs today?
• If you value developing relationships with your patients, add, “What do you like to do for fun?” to your History and Physical/Intake interview.
• If you value Equity, how can you be an ally and speak up when you hear microaggressions in your vicinity?
• If you value Listening, practice one reflective statement per patient (e.g., “Sounds like you are feeling scared right now.”)

• Work with your mentor/faculty/attending to see how you can carve out a niche to pursue one of your passions (e.g., create a new clinic, service, form, didactic).

Work on goal setting:

• Distinguish between extrinsic goals (tied to other’s expectations) and intrinsic goals.
  
  • Extrinsic goals are instrumental (e.g., a new title, credential, pay raise). There is nothing wrong with these, just be sure to ask yourself, “What will I use this for?”
  • Intrinsic goals can be observed by others, but are tied to your expectations for yourself. There is no immediate, external reward connected to these. Intrinsic goals are born out of your wish for yourself (e.g., to become more authentic, to develop better self-discipline). Intrinsic goals are more likely to be related to wellbeing.
• Choose goals that involve effort (activity) rather than an end-goal or a material thing.
  
  • I will study in 45 min. periods and then take a 15 min. break to re-charge my batteries vs. I will get High Pass on this next exam.
  • I will eat 4 servings of fruits and vegetables per day vs. I will lose 10 pounds.
• Choose promotion goals rather than prevention goals.
  
  • Promotion goals are about opportunity, striving, reaching (e.g., “I will seek out leadership opportunities.” Which will add another skill set to your CV).
  • Prevention goals are about treating, correcting, ameliorating (e.g., “Beef up my CV in order to increase my chances of a successful match.”)