Overview

  • This unit’s mindfulness moment asks you to envision your thoughts as if they are leaves on a stream: objects that you can observe and then watch float away.
  • The unit introduces the practice of reframing thoughts, a useful tool for addressing stress and unhelpful thoughts.

    Unit 4 focuses on your thoughts.

    Bridge Exercises

    Why This Matters: Reframing thoughts might be a new practice for you. This exercise provides low-stakes practice for reframing stressful situations as challenges.

    Read the following instructions for this exercise. Then complete the exercise in a notebook or on scrap paper. You may have already begun this exercise earlier in the unit.

    Portrait of a confident young businesswoman making a finger frame in a modern office

    Think of two stressful situations: one that you’ve seen a character experience in a TV show or movie, and one that a family member or trusted adult experienced. Following the example, write how that character or trusted adult could frame their thinking differently — either neutrally or with a positive spin, if possible.

    Example Situation: Cady Heron, the main character of the movie “Mean Girls,” realizes that in her pursuit to take down Regina George, the most popular girl at school, she has herself become the most popular girl at school. She realizes that she has betrayed her friends and committed many of the same bad behaviors that made her dislike Regina. Although Cady finds herself atop the school’s pecking order (for now), she feels more alone than ever.

    Reframed Neutrally or Positively: Cady could reframe this situation as an opportunity to change. She’s realized that being popular seems enticing, but it isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Now, she can focus on pursuing interests and making connections based on what she actually likes: math competitions, her real friends, and breaking barriers between her school’s social cliques. Her new outlook may even catch on with her classmates at school.

    Continue this exercise in your student guide.

    Why This Matters: This exercise asks you to research the history and contexts of people who spoke about the nature of the mind and positive thinking. This type of inquiry can be useful to consider especially for times of high stress such as transitions.

    In the unit content, you read the quote, “It is your mind that creates this world.” It’s attributed to the Buddha, the founder of the Buddhist religion more than 2,000 years ago. There are parallels between this quote and the opening lines of the Dhammapada, a major collection of Buddhist scripture: “Mind precedes all mental states. Mind is their chief; they are all mind-wrought.”

    What you’re learning in this program has deep roots across time and cultures. For thousands of years, the power of thoughts has been discussed, debated, taught, and, importantly, sold. Today, the power of positive thinking forms the backbone of a lucrative self-help industry where books, classes, workshops, lectures, and coaching are on offer, often at high prices.

    Smiling curly haired teenager with braces wearing headphones looking away standing on the street

    Like any industry, there are experts in this field whose product is a worthwhile purchase. On the other hand, there are those who use flashy marketing or misleading promises to sell services for more than they’re worth.

    After you complete this course and seek to expand the learning you started in this program, it’s wise to be a cautious consumer — to consider the motivations and incentives of those who tell you that a certain way of thinking is the right way. Doing a little research before you buy in to what you hear can go a long way in making sure that you’re getting support from sources you trust. And yes, that includes this very program!

    In this exercise, choose a quote from the list that seems most useful to you as a guide for positive thinking. Then, using the questions in the unit 4 powerpoint lise, complete some background research on the speaker and their motivations.

    • “It is your mind the creates this world.” — Siddhartha Guatama, the Buddha
    • “Winning is a habit. Watch your thoughts; they become your beliefs. Watch your beliefs; they become your words. Watch your words; they become your actions. Watch your actions; they become your habits. Watch your habits; they become your character.” — Vince Lombardi
    • “You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.” — Maya Angelou
    • “All problems of life arise from some weakness of mind. All weakness of mind is due to the mind’s ignorance of its own essential nature, which is universal and the source of infinite energy and intelligence.” — Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

    Unit 4 Survey

    Answer the following questions about your experience with Unit 4.

    This survey has been completed

    Session Survey
    1. I learned new knowledge and/or skills from this unit.
    2. The content of this unit was relevant to my needs as a college student.
    3. The website content and bridge exercises for this unit enhanced my learning experience and reinforced the concepts I learned in the course material..
    4. The scope of these bridge exercises was appropriate for the time I have to dedicate to this program.
    5. Overall, I was satisfied with this unit.