Dear Dartmouth,

As the parent of a 3 year old and a 1 year old my home life is slowly being overrun by kids’ stuff. And while I miss my former clutter-free lifestyle and the ability to listen to music that is actually appealing to my adult ears, there are some bright spots in the current kid-culture scene as well.

My hot take is that Bluey, the show about a 6 year old Blue Heeler and her Australian family (including her 4 year old sister, Bingo and their parents, Chilli and Bandit) is not only the cream of the kids’ TV crop – it might be the most creative and wise show in any genre.

Clocking in at 8-9 minutes per episode, the show finds a way to pack humor, life lessons, and a whole lot of heart into bite-sized chunks that seem ideal for anyone but is especially nice for those of us who struggle to find time or sustain focus.

While I would not normally use this space to promote children’s TV, I found myself thinking about so many of the Dartmouth students I know when we watched the episode ‘Bike‘ (note: if you want to view a higher quality recording, it’s distributed through Disney in the US).

Here’s a quick rundown. Bluey is in the park with her dad, trying to learn how to ride a bicycle. Frustrated by the challenge, she vents and then watches several other kids struggling with their own activities. Bingo is too short to get a drink of water from the fountain. Muffin can’t figure out how to put on her backpack by herself. Bentley can’t reach the playground equipment.

Like most of us, Bluey wants the world to be different. She wants to be able to “do things straightaway.” Why can’t we get things right on our first attempt? Why does learning a language, or an instrument, or statistical modeling, or organic chemistry, or whatever it is for you…why does that have to feel so difficult at times? And why does this feel like such a threat to our value or our worth?

I think we forget that learning is scary. And frustrating. And probably a whole lot more emotions than I’ll bother to name here. But here’s the thing…

It’s also necessary. Learning is how you become who you will be. It’s how you gain the skills and cultivate the capacities to take your place alongside the people you look up to most. It’s how you fulfill your potential to create the life you want to live.

Learning can also be inspiring. As frustrating as it is when you struggle, when you persevere and accomplish something worth achieving, you know something new about yourself. You know yourself as resilient, as innovative, as a person of integrity who is not afraid of challenge. And finding confidence in ourselves allows us to also show up for others, and cheer them on as they find their way through their own struggles.

So while your struggles are likely not riding a bike, or drinking from a fountain, you might find some encouragement from spending a little time with Bluey this week. Think about all you’ve faced this year, and how you’ve found your way through the roadblocks and adversity you’ve encountered. As the academic year wraps up, maybe even allow yourself to pause and savor this moment and the you that you are becoming.

Along with all my colleagues in Student Affairs, I see you, in all your struggles and your triumphs, and echo the words of another favorite from children’s literature:

“You’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”

Nice work, Dartmouth.

Take care and be well!
Todd

Dear Dartmouth,

Reading days are here, and finals are around the corner. As you prep for tests, complete final projects, and wrap up this term, our team at the SWC wants you to know:

You. Belong. Here.

The admissions team did NOT make a mistake when they read your application. They saw a person of immense promise and character, someone who cares and wants to make an impact with their life. You belong here.

Your job is not to fit in, or perform flawlessly, or move through each day with unlimited grace, energy, and intelligence. Whether you’re at your best, or just doing your best to get through the day…you belong here.

The gift of your imperfections is the opportunity to connect genuinely with others. We’ve all got our flaws, we all fall short of our goals sometimes, and we all need someone to be there for us. Show up for someone this week, and when you do, let it sink in: you belong here.

If you need a study break, drop by our wellness booths or check out our guided meditations – crafted to help you re-energize, re-focus, and bring forth your best.

Our whole team sends you care and love. You belong here. And you got this.

Take care and be well,
Todd

Dear Dartmouth,

We are getting deep into midterm season, so I’ll keep this post short and to the point. As the demands on your time and energy increase, we wanted to remind you that you are a human being, not a productivity machine. So the question at hand is how to extend the care you need toward yourself while still being a productive human.

Here are a few ideas that can help you do well because we know that when academics are an important part of your wellness. Each involves applying wellbeing practices to the academic areas of your life so it all comes full circle: integrate wellbeing into your studies in order to do better, and get a double boost of wellness by both doing and being well!

While you usually can’t control what homework or assessments you encounter in your classes, you CAN prioritize how you tackle those assignments and prepare for those tests. You can also maximize your productivity by cultivating the ability to focus your attention and work in concentrated doses.

One of our newest offerings at the Student Wellness Center is what my colleague Sid calls “Power Hours.” Instead of asking you to take time away from academics to come to an SWC program, we instead invite you to BRING your academics to this program. Choose what needs your attention most, and let our team guide you into a focused state where you’ll work alongside other students to get things DONE! You can be on the lookout for upcoming PowerHours by following us on Instagram or subscribing to our weekly newsletter.

Sid also worked with our team to develop guided “study break” activities that reduce test jitters and anxiety for finals last fall. We decided to make that resource permanently available based on the positive feedback we received, and you can access it here, or if you’re on our Instagram account just click on the “Study Well” highlight for a link.

Finally, one of the best things you can do for yourself when there is simply too much going on in your life is to simplify, prioritize and focus. Here’s a short LinkedIn post with some easy-to-implement practices to help you do just that.

Take care, be well, and stay warm,
Todd

Dear Dartmouth,

The temperatures plummeted earlier this week, creating that special experience where the cold has a presence of its own. You don’t just feel cold, you feel THE cold, all around you. Between that and the recent turning of the calendar, it’s safe to say that winter has finally arrived here in the Upper Valley.

Speaking of that calendar turning, it’s early January. For me this new year feels a little different than past years. I’m used to this feeling like a time for a fresh start, a new beginning characterized by hope and optimism and a focus on things to accomplish that will make my life better. And this year, well….I don’t know. With the emergence of new variants and new guidelines for public health and safety, the pandemic can sometimes feel like one big interminable blur of time.

At the SWC, we are determined to push back against that feeling, because that feeling that can become a perception, and perceptions can quickly shape reality, and I don’t know about you, but I’m not interested in a reality that isn’t abundant with hope. In fact, I HOPE you’re with me on this. And if so, or at least you’re willing to give it a shot, then we want to say that the start of a new year is still a phenomenal time for taking stock, for reviewing and revising, for committing once again to the life we say we want for ourselves. But this year, maybe we can try a different approach that’s more about the process than the outcome, about who we are rather than what we accomplish. We’re calling this “Inspiration into Intention” and here’s how my colleague, LB sketched out the vision for this wellbeing theme:

Inspiration into Intention is all about recognizing what inspires our deepest passions (academics, work, relationships, and/or pastimes), and then allowing that to be what guides our thoughts, words, and actions as we move into the New Year and beyond. For example, if you are passionate about a social justice cause, think about the ‘why’ behind that passion. Is it because you value equality, love, or peace?  If “peace” is your “why” (aka your inspiration), see how you might infuse all you do with a sense of peace and let that set a foundation for intention to grow.

The more we talked about this theme, the more we grew excited to share it, and simultaneously aware of the challenges in doing so. When writing about concepts like intention, values, inspiration, and purpose, it’s easy to slide into language that feels pretty esoteric, and our commitment is to try to communicate in a way that is straightforward and applicable. My sense is that the best path forward might be to write more personally and less conceptually. Here’s how I’ve been thinking about all of this in my own life.

When I think about my “why” or purpose(s), it has everything to do with people. I know that life is a struggle at some point for everyone, and right now it feels like more people are struggling more often in more significant ways than ever before. I’m not naïve enough to think I can change that unilaterally. But I want to consider what I CAN influence, and invite you to consider what YOU can influence, because our combined influence can make a difference in this community.

I know that the way I show up in the lives of others can either exacerbate their struggle(s) or provide some sort of support, and I don’t want to pile on to the struggles others are facing. So, my intention for this year has to do with a commitment to being someone who shows up for others in a way that promotes connection. I want to make the world feel a little less lonely for the people in my life.

If I’m honest with myself, this feels daunting. I’m introverted by nature, and I have enough demands on my time that I often long for seclusion to recharge. And the easiest way to do that is to use externals to cut myself off: focusing on work, checking stuff on my phone, or any other reasons I can come up with, all of which keep me from responding to the bids that others make for connection. It’s clear to me that there will be a balance involved between attending to my own needs for energy and my desire to be there for others.

Therefore, it’s important for me to accept, right now, that I’m not always going to get this right. I will be pulled off balance – either wearing myself thin or becoming overly reclusive at times. I can be okay with this fact. My intention is not a goal. It’s not an outcome I’m trying to achieve or accomplish. And it is certainly not about perfection. It’s about reminding myself who it is I want to be, and then considering how my thoughts, words, and actions (all things under my control) might play into how others experience me (which is definitely NOT under my control).

My mother has a small, framed cross-stitch in her house that reads “None of us can do any great things – only small things with great love.” I think that idea is at the heart of all of this for me. At the start of each day, I want to think ahead to the interactions I’ll have with others and consider what small things I might be able to offer from a place of care and love. And when we’re together in a shared moment or experience, I want to be responsive to whatever opportunities for connection and care might arise that I could not have predicted.

Today, that’s my response to this theme. It may not be the only one. We have a couple months to explore this theme, and some other things might come up. But right now, it’s the strongest signal I have to use as a starting point for exploring this theme more fully. How about you? What do you value? What are you willing to commit to? What things are under your control that might influence the many things that are beyond your control?

We invite you to join us in this exploration, and note your own responses as a way to more fully center purpose in your life and begin to live more intentionally this term and year. We’ll be sharing practices, reflections, and tips in our weekly newsletters and through our Instagram. Feel free to follow us to stay up to date with what we have going on. And if it would ever be helpful, connect with us more fully by scheduling a wellness check-in, participating in our mindfulness meditations and yoga offerings, or exploring our other virtual supports.

Stay warm, take care, and be well,
Todd

Dear Dartmouth,

As the Fall term draws to a close, the ideas of celebration or thankfulness might be readily accessible to you, or they might be the furthest things from your mind. We know that the challenges are piling up as you push through midterms and class projects, and finals are looming. All that said, we also know that each day is more than a challenge to be overcome. To reference Mary Oliver, the wild geese are heading home again and the world offers itself to your imagination. I’m not one to interpret poetry, but somehow the sense that there is an order to things can be a source of hope, and turning our attention to the good in our lives can be a source of sustenance.

So this theme is about finding things worth celebrating, and things for which you’re thankful, and training yourself to recognize these things as a way to deepen your wellbeing while bringing good things to those around you. As I always do in these introductory posts, here are LB’s words on this theme:

Celebrating thankfulness is all about generating a thankful heart as a way to help you refocus on the things that are going well, especially during times when they might otherwise slip through the cracks of your awareness. It’s about recognizing and celebrating the things, people, opportunities and even the challenges that come into our lives and shape who we are.

From now through the end of the year, we encourage you to be intentional about noticing the good things by exploring ways to practice gratitude in your life. Here are a few way to get started:

• Say “Thank You” – Gratitude creates community. Say thank you to the people who keep things clean in your living spaces, who prepare your meals or clean up after them, who make up your community, and perhaps especially those who are there for you when you need someone. You might make someone’s day, and it can lift you up as well!
• Write and share a Gratitude Letter – Telling the most important people in your life what they have meant for you can provide a powerful source of connection, and has a strong evidence base for making a measurable change in your happiness. To learn more about how and why this works, or for some tips on this practice, check the link above.
• Follow Your Gratitude – Pick one thing you’re grateful for and try to thank all the people who helped make that possible. Need an example? Check out this talk from someone who chose to thank everyone who played a role in making his morning cup of coffee possible, and ended up expressing a ‘thousand thanks!

We know the challenges are real. We want you to know the good things are as well. If you ever find it difficult to find the good, please check in with us – we would love to be there for you.

Take care and be well,
Todd

Dear Dartmouth,

LB and I had fun discussing our Sept-Oct theme, Strength in Self on an Instagram Live today. If you’re an Instagram user, feel free to check out the recording and follow our account! I bring this up because a lot of our conversation was about the value of cultivating a strengths-based perspective.

Take a moment to reflect on the way that you typically think about yourself. Are your thoughts primarily oriented toward the qualities that you and others value most, or do you tend to get more hung up on characteristics and features that you wish were somehow different?

If your honest answer is the latter, you’re not alone. It seems like most people zoom in on all the things that are not to their liking. We question how we look, our voice, our abilities, our talent, our intelligence, and our value in the lives of others. And all of these tendencies combine to create a deficit-based perspective toward ourselves.

When this becomes our primary stance toward ourselves, it can result in the formation of a belief that the things that make us who we are are somehow not enough. It can trigger shame, causing us to withdraw or hold back from relationships. It can produce feelings of depression or anxiety. And it can generate enough worry about the potential for rejection that we start to cling to it, insisting that there is value in viewing oneself through this lens.

The most common argument in defense of a deficit-based perspective is that you can’t improve yourself unless you are willing to do the hard work of focusing on the parts of yourself that are not to your satisfaction. In other words, it is viewed as a pathway for making positive changes. I want to acknowledge that we all have weaknesses, and that it can be beneficial to work on these areas. However, beating yourself up over a perceived shortcoming is rarely a useful source of motivation.

More often, it only reinforces the belief that there is something about you that is unacceptable. Any inability to accept yourself can actually be a barrier to change. By contrast, self-acceptance is often a fast track toward growth and development. When we acknowledge and accept who we are and where we’re at, it frees us up to address things about ourselves from a desire to grow. Focusing on things you want to change about your performance can be effective. Wanting to change who you are is more likely to result in getting stuck.

In contrast to all of this, a strengths-based perspective is grounded in a fundamental belief that you are enough, right now, just as you are. It can help you to be more aware of the capacities and values that you carry with you through life and serve as a springboard toward desired outcomes. One way that this works is that it offers you the ability to really SEE the strengths that are uniquely yours, and explore how these strengths play out in our life. You can then begin to apply your strengths more strategically in a way that helps you build authentic relationships, work toward goals, and produce good things for your life.

A useful tool for identifying your strengths is a free, online instrument called the VIA Survey of Character Strengths. The 24 strengths that make up this framework are considered universal, positive human capacities. In other words, they represent qualities that are valued in every culture (e.g. honesty, kindness, judgment) and exist in every person. The VIA is only designed to illustrate your strengths – NOT your weaknesses. In other words, you have all 24 strengths, so your results are more about the degree to which you connect with or value each of the strengths rather than a measure of whether you possess these strengths in the first place.

Your results are therefore presented as a subjective ranking of your strengths from 1-24 relative to your scores for each strength. In other words, your results compare your strengths with one another (i.e. within yourself), they do NOT represent an objective ranking that compares your results to others who have taken the survey. If you’d like to try the VIA, you can use this link to take you to their site, where you’ll be asked to complete a free registration that allows you to access your account at any point in time.

It can be very helpful to reflect on your results – either on your own or by talking with out with others. Typically, the strengths at the top of your list tend to be qualities that you embody or enact without even thinking about it. They frequently feel natural or effortless to engage and require little intention. By contrast, strengths that are lower on the list might feel like they take a bit more effort and willpower to enact, but they are still very much strengths that you possess. Here are a few questions that might help you make sense of your results:

• When you look at the top strengths on your list, do they represent who you are in the world?
• How do each of these strengths tend to show up in your life?
• How would you describe each of your top strengths in one sentence?

Bringing all of this back to our wellbeing theme of Strength in Self, becoming aware of these positive capacities provides you with a set of internal resources that you can use to navigate transitions and face adversity. A technique that can assist you in connecting your strengths to your situation is called a mindful pause. This is a simple practice that you can engage at any time: stop whatever you’re doing, pay attention to your breath for 10-15 seconds, bring your current situation fully to mind, and then ask yourself:

“What strength(s) do I want or need to call forth right now?”

If you’re new to strengths, you may want to try this while scanning the results of your strengths survey. Notice which strengths stand out to you (for whatever reason) and then consider how you might apply them to your situation. Perhaps they are qualities that were helpful for similar situations in your past. Or maybe this is about trying something new.

In any case, trust that every strength has the capacity to support your wellbeing by bringing good things to your life. If you’d like to talk about this further, set up a wellness check-in with a member of our team and bring your results along. We’d love to help you explore the best within you!

Most importantly, trust that you have strengths to draw upon, that you are creative, resourceful and whole, and that you are a vital part of our Dartmouth community. If you find yourself doubting any of this, please reach out for support. We’d love to be there for you, and help you find your Strength in Self.

Take care and be well,
Todd

Dear Dartmouth,

After a year and a half of primarily remote work, it feels like a dramatic shift to sit in an office on the 3^rd floor of Robo, listening to the muted conversations of students out on the Collis patio and the endlessly fascinating DOC playlists being broadcast from our front steps. (“It’s Raining Men?” Really? Did not see that coming…)

As we reconnect with students, I’ve noticed that everyone is in a bit of a different place. I’ve spoken with students who are thrilled to be back in person and others who have expressed reservations and concerns for safety and wellbeing. However you may be feeling, it seems fair to say that we are all adapting to the ever-changing circumstances of the world around us. And while that has always been true, the past couple years have amplified our awareness of this fact to the point where it has become a potential source of discomfort. Each day/week/month seems to offer so much to take in, sort out, and make sense of that even when we’re able to wrap our heads around some of these things, we still have to figure out how each of these things intersects with who we are, who we want to be, how we will respond, and where we hope to go from here. And that is a lot to manage.

In recognizing the complexities that make up your experiences this fall and all of the transitions in coming (back) to campus, we made the choice to embrace a new wellbeing theme for the start of the academic year – “Strength in Self.” Here’s how my colleague, LB, sketched out this concept:

“Strength in Self is all about confidently choosing to stride through the ups and downs of life with resilience and belief in ourselves. It’s recognizing that we each uniquely have the capabilities, strengths, and inherent wisdom to create a life we truly want by making intentional shifts of perspective and boldly owning our self-worth.”

Before we go any deeper into what this theme involves, let’s talk for a moment about what it’s NOT.

• Strength in Self does not mean that you are on your own. The Lone Pine is an important symbol of Dartmouth but you need to know that you are not a-lone. You are part of a community that cares – one that will celebrate your successes with you and be there for you when you struggle. At Dartmouth, we know that we are stronger together.
• Strength in Self does not mean that you need to have it together all the time. Dartmouth will challenge you in ways you could not have anticipated, and it is okay to not be okay. But you didn’t come here because it would be easy. You came here because you believed that Dartmouth could help bring forth the extraordinariness that you have within you. Taking time to check in with yourself, and being honest about what you’re feeling and how you’re doing can help you find resilience and character that you didn’t even know you possessed.
• Strength in Self does not mean that the life you want is something you should be able to bring into existence immediately and all at once. The life you want to create is the ongoing work of your lifetime, and you can only author that life one chapter at a time. Consider the story you want your life to tell and where you’re at in that story right now. Know that you don’t have to take on more than what is realistic in this moment. Instead, focus on your experiences in the here and now and trust that you are building a foundation for all that is to come.

So let’s come back to what Strength in Self IS! It’s about establishing a strengths-based perception of who you are as a person. It’s about believing that you have all the positive qualities within you that you need. And it’s about cultivating these capacities and bringing them forth in ways that allow you be more fully you and make the contributions that only you are capable of making to the world.

Here at Dartmouth, it means that you are a vital part of a community that helps you see the unique strengths within you and empowers you to illuminate the strengths you see in others. We’ll talk a lot more about your strengths as we explore this theme more fully during September and October. For now, let’s recap to get you primed for all that we hope the next couple months will offer you. Here’s what LB said in our weekly newsletter (sign up here if you’re not on our list!) to introduce this theme to our campus:

First things First
In order to “create a life we truly want”, it’s helpful to recognize a few things:

• It’s hard at times!  Sometimes what you want seems to go against what everybody else wants and that can leave you susceptible to doing things that aren’t “you”. The key is to notice when this happens and see how it leaves you feeling, knowing you can choose a different way next time.
• Your Way.  There is no “right” way to do this thing called life.  What matters is that you are choosing to spend your time at Dartmouth (and beyond) in a way that aligns with who you are and what you care about.
• Takes Vision. In order to “do” life (or Dartmouth) the way you want, you have to know what you want. Revisit this reflection regularly this term to help you envision what this is for you:
  
  Assuming anything were possible, what experiences do you want to create for yourself this term?

As we launch into this new academic year, please take care of yourself, look out for those around you, and know that our SWC team is here to support you. Please explore what we have to offer, and don’t ever hesitate to reach out!

Take care and be well,
Todd

Dear Dartmouth,

As I think back over conversations I’ve had during my three years on staff here, I can recall a number of phrases I’ve heard from students that give me glimpses of the distinctive experience here. One that stands out is short and to the point:

Work hard, play hard.

In my first year, I nodded when I heard it. It told me that Dartmouth students are driven, capable, goal-oriented people, committed to achieving significant accomplishments. Working hard made sense. And playing hard, as a release from the grind, seemed like a logical and normal balance to all of that effort.

In my second year, “work hard, play hard” seemed like it was less about what the students I was speaking with wanted for themselves, and more about perceived expectations from others. This also made sense to me. The people and the culture around us do much to shape our understanding of who and how we should be, and hard work is valued more often than not. But I started to wonder when, exactly, anyone was getting a break to rest and recharge. Playing hard seemed less like a release and more like a coping mechanism for the stresses of termly life.

By my third year, the initial respect I had given to “work hard, play hard” had worn thin. I had encountered too many individuals willing to push themselves to extreme lengths despite the consequences of this lifestyle. I realized there was even an expectation of burnout – that at some point it would all get to be too much, but in the absence of options, the best choice was to simply keep running forward, hoping to make it through.

As someone who works in wellbeing, I want to say this clearly:

“Work hard, play hard” is not about being well.

At the end of the day, if you’re working hard and playing hard, it sort of sounds like every part of your life is…well…hard.

This could be understandable if it were true that life needs to be hard in order to achieve anything worthwhile. But the idea that you must sacrifice your wellbeing in order to achieve meaningful accomplishments is simply not true and sets up a false dichotomy between doing well and being well.

A profound living example regarding the relationship between wellbeing and performance at the moment is Simone Biles. Widely regarded as the best gymnast of her time, and perhaps of all time, she stepped away from Olympic competition in order to preserve her wellbeing. As Robert O’Connell wrote for The Atlantic, at her press conference following her decision, she “revised the language of greatness, positioning it as something to be tended to and mindfully maintained, not drawn on ad nauseam. Her most telling words rejected the false dichotomy between personal well-being and professional excellence, instead pointing to the former as a precondition of the latter.”

To quote Biles directly, “I say put mental health first, because if you don’t, you’re not going to enjoy your sport and you’re not going to succeed as much as you want to.” In this statement, she offers some insight into what creates the opportunity to achieve at the highest level. It’s telling that she does not say words like “grind,” “hustle,” or “persevere.” Instead, she links success with joy. In describing the context of this particular competition at the end of the article, O’Connell writes, “it wasn’t joyful, so she couldn’t fly through the air in the way we’re used to seeing. That tells us something crucial, and beautiful, about the times when she could.”

And this is where our monthly theme may have something to offer in terms of challenging the work hard, play hard culture. Is it possible that making more space for joy, and even playfulness might actually be necessary in order to achieve all that you’re hoping? And if you were to do so, how would that shift your experience as a Dartmouth student?

At the SWC, we’re playing with a new phrase that we’d love for you to consider:

Work playfully, play joyfully.

There are, of course, two parts to this phrase, so let’s do some quick unpacking.

For the first part, ask yourself what it would look like to take a more playful approach to your studies. Playfulness has much to do with being present, in the moment, caught up in what you’re doing. It involves giving your attention fully to your activity, and approaching your tasks in a centered way, with calm and clarity. Maybe most important, it involves curiosity and a willingness to experiment – which of necessity requires a release of perfectionism. The freedom this creates opens up possibilities that can only be realized in the absence of limitations to what you already know or can do.

The beauty of this approach is that it suggests that there is more to success than hard work. It does not negate the challenge, but instead proposes finding some joy, or interest, or engagement with the work in order to make it more possible to sustain your efforts over time.

For the second component, consider how you spend your time away from work. Does the way that you “play hard” bring a genuine sense of joy to your life? If not, are there other things you could be doing that would be more fulfilling? And what would it take to step out of the expectations for what you do with your time so that you could instead do what you want?

Take some time to reflect about the experiences that genuinely bring you a sense of joy. Maybe even consider inviting a friend to do this with you and compare notes. What things do you have in common that could create shared joyful experiences, what things are distinctive to you in particular, and how might you make more space for all of these things in your life? Most importantly, consider how to do this in a way that would make these things restorative in a way that playing hard was not?

Work playfully, play joyfully.

Play with the idea. Give it some time. Maybe even give it a try and see how it feels. You never know – you might enjoy yourself more and experience more success as a result.

Take care and be well,
Todd

Dear Dartmouth,

It’s summer in the Upper Valley! The days all stretch a little longer, the hills are verdant and green, the gardens are bringing forth an abundance of fresh produce, and the nights are lit by fireflies and stars. It’s a special time here – one that sends people off to local watering holes or trails into the wilderness to cool and relax during the heat of the day.

Of course, everything I’ve just written feels like it should probably have a giant asterisk after it, connected to a footnote reading “schedules permitting.” It’s Summer Term after all, which means your life is likely full of demands and responsibilities, academic and otherwise. Wherever you are at on the spectrum of busy-ness this summer, our team at the SWC wants to encourage you to take some time for yourself that restores your energy, helps you connect with others, and make the most of this sweet short season that is upon us. With that in mind, we’re excited to share our summer wellbeing theme of Joy and Playfulness.

As a jumping off point, here’s how our Wellbeing & Mindfulness Specialist, LB, the visionary behind our wellbeing themes and all-around great person, describes this focus:

Joy & Playfulness is all about creating space in your life for delight and light-heartedness, even if it’s just for a moment or two. It’s about letting go of the need to constantly practice, perform, or perfect, and instead embracing things that feel replenishing and fulfilling.

Let’s unpack that statement a little bit to see if it can generate some ways that you can start to incorporate these components of wellbeing into your life more consistently.

LB mentions that joy is significant, even if it can feel fleeting at times. In many ways, joy is something we experience in the moment, but cultivate over the long haul. Try thinking of joy as an indicator of thriving. The moments when you are experiencing joy can serve as a cue that things are good, and these moments can impact our wellbeing in positive ways. If we are able to be open to the joy that different experiences present us, then we have opportunities to realize that our lives can be good, which can encourage us to pursue the kinds of relationships and goals that bring this particular type of fulfilling happiness.

After nearly 3 years on staff at Dartmouth, it has become evident to me that many people in our community feel a need to be conduct themselves seriously and stay constantly “switched on.” I’ve heard many students use the phrase “work hard, play hard,” suggesting that this idea of how you should be cuts across all areas of your life. It’s as if there is a sense that you need to go at everything full force –  constantly performing, productive, and at your best in every way.

Focusing on joy can offer an opportunity to step back from striving for that kind of existence and instead think about how you actually want to feel and what kinds of things make that feeling possible. Something as simple as pausing to contemplate this can help you realize that those expectations of performance, productivity, and perfection were pretty unrealistic in the first place. And letting go of those expectations might allow you to embrace other ways of approaching life that are more sustaining and restorative.

This theme, then, is about cultivating the ability to create a diversity of experiences for yourself. There are certainly times when you need to be serious, focused, and on your “A game,” but there are also times when can you can let go, relax, and allow yourself to simply be.

Learning to prioritize joyful and playful moments as being of equal importance with the times we need to be at our best might be transformative. Opportunities for joy – through connection or play, through experiences of wonder or novelty, through reflecting on ways that you have had a positive impact on another person or contributed to your community – can help you become more aware of what, specifically, makes life worth living for you.

Should you decide to prioritize joy this summer, then the last piece to unpack from the statement above is the idea of creating space for these experiences. This is no simple task. Your life is undoubtedly stacked with responsibilities. However, making space for joy, for play, for rest and self-care, is a way of sending a direct message to yourself that you, in fact, matter, and deserve good things in your life. It might also prove restorative, helping you to re-engage with those responsibilities, and show up for others in a more focused and intentional way. So how might you intentionally create more space for joy in your life?

Merriam Webster defines joy as “the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires.” In terms of intentionality, there is clearly a spectrum here, so let’s focus quickly on each of the things that might evoke joy.

• Good fortune is difficult to predict or force. However, you can influence your internal state by cultivating your capacity to appreciate good things. That way, when they occur you can actually experience them in a joyful manner. Practicing gratitude has many well-established links with wellbeing, and can open you up to be more aware of and responsive to the joyful moments that are already part of your life.
  
• Wellbeing involves both internal and external factors, making it more self-directed. Prioritizing wellbeing – i.e. making sure you have opportunities in your life on an ongoing basis to both be well AND do well can make all the difference here. This type of “creating space” involves reflecting on what you value, and then taking action to ensure that you have time set apart for these things even in the midst of your other competing demands.
  
• Finally, the concepts of success and working toward desired outcomes are things over which you can exert a strong influence. Start by setting an intention. Ask yourself what you most hope to accomplish this summer. What are the goals or outcomes that are most deserving of your energy? Then, focus your efforts on these things that matter to you to create more opportunities to experience joy – both when you accomplish your goals and also during the pursuit of those goals, as this striving is the very thing that can help you grow more fully into the person you want to become.
  [nerd alert: for more on this, look up “self-concordance theory”]

Okay – enough reading about this theme. What could you do right now that would bring a little more joy to your day? Is it time to go play? To connect with someone else? Whatever it might be, here’s hoping you can get away from this screen and go do something that helps you embrace life in a joyful way.

Wherever you are, as you journey through this summer, our SWC team is here to support you. Please explore what we have to offer, and don’t ever hesitate to reach out!

Take care and be well,
Todd