Wellbeing News

A new perspective on supporting our students

When I was at school, the happiness model that my parents taught me went something like this:

STUDY HARD → BIG SUCCESS → BE HAPPY

In early adulthood this hardwired model morphed into:

GET A DEGREE → GET A HIGHER DEGREE → BE HAPPY

And later,

WORK OVERTIME → BE PROMOTED → BE HAPPY

Whilst this model can lead people to do great work and have success, it is not a sure-fireway to find happiness.

The field of Positive Psychology asks the question, what happens when we snap “Be Happy” off the end of this model and stick it on the beginning?

Then these important six words look like:

BE HAPPY → STUDY HARD → BIG SUCCESS

This new perspective changes everything.

If we start with being happy, then we feel great. We look great. We exercise. We connect. We end up doing great work because we feel great doing it. It creates its own momentum. Great work doesn’t feel so ‘uphill’, and associated success and feelings of accomplishment follow.

Research shows happy people are 31% more productive and are three times more creative than their counterparts.

I share this with our community as a reminder to prioritise mental health and happiness.

Our students are typically high achieving, put huge pressure on themselves, and sometimes run themselves to the ground. We all need to support and remind our students (& ourselves) of the need to nurture mental health and happiness first.

Positive psychology offers science-backed ways to train our brain to be happy. No surprise, it includes things like being socially connected, nurturing gratitude and spending time in nature.

Just like riding a bike or juggling, you can learn to be happier.

The Wellbeing Counselling team at John Monash includes a range of professionals who can help students not only get through hard times, but also learn the science-backed skills of healthy and positive mental health.

Happy people don’t have the best of everything, but they make the best of everything.

Please don’t hesitate to contact the Wellbeing department at John Monash to discuss any concerns and support needs you may have for your child.

~ George Vlamakis (Student Wellbeing Coordinator)