The Science Behind the Magic of our Kindness Matters 365 Curriculum

The science behind the magic of our Kindness Matters 365 Curriculum: Social Emotional Learning (SEL)
SEL reduces stress, anxiety, and depression

Daily life for humans is filled with natural stressors that can be overwhelming. On top of that, add a global pandemic and a national election, and manageable quickly flips to mayhem inside our brains. Without the proper strategies in our individual emotional toolboxes, our ability to cope just isn’t as strong as it could be.

The first essential tool is optimistic thinking, which is one of eight social emotional topics in the KM365 curriculum. Optimistic thinking supports people in making positive choices, which sets the stage for Kindness to ourselves, others, and the world.

Let’s be real: life can be hard. Optimistic thinking does not ignore this fact – it embraces it. Actually, step one of optimistic thinking is to acknowledge negative stressors. In acknowledging, we begin to accept what has happened and we can move to step two. This step is to be hopeful for a positive future – we consider that solutions will be found, progress will be made, and we will feel better. Last, step three is approaching the situation with productive actions aimed at moving toward a positive outcome.

Instead of saying:	Say this:
I can’t do this	This is tough, and I’m going to do everything I can to make it work
We can’t agree	Even though we have different opinions, I’ll listen with an open-mind and create channels for communication
This is an insurmountable issue	This is complicated, and I can move slowly, in small steps, towards a solution