Building Resilience Through Passion Projects

In order to navigate the challenges of life, a person must be resilient. However, this is not something you usually practice “at school” or in collaboration with diverse people. Usually, you are asked to build resilience through working through the hoops, bullying, and punishments (and rewards!). At TKG, we make space for students to make mistakes, following their intuition, and ask their peers and mentors for help – that is why we do passion projects. One of the outcomes of working on passion projects is hardwiring resilience in the student (of all ages!).

Inspired by this article, “How to Hardwire Resilience into Your Brain” by RICK HANSON and FORREST HANSON (Greater Good Magazine), we believe that working on a passion project at school creates a special opportunity to practice:

“Compassion: Being sensitive to the burdens and suffering of others and ourselves, along with the desire to help with these if we can.
Grit: Being doggedly tough and resourceful.
Calm: Emotional balance and a sense of capability in the face of threats.
Courage: Protecting and standing up for ourselves, including with others.

Mindfulness: Staying present in the moment as it is, rather than daydreaming, ruminating, or being distracted.
Gratitude: Appreciating and feeling good about what already exists.
Motivation: Pursuing opportunities in the face of challenges.
Aspiration: Reaching for and achieving results that are important to us.

Learning: Growing and developing, a process that allows us to cultivate all the other strengths.
Confidence: Feeling a sense of being cared about, worthy, and self-assured.
Intimacy: Being open to knowing and being known by others.
Generosity: Giving to others through altruism, compassion, and forgiveness.”

Working on a passion project helps students grow in many ways but it is the long-term benefits that will change the world!

 

 

 

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