"Compassion is the deep awareness of one's own and other beings' suffering, along with the desire to help prevent it" (Gilbert, P., 2015).

On this page, you will find episodes of Podcasts, TED Talks and Wellbeing Gym Activities.

This kit is a simple and replicable guide that will allow you as an employee, mentor or tutor, in particular, to implement key activities that support the well-being of our students.

The effective use of these monthly kits will not only allow students to have access to relevant information but will also contribute to the well-being of our employees.

During the month of May, we will be working on compassion, an emotional skill that is very beneficial for socio-emotional well-being and that is being widely studied in many universities around the world for its positive effects on a personal and social level.

In this section, you will find resources with questions and activities that you can do with your mentees to work on during this month. If you would like to refer them to this site, please share with them the mirror page, tqueremos.tec.mx/en/values/compassion as these guides are just for you.

We hope it helps and thank you for your work!

TED Talk

Dare to Rewire Your Brain for Self-Compassion

Objective: To understand the concept of self-compassion and how we can put it into practice in our lives, improving our overall well-being.

Duration: 16 minutes

After watching Weiyang Xie's talk, reflect:

When things don't go the way you would like or you don't feel able to do something, how do you hear your inner dialogue? Positive or negative? What do you say to yourself?
How often does your inner dialogue sound negative? In what circumstances? How does it impact your mood? Why do you think this happens?
Weiyang Xie mentions that we can change these patterns by putting effort into changing that negative speech to a more positive one, how do you react when your inner dialogue becomes negative, do you try to change it to a positive one or do you just let it go?
What tools that Weiyang Xie mentions could help you in your daily life?
Think of a concrete example from your daily life where you have experienced a negative inner dialogue and according to what Weiyang Xie suggests, change it to a positive one. What would this positive dialogue look like?

What action plans can you implement to promote self-compassion among your closest circle of friends?

Podcast

Boundaries from self-love with Stephanie Essenfeld (This podcast is in spanish)

Objective: To understand what it means to establish healthy boundaries in all interpersonal relationships and how we can put them into action to maintain healthy and meaningful relationships.

Duration: 55 minutes

After listening to the episode of Doubts Are Gifted, reflect:

Have you ever tried to set boundaries with family and friends? What was your experience? What did you learn?
Has anyone ever set boundaries with you? How did it make you feel? What did you learn?
If you have never set boundaries, what do you think you could do to start setting them? What do you think are the benefits of doing so?
How would you help some of your closest friends set healthy boundaries to have more meaningful relationships?
How do you think setting healthy boundaries relate to the value of compassion and the issue of self-love?

Wellbeing Gym Activities

Happiness Jar

Objective: To reflect on moments or situations where the student experienced a positive emotion: happiness.

Description: The student should have a container of their choice, it can be a Mason Jar, that is designated solely for the activity. The person should take out sheets of 2 colors and designate them as follows:

Blue sheet: events or accomplishments of their own.
Green sheet: events or happenings with other people.

At the end of the day, the student should put on a slip of paper at least one event or situation that made him/her feel happy. That way, every time he/she feels sad, overwhelmed, tense, etc., he/she can turn to the jar and remember happy moments.

Closing: Through this dynamic, the person can become more aware of what makes him/her happy and at the same time, improve his/her mood. A study published by the British Journal of Health Psychology points out that writing about positive emotions can help reduce anxiety and stress levels in individuals as well as improve mental well-being (Smith, 2018).

What do I need to smile every morning?

Instructions: Let's make a vision board! A vision board is a board where you visualize all your dreams and aspirations. Take the time to design one where you put pictures, images, memories, and objects that make you smile or that allow you to visualize your dreams in the short, medium, and long term and paste them on the board or corkboard.

Reflection: Having a tool like a vision board leads us to the visualization and identification of goals, as well as the knowledge of the states that allow us to experience happiness. By having your vision board somewhere visible, every day you can recognize those small actions that lead you to achieve your goals, and it serves as motivation to get up every morning to build the world in which you want to live.