Spring cleaning is a great way to rid a house of the remnants of winter. For students, this kind of deep cleaning doesn’t have to end with one’s physical space. An emotional cleanup can be just as beneficial and help students clear out older trials while finding ways to overcome newer challenges. If you find that students in your class seem to be distracted, overburdened, disengaged, or struggling as they reach a critical midpoint in their semester or quarterly studies, recommending that they take some time to refresh and renew their focus is one way to help them be more mindful of the control they can exert over their daily living experiences.
Here are some questions students can use to help clean up and clear out more than a few troubles in their lives:
- Check-in with yourself. Do you feel as if something is off or missing in your life? Do you know what that thing is? How would achieving or acquiring that thing improve your life or make it more difficult?
- What are the positive experiences, events, and encounters that you’ve had in recent months that reinvigorated your life? Have you revisited or reconnected with the sources of that positive energy?
- Do you feel more connected or disconnected from those around you? If you feel connected, what benefits have been produced through the experience? If you feel disconnected, what are some steps you can take to find and nurture new friendships?
- What challenges were you able to recently overcome? Were you able to successfully let them go, or do you find your mind still wanders back to the impact they had on your life? Do you feel better prepared for future challenges having dealt with recent events or experiences?
- Have you tried forgiving, forgetting, or letting go of any negative events or experiences that have stayed with you? Do you feel like you need more time to work through past experiences?
- Have you spoken with an experienced counselor about the challenges you’ve faced and ways you can move beyond their impact? If not, counseling, and coaching services are available through WellConnect that can help to provide professional guidance that you can use to develop new perspectives and techniques that can improve your life.
