EXDM Final
Ideate This!
(come up with a lot of ideas/solutions) -NEVER choose your first solution to a problem
Identify Central Concepts
***Be able to identify the central concepts from class as they are linked to the important principles and theories covered in each lesson of the course.
Step 2: Narrow Down the List
1. "Jam Study" (24 jam options, too many options, less options are better!) 2. Too many options—more than 3‐5 3. When an option grows up it becomes a choice
Odyssey Plans also include:
1. A visual/graphical timeline. Include personal and non‐career events as well. (5 year timeline) 2. A title for each option in the form of a six‐word headline describing the essence of this alternative. 3. Questions that this alternative is asking—preferably two or three. These questions test assumptions and reveal new insights. 4. A dashboard where you can gauge: a. Resources (Do you have the objective resources—time, money, skill, contacts—you need to pull off your plan?) b. Likability (Are you hot or cold of warm about your plan?) c. Confidence (Are you feeling full of confidence, or uncertain about pulling this off?) d. Coherence (Does the plan make sense within itself? Is it consistent with you, your Workview, and your Lifeview?)
Calling All Mentors
1. Advice (what they would do) vs. 2. Counsel (helping you figure out what you think) 3. Discernment (sorting big stuff, small stuff, and irrelevant stuff) 4. Long View and Local View (topical mentors, ad hoc/ seasonal, or life long) Ask: "Can we talk not so much to tell you what you'd do as to use your insights and experience to try to help me sort out my own thinking?"
Designer Mindsets
1. Be curious 2. Try stuff—bias to action (rapid prototyping?) 3. Reframe problems 4. Know it's a process 5. Ask for help—radical collaboration
Step 3: Choose Discerningly
1. Choice‐guiding functions in our brains are not linked to our verbal centers— related to emotions and feelings 2. Discernment—decision making that employs more than one way of knowing— use evaluative, cognitive, social and emotional/intuitive/spiritual ways of knowing 3. Grokking—living and thinking as if you have made a choice
Life Design Assessment
1. Complete Descriptions—write a few sentences about how its going in each of the five areas. 2. Fill in Dashboards—mark where you are (0 to Full) on each gauge. 3. Health 4. Work 5. Play 6. Spirit 7. Ask yourself if there's a design problem you'd like to tackle in any of these areas. 8. Now ask yourself if your "problem" is a gravity problem.
Passion Issues
1. Eighty percent of people of all ages don't really know what they are passionate about. 2. Research shows that for most people, passion comes after they try something, discover they like it, and develop mastery. 3. Passion is the result of good life design, not the cause.
Engagement—Flow
1. Experiencing complete involvement in the activity 2. Feeling a sense of ecstasy or euphoria 3. Having great inner clarity—knowing just what to do and how to do it 4. Being totally calm and at peace 5. Feeling as if time were standing still—or disappearing in an instant
Infinite Failure
1. Finite Games—we play by the rules in order to win (baseball) 2. Infinite Games—we play with the rules for the joy of getting to keep playing (love)
Prototype Conversations—Life Design Interviews
1. Getting someone's story—the personal story of how they got to be doing that thing they do 2. What its really like—what they love and what they hate, what their days look like 3. Not a job interview 4. Practice a request script
Prototype Experiences
1. Group brainstorming—3‐6 people, 20‐60 minutes 2. Quantity over quality 3. Ideas that can be prototyped 4. Brainstorming session a. Framing a good question b. Warming up Improvisational games or play‐doh c. The brainstorm itself Utilize a facilitator Participants write their own ideas on sticky notes i. Go for quantity, not quality ii. Defer judgment and do not censor ideas iii. Build off the ideas of others iv. Encourage wild ideas—the best ideas usually follow 5. Naming and framing the outcomes a. Count ideas b. Group similar ideas c. Silent voting—could use colored dots d. Decide which to prototype
Beyond Team to Community
1. Kindred Purpose 2. Meets Regularly 3. Shared Ground 4. To Know and Be Known
Sharing the Three Versions of You
1. Life Design Team of 3‐6 2. Feedback and Ideas a. Listeners should not critique, review, or advise b. They should receive, reflect, and amplify
Failure Reframe Exercise
1. Log Your Failures (recent or long‐term) 2. Categorize Your Failures (screw‐ups, weaknesses, growth opportunities) 3. Identify Growth Insights 4. Do This Once or Twice a Month E. Don't Fight Reality
Team Roles and Rules—3‐5 is best
1. Respectful 2. Confidential 3. Participative (no holding back) 4. Generative (constructive, not skeptical or judging)
Step 4: Let Go and Move On
1. Reversible choices lead to less happiness 2. Too many options also makes us less happy Letting go by grabbing on We are choosing the NEXT not the FOREVER
Identifying Your Team
1. Supporters 2. Players 3. Intimates 4. The Team
Two Philosophies
1. You choose better when you have lots of good ideas to choose from. 2. You never choose your first solution to any problem
Life by Design
A well‐designed life is a life that is generative—it is constantly creative, productive, changing, evolving, and there is always the possibility of surprise.
A Well Designed Life‐‐Remember
A. Balance is a myth B. Instead, . . . How's it going? C. Personal practices ~ happiness behaviors
Design Your Lives
A. Embrace Your Multiple Personalities B. Three Odyssey Plans—truly different alternatives C. Odyssey Plans also include: D. Sharing the Three Versions of You Dysfunctional Belief: I need to figure out my best possible life, make a plan, and then execute it Reframe: There are multiple great lives and plans within me, and I get to choose which one to build my life forward to next.
Prototyping
A. In life design, prototyping is all about asking good questions, outing our hidden biases and assumptions, iterating rapidly and creating momentum for a path we'd like to try out. (Reframe Questions, good questions out biases) B. Prototypes allow you to try and fail rapidly without over investing in a path before you have any data. (Fail Fast Fail Cheap) C. Must involve physical experience in the world D. Also about building empathy and understanding
Failure Immunity
A. Perseverance or grit is a better measure of potential success than IQ. B. Infinite Failure C. Being and Doing Be D. Failure Reframe Exercise
Choosing Happiness—the Life Design Choosing Process
A. Step 1: Gather and Create Options B. Step 2: Narrow Down the List C. Step 3: Choose Discerningly D. Step 4: (no Agonize) Let Go and Move On ***Balance is a myth!!
Young Professionals Interviews
A. Tell their story—how they got into the major and what has happened to them since graduating B. Tell what they love and what they hate about their work-life C. Tell what has most helped them in their success and what they wished they had done differently (Part of building a compas)
Building a Compass
A. Workview—philosophy of work—what it's for and why you do it B. Lifeview—your ideas about the world and how it works 1. What gives life meaning? 2. What makes your life worthwhile or valuable? 3. How does your life relate to others in your family, your community, and the world? C. Coherency—clearly connect the dots between: 1. Who you are 2. What you believe 3. What you are doing 4. Living in alignment with your values and have not sacrificed your integrity along the way
Building a Team
A. Your Life Design is Co‐created B. Identifying Your Team C. Team Roles and Rules—3‐5 is best D. Calling All Mentors E. Beyond Team to Community
Global and Cultural Awareness
Acquire informed awareness of good life perspectives among other regions, countries, cultures, races, ethnicities, and genders outside of your own; experience thoughtful reflections through an in‐depth academic comparison paper, and thereby develop greater empathy and charity for other's points of view.
Positive Psychology Overview
Authentic Smiling -Duchenne Smiles -Pan Am Smiles Happy Nuns Study -More than half of "cheerful" nuns lived to 94. Big Data Well-Being—Johannes Eichstadt Big Data -Compares Twitter posts and Facebook status updates to 2.5 million Gallup responses -Correlates specific word usage with well-being measures -American Communities Project—analyzed by county Happiness and Wellbeing Defined and Measured Insights. (p. 49-54) -LDS Enclaves—happiest, satisfied, stressed, and worried -Working Class Counties—most unhappy, unsatisfied, -Ethnic Minorities: Hispanic, African-American, and Native American Counties—less happy -Evangelicals Counties different than Mormons -Big Cities Counties satisfied, but not happy Positivity Broadens and Builds—Barbara Fredrickson -Positivity opens us—broadens people's ideas about possible actions -Builds resources—asses, abilities, and useful traits The Happiness Formula H=S+C+V -H (Enduring Level of Happiness) -S (Set Range) (50%) -C (Circumstances) (10%) -V (Voluntary Variables) controlled individually (40%)
Being and Doing Be
Be (finding out who you are) > Do (ideate, try lots of things, make choices) > Becoming (more of yourself) > Be
Intentional Families Overview
Ch. 1: The Intentional Family --Institutional Family --Psychological Family --Pluralistic Family --Entropic Family "The natural drift of family life in contemporary America is toward slowly diminishing connection, meaning, and community." Intentional Family: Only an Intentional Family has a fighting chance to maintain and increase its sense of connection, meaning, and community over the years. Family Rituals: Meaning or significance, Repeated, Coordinated Family Ritual Outcomes: Predictability, Connection, Identity Types of Family Rituals -Connection rituals -Love rituals -Community rituals Family Ritual Phases -Transition Phase -Enactment Phase -Exit Phase
Family Rituals Overview
Ch. 5: Couple Rituals (Courting couples generally are far more intentional than married couples.) 1. The Male-Female Problem --Men tend to work consciously on an intimate relationship when pursuing a commitment or salvaging one. -- Women, on the other hand, tend to see marriage as requiring more maintenance. 2. Talk to Me --Few dating couples would get married if they had as little focused conversation as most married couples do. --A daily talk ritual is not essential to a good marriage, but it is the surest antidote to marital entropy. Anniversary Ritual Special Person Rituals: Birthdays, Mother's and Father's Day Holiday Rituals Community and Religious Rituals Rituals of Passage: Weddings and Funerals Intentional Single Parents and Remarried Families The Delicate Art of Creating or Changing Family Rituals 1. Direct route: Choose a peaceful moment for the discussion. Explain that you would like to discuss a specific family ritual. Express your feelings or needs related to the ritual. Invite others to share their own feelings, needs, and thoughts about the ritual. Offer your ideas tentatively, rather than definitively. Negotiate a trail run of a new or modified ritual that balances everyone's needs. Agree to follow up to determine how everyone likes the new or modified ritual. 2. Indirect method: Make something happen one time without major comment. ii.Ask how others liked the new activity and if they would like to make it part of the family's ritual in the future. iii.Negotiate the specifics of the new ritual.
Experience Staging
Class Concepts A great way to design meaningful experiences is by using the acronym THEME. Other useful experience economy concepts include the four realms of experience, staging customer surprise, and "you are what your charge for." Class Objectives Students will know the five elements of experience staging. Students will be able to apply the five elements of experience staging to a variety of venues and events.
Positive Psychology and the Study of Happiness
Class Concepts A new segment of psychology, positive psychology has developed a significant body of research on the study of happiness. The pursuit of happiness is a complicated affair that may in fact be misguided. Happiness leads to longevity, physical and social resources, creativity, generosity, and tolerance. Enduring Happiness includes a set range, personal circumstances, and voluntary variables. Class Objectives Students will be familiar with positive psychology, its aims, and foundational findings. Students will compare a "worldly pursuit of happiness" and their own "authentic" happiness. Students will begin to assess their own happiness and reflect on those assessments. Students will understand the factors that have been linked to happiness and consider their impact in their own lives. Students will begin to assess their own happiness and respond to the scores they receive on various happiness measures.
Fostering Empathy
Class Concepts Developing an outward mindset requires us to see our self-betrayal and collusion. We can be in the box towards other people by seeing them as obstacles, vehicles, or irrelevancies and we can adopt different styles within the box. Getting out of the box requires us to embrace the humanity of people and care about their objectives, hopes, dreams, desires, challenges, and headaches. Class Objectives Students will see that their troubled, afflicted emotions and attitudes and the way they foul their relationships cannot be solved by focusing solely on behavioral change. Students will recognize their own impressions to do good and the self-betrayal that leads to seeing others as objects. Students will identify someone they want to improve things with and consider ways they can begin to see this person as a person with hopes, dreams, and challenges.
The Experience Economy
Class Concepts Experience components include planning, anticipation, travel, the experience and remembering. Businesses that stage experiences are positioned to earn premium pricing and succeed in the new experience economy. Experience staging provides a broad metaphor for business development including dramatic action, enactment and performance models. Class Objectives Students will understand the fundamental principles associated with the experience economy. Students will be able to apply these fundamental principles to experience industry examples.
Take Back Your Time
Class Concepts Family time scarcity and commonly overscheduled children will be the focus of this class. Possible solutions include intentional family rituals and adjusted priorities. The American Pediatric Society suggests that children in America today are overscheduled and in need of some scheduling relief. Their recommendations for a simpler lifestyle will be shared. Elder Ballard and others have spoken regularly about the need to find a careful balance in our lives. Overcoming the feelings of rushing is possible through spiritual habits, meaningful personal rituals, and a personal time interview. Further solutions are suggested through the "simplicity" and "slow food" movements. Class Objectives Students will consider the question, "What is an economy for, anyway?" Students will develop ideas that allow them to "take back their time".
Introduction
Class Concepts Happiness refers to a general sense of overall well-being. It is not limited to pleasure or other short-term concepts. It does not preclude life challenges or temporary negative emotions. Experience design refers to the utilization of design thinking principles to create meaningful and even transformative experiences for self, family, friends, and others. Recreation or leisure refers to those aspects of life that are freely chosen and intrinsically motivated. It is outside of obligation, but might include work. Class Objectives Students will know a definition of "happiness," "experience design," and "recreation" for the purposes of this course. Students will consider the admonitions about choosing a life course from Dean Allison Davis-Blake at the University of Michigan.
Intentional Families
Class Concepts In today's merry-go-round of time, one important way to control time is through family rituals. Rituals must be meaningful, repeated, and coordinated to bring predictability, connection, identity, and a way to enact values. Rituals require a transition, enactment, and exit phase. Class Objectives Students will understand the central concepts of intentional families and ritualization. Students will discuss the applications of intentional ritualization to mealtimes, rising, retiring, coming and going.
Meaning and Achievement
Class Concepts Meaningfulness is a pillar of the PERMA model that relates to having a purpose greater than self. Achievement is a pillar of the PERMA model that relates to personal accomplishment. Understanding achievement and accomplishment through the lens of self-efficacy theory will suggest opportunities to improve confidence in achievement. Class Objectives Students will be able to name the sources of meaning identified by Smith. Students will be able to name the sources of self-efficacy. They will give examples of how they have experienced overwhelming mastery and how that can be generalized to other aspects of life.
Flow
Class Concepts Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, a positive psychologist, studied individual optimal experiences that eventually led him to develop the concept of flow. Flow refers to the state of being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. Flow can be understood through eight elements that are commonly associated with this phenomenon. Flow activities depend on a balance between challenge and skill in order to shoot between anxiety and boredom. Some clues about the external and internal conditions that lead to flow are suggested from research. Class Objectives Students will grasp the concept of flow and the eight elements associate with it. Students will articulate examples of flow in their own lives as they write about it and share with others. They will consider ways that they can encourage flow in others. Students will be introduced to some of the internal and external factors that influence the likelihood of flow opportunities.
Positivity and Love 2.0
Class Concepts Positive emotions broaden and build. A positivity ratio over 3:1 enhances flourishing. Love can be thought of as positivity resonance. Class Objectives Students will gain an understanding of positive emotions and identify ways they can increase their positive emotions through positivity tools. Students will rethink love and consider it as positivity resonance.
Creative Confidence and Design Thinking
Class Concepts Principles of design thinking are central to the success of experience design and management. Principles of design thinking can be categorized as understand, observe, visualize, evaluate and refine, and implement. Sub-concepts in each of these categories provide the richness of design thinking action and vocabulary. Class Objectives Students will be introduced to basic design thinking concepts and principles. Students will become familiar with some design thinking vocabulary. Students will apply design thinking concepts to a marshmallow tower design challenge.
Family Rituals
Class Concepts Rituals related to family recreation can be developed and maintained to strengthen the family though these rituals may include the difficulty of concentrated family time. Couple rituals need vigilant attention to secure marital connection and satisfaction. Holidays provide a natural, but sometimes challenging, opportunity to strengthen families through rituals. New family rituals can be introduced directly, indirectly, or through discovery. A spiritual perspective of family rituals adds another level of power to this compelling principle. Class Objectives Students will continue to consider the application of ritual development to family recreation, couple relations, special family days, holidays, community events, weddings and funerals. Students will recognize the entropic drag on ritual formation and the vigilance needed to maintain important family rituals. Students will consider the difficulties encountered by single-parent and blended families as they attempt to keep and institute family rituals. Students will suggest approaches to the introduction of new family rituals. Students will receive a spiritual confirmation of the divine power in family rituals.
Self Determination Theory
Class Concepts Self Determination Theory posits that autonomy, competence, and relatedness are basic psychological needs. As these basic psychological needs are met, they lead to greater intrinsic motivation—a life force, vital, active, authentic. Class Objectives Students will understand Self Determination Theory (SDT) and its various components. Students will see the connection of SDT with a good life, leisure and recreation.
Achieving Authentic Happiness
Class Concepts Seligman has identified and carefully tested specific exercises that build authentic happiness immediately and over time. Satisfaction with the past can be improved by rewriting narratives about the past through principles and activities of gratitude and forgiveness. Optimism for the future can be impacted by developing hope and optimism. Class Objectives Students will consider utilizing research-based happiness exercises for themselves and others. Students will gain insights about their satisfaction with the past and consider gratitude and forgiveness activities to improve. Students will understand their personal optimism and pessimism and the thinking that can lead to greater levels of optimism.
The How of Happiness
Class Concepts Seligman's happiness in the present can be enhanced by savoring and finding gratification. Lyubomirsky validates and illustrates the essential qualities of happiness research. Happiness is determined by a personal set point (50%), circumstances (10%), and intentional activity (40%). Specific intentional behaviors have been shown to increase enduring happiness. Recreational experiences relate easily and clearly with the five how's of happiness. Class Objectives Students will consider savoring, mindfulness, and gratification in the present to enhance their general happiness. Students will deepen their understanding of happiness concepts with the additional examples and insights provided by Lyubomirsky. Students will realize that while their happiness has a basic happiness thermostat that accounts for 50% of their positive emotions Students will also begin to come to a realization that a full 40%of their happiness is determined by their intentional activities. Students will discover their preferred happiness activities and consider how to utilize them.
Building a Good Life in the Digital Age
Class Concepts Technology provides the potential of improving interpersonal connections. Overconnectedness leads to psychological and emotional disturbances, diminishing face time with family and personal relations, and distracted workers that hurt the bottom line. Involvement in technology might best be answered through philosophical applications. In relation to issues with technology, philosophers offer themes of balance between connected and disconnected, crowd and self, and the outward life and the inward life. Class Objectives Students will consider the ways that technology has improved interpersonal connections for them. Students will consider ways that overconnectedness affects them and how it feels to be unplugged. Students will consider their freedom to choose as it relates to technological connection. Students will develop personal strategies to put healthy limits on their digital connectedness.
Time Famine in America
Class Concepts The growing concern over time is highlighted by the terms used to describe time stress including time crunch, time deepening, time famine and time thievery. The accelerated pace of time is understood from the perspectives of the recent disembeddedness of time, increased pluralism, and the rapidly changing pace of technology. Impacts on public health, civic volunteerism, and environmental health are the societal costs of an accelerated pace of life. Americans fail to take advantage of vacation and other days for rest. Class Objectives Students will analyze their own time crunch and its effects on their well-being. Students will become aware of the time crisis in America and its impacts on health, civic volunteerism, and environmental health.
Flourishing
Class Concepts The happiest people utilize their Signature Strengths to solve problems and improve love, family and work life. The Well Being Theory has replaced the Authentic Happiness Theory as the seminal framework in positive psychology. The five elements of Well Being Theory are positive emotion, engagement, meaning, positive relationships, and accomplishment. Class Objectives Students will understand and remember the five elements of Well Being Theory. Students will discover their Signature Strengths and consider how they can use them more often to achieve authentic happiness.
Last Child in the Woods
Class Concepts The relationship between children and nature has changed dramatically during the past few decades. Nature-deficit disorder describes the human costs of alienation from nature, among them: diminished use of the senses, attention difficulties, and higher rates of physical and emotional illness. Children can benefit markedly by spending more time in nature. Students can use the inspiration of nature to find ways to get kids to spend more time outside. Class Objectives Students will reflectively analyze their own time in nature and its impact on their well-being. Students will understand the research and concepts defining nature deficit disorder. Students will develop ideas about ways to overcome nature deficit disorder. Students will create skits that demonstrate how they will implement their ideas to overcome nature deficit disorder.
The World's Happiest Places Inclusive Design
Class Concepts Thrive from National Geographic explores the cumulative happiness of various locales around the world. "Thriving" refers to those that rate themselves as very happy (at least 8 on a 10 point scale) who also believe they will be happier in the next five years. Lessons about happiness can be learned from some of the happiest places around the globe: Denmark, Singapore, Mexico, and San Luis Obispo, California Class Objectives Students will explore lessons learned from the leading "thriving" countries in various regions of the world. Students will consider how they might encourage change where they live to nudge their communities towards greater happiness.
Apply Principles
Consider situations or scenarios where you might be able to apply the principles from each lesson of this class REVIEW EACH LESSON (application based questions)
Self Efficacy Theory
Definition—belief in one's ability to complete a task. Sources of Efficacy Information Efficacy Attainment—the actual experience of engaging in a task Vicarious Experience—modeling or other mental or visual cues Verbal Persuasion-- feedback provided to direct and enhance performances Physiological and Affective States—emotional responses lead to physiological responses such as increased heart rate and respiratory rate Generalizability of Efficacy Beliefs Overwhelming mastery experiences (when people face and overcome challenges they previously thought were substantially beyond their capabilities) increases efficacy beliefs in disparate domains. "Powerful mastery experiences that provide striking testimony to one's capacity to effect personal changes can also produce transformational restructuring of efficacy beliefs that is manifest across diverse realms of functioning"—Bandura Identification of similar sub-skills Co-development suggests the act of learning and becoming competent in one area enhances learning and development in other areas Cognitive restructuring is recognizing the commonalities between seemingly disparate activities Generalizing sub-skills is simply identifying specific sub-skills necessary for both activities
Deep BYU Aims Experience
Design, live, and reflect on a deep, inspiring BYU experience that contributes to the AIMs of a BYU education.
Creative Confidence and Design Thinking Overview
Designers vs. Design Thinkers—projects vs. problems Design Thinking Constraints 1. Desirability: what makes sense to people and for people 2. Viability: what is likely to become part of a sustainable business model 3. Feasibility: what is functionally possible within the foreseeable future Wicked Problems—undefined or tricky Gravity Problems—not solvable in our reality Basic Design Principles 1. Understand (the market, client, and technology) 2. Observe (confusion, likes, hates, latent needs) 3. Visualize (quantity over quality, non-judgmental brainstorming) 4. Evaluate and Refine 5. Implement
Getting Unstuck
Dysfunctional believe: I'm stuck Reframe: I'm never stuck, bc I can always generate lots of ideas A. Ideate This! B. Two Philosophies C. Needed Creative Confidence term-16 D. Anchor Problems—way stuck with only one solution in mind E. Mind Mapping F. Mind Mapping with Your Good Time Journal
Wayfinding...3 elements
Engagement—Flow: Energy Follow the Joy—what brings you alive
The Experience Economy Overview
Experience Components 1. Planning 2. Anticipation 3. Travel 4. Experience 5. Remembering Theatre Modeling: Dramatic Structure (p. 161) Acting=Work Enactment Model (p. 166) Audience=Customers Performance=Offering Script=Processes Drama (Plot)= Strategy Performance Model (p. 211) Cast=Employees Director=Manager Stage Manager=Experience Coordinator Casting Director=HR Director Auditions=Interviews
Experience Staging Overview
Experiences 1. Memorable Experiences 2. Meaningful Experiences 3. Transformative Experiences Designing Meaningful Experiences THEME: Theme the Experience Harmonize Impressions with Positive Cues Eliminate Negative Cues Mix in Memorabilia Engage All Five Senses Harmonize Impressions with Positive Cues: Time Space Technology Authenticity Sophistication Scale Experience Realms -The Entertained -The Educational -The Escapist -The Esthetic Staging Customer Surprise 1. Satisfaction= the gap between what customers expect and what they perceive they get 2. Sacrifice=the gap between what customers settle for and what they want exactly 3. Surprise—transcending expectations=the gap between what customers expect and what they get to perceive 4. Customer suspense=the gap between what customers remember from the past and what they do not yet know Artistic Performance Theme—a set of cues that are intended to invoke a "fantasy" Employees "stay in character" Customize to the individual Stimulate multiple senses Provide memorabilia Include unanticipated value
Exploring Life Design
Explore life design opportunities by completing a comprehensive design of your life project.
Authentic Happiness Overview
Flourishing Activities -The Gratitude Visit -What Went Well Exercise -Active, Constructive Responding -Heartfelt positivity to improve relationships -Active and Constructive -Passive and Constructive -Active and Destructive -Passive and Destructive Seligman's Voluntary Variables -Satisfaction with the Past—satisfaction, contentment, fulfillment, pride, serenity Gratitude improves positive memories Forgiveness diffuses bitterness and negative memories -REACH Recall objectively Empathize plausibly Altruistic gift of forgiveness Commit publicly Hold on to forgiveness Scientific studies show forgiveness leads to less anger, less stress, more optimism, and better reported health Optimism for the Future—optimism, hope, faith, trust -Explanatory Styles: Permanence -Permanent vs. Temporary -Explanatory Style: Pervasiveness -Specific vs. Universal Increasing Hope: Learning to Argue with Yourself -Evidence -Alternatives -Implications -Usefulness
Good Life/Happiness
General well-being; a balance of the full range of human experiences and emotions
Last Child in the Woods Overview
Leisure Studies 1. Reduced leisure time experienced by modern families 2. More time in front of the TV and computer 3. Growing obesity among adults and children International Studies --Shrinking natural play spaced in urban England over 15 years. --Japanese kids know more Pokemon characters that native species in the communities where they lived. --In Israel, nearly all adults, but only half of children ages 8-11, indicated that natural outdoor areas were the most significant environments of their childhood. --The Netherlands young "have little contact with nature"—75% see 'a bit of interest ' for nature at home, and 11% said there was none. --The Netherlands longitudinal study of play concluded that children today play outside less often for briefer periods; they have more restricted home range and have fewer, less diverse playmates. U.S. Research --Less time playing outdoors—from 1997-2003, 50% decline in the percentage of children 9-12 who spent time in various outside activities. --Hofferth also found that children's free play declined by 9 hours over a 25 year study. --Clements found that 71 percent of today's mothers recalled playing outside every day compared to 26 percent that said their children did—with no difference between urban and rural families. --"Containerized kids" not only spend less time outdoors but more time in small spaces—car seats, high chairs, and strollers. --Toddlers were only active 20 minutes each day because of physical restrictions. --New studies also suggest that exposure to nature may reduce symptoms of ADHD, improve cognitive abilities, and increase resistance to negative stresses and depression. Nature as Antidote 1. Stress reduction 2. Greater physical health 3. A deeper sense of spirit 4. More creativity 5. A Sense of play 6. Even a safer life
Inclusive Design Overview
Microsoft Design Principles Recognize exclusion—designing for inclusivity not only opens our products and services to more people, it also reflects how people really are. All humans grow and adapt to the world around them and we want our designs to reflect that. Solve for one, extend to many—everyone has abilities, and limits to those abilities. Designing for people with permanent disabilities actually results in designs that benefit people universally. Constraints are a beautiful thing. Learn from diversity—human beings are the real experts in adapting to diversity. Inclusive design puts people in the center from the very start of the process, and those fresh, diverse perspectives are the key to true insight.
Flow Overview
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, a positive psychologist, studied individual optimal experiences that eventually led him to develop the concept of flow. Flow refers to the state of being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. Flow activities depend on a balance between challenge and skill in order to shoot between anxiety and boredom. Elements of Flow A Challenging Activity that Requires Skill—challenging task with the ability to complete. A Merging of Action and Awareness—participate effortlessly with deep involvement Clear Goals—clear goals Feedback—clear and immediate feedback Concentration on the Task at Hand--concentration Sense of Control—experience a sense of control Loss of Self-Consciousness—lose our sense of self-concern Transformation of Time—perception of time is altered Autotelic Experience—an end in itself, self-contained activity, intrinsically rewarding—flow Cailois' Games Categorization Agon--games with competition as a main feature Alea—games of chance Ilinx (or Vertigo)—activities that alter consciousness by scrambling ordinary perception Mimicry—activities where alternative realities are created Flow and Culture Cultures or cultural factors that minimize chances for flow? Industrial Revolution reduced individual opportunity for autotelic opportunities The Ik of Uganda institutionalized selfishness The Yonomamo of Venezuela worship violence Cultures or cultural factors that maximize chances for flow? Indian Tribes of British Columbia intentionally choose new challenges by moving periodically. Citizens of nations that are more affluent, better educated and ruled by more stable governments report higher levels of satisfaction with life. But an important paradox is the great availability of leisure that fails to be translated into enjoyment (flow). The Autotelic Personality Attentional disorders and stimulus over inclusion prevent flow because psychic energy is too fluid and erratic. Excessive self-consciousness and self-centeredness prevent it because attention is too rigid and tight. Anomie refers to a condition in society in which the norms of behavior have become muddled and enjoyment is reduced. Alienation is condition in which people are constrained by the social system to act in ways that go against their goals. Neurophysiology and Flow Individuals with more flow experiences may have the ability to screen out stimulation and to focus only on what they decide is relevant for the moment. Family Flow Clarity—goals and feedback in the family interaction are unambiguous Centering—parents are interested in what children are doing in the present Choice—children feel they have a variety of possibilities from which to choose Commitment—the trust that allows the child to feel comfortable enough to set aside defenses Challenge—parent's dedication to provide increasingly complex opportunities for action
PERMA // Positivity and Love 2.0 Overview
Positivity broadens and builds Broadens: Positivity opens us—broadens our ideas about possible actions, opening our awareness to a wider range of thoughts and actions than is typical—making us more receptive and more creative. Builds: Positivity transforms us for the better—allowing us to discover and build new skills, new ties, new knowledge, and new ways of being. Ten forms of positivity Love Joy Gratitude Serenity Interest Hope Pride Amusement Inspiration Awe Positivity Ratios Losada ratio 3:1 (A positivity ratio over 3:1 enhances flourishing.) Gottman divorce ratio 5:1 Cultural differences—Americans face reduced immunity from negative emotions than Japanese who see negative feelings as normal. Positivity Toolkit Be open Create high-quality connections Cultivate kindness Develop distractions Dispute negative thinking Find nearby nature Learn and apply your strengths Meditate mindfully Meditate on loving kindness Ritualize gratitude Savor positivity Visualize your future IV. Love 2.0 = Positivity Resonance -Love as the supreme emotion In the science of emotions, positive emotions are subtle, brief, and potentially powerful forces for growth. Outlook expands: become more flexible, attuned to others, creative, and wise Become more resourceful: knowledgeable, resilient, socially integrated, and healthier Love is that micro-moment of warmth and connection that you share with another living being. Love is our supreme emotion because any of the other positive emotions can be transformed into an instance of love when felt in connection with another. Love makes us come most fully alive and feel most human. Within each moment of loving connection, you become sincerely invested in this other person's well-being, simply for his or her own sake. Positivity Resonance Sharing of one or more positive emotions between you and another A synchrony between your and another person's biochemistry and behavior A reflected motive to invest in each other's well-being that brings mutual care. Preconditions of love Perception of safety Connection—true sensory and temporal connection: first eye contact, smiling, then touch, voice, mirrored body postures and gestures Biological impacts Brain synchronicity Common oxytocin waves Builds capacity of the vagus nerve (calming connection between respiratory rate and heart rate) for better physical health, social skill, and overall well-being.
Meaning and Achievement Overview
Rise of Religion, Natural Science, Literature and Art from Two Questions 1. "What is the meaning of existence?" 2. "How can I lead a meaningful life?" Education and "Developing a Meaningful Life Philosophy American Freshman Survey "Developing a meaningful life philosophy" —top priority in late 60's 86% said it was "essential" or "very important" -By 2000, only 40% said it was their chief goal Replaced by "Being very well off financially" Mirrored in the replacement of liberal arts education with majors leading to good jobs Nozick, the Happiness Skeptic Devised a thought experiment —would you choose a life where you could live in a tank that would "give you any experience you desired." "Superduper neuropsychologists could stimulate your brain so that you would think and feel like" you were doing the most amazing things. -If happiness were our main value in life, wouldn't life in the tank satisfy all our desires? -But most people would say No to a life of feeling good in the tank "There is more to life than feeling happy." Happy Life v. Meaningful Life Hedonia -the pleasure principle—the absence of bodily and mental pain, such as anxiety—feeling good (sleeping in, playing games, going shopping, eating sweets.) Eudaimonia—human flourishing—being and doing good (reported forgiving a friend, studying, thinking about values, helping or cheering up another person.) --For hedonia subjects, a mood boost faded after three months. --For eudaimonia subjects, after three months, felt "enriched" and "inspired" with fewer negative moods Baumeister discovered these "feed off each other" but with "some substantially different roots." Happiness without meaning leads to selfish behavior—taker rather than giver The Power of Meaning —Pillars of Meaning (Small group discussion: What are your tribes?) --Belonging-our relationships with others --Purpose-a mission tied to contributing to society --Storytelling-making sense of our experiences and who we are through narrative --Transcendence-connecting to something bigger than self --Growth-through adversity
Self Determination Theory Overview
Self-Determination Theory: A theory of motivation concerned with supporting our natural or intrinsic tendencies to behave in effective and healthy ways Basic Psychological Needs -Autonomy (Self-governing; to act in accord with one's self, feeling free and volitional in one's action; acts freely chosen, Autonomy support refers to actions that encourage autonomy in those we have some responsibility for, Different than individualism...Individualism stands in contrast to acting for the common good, Autonomy is about acting with a sense of choice, flexibility, and personal freedom while choosing to behave responsibly) -Competence (Capacities and strategies for attaining desired outcomes, For highest performance, perceived competence must be linked with perceived autonomy. Example of puzzle solving success and failure Danger of "controlling" positive feedback negatively affecting intrinsic motivation.) -Relatedness (Feeling connected with others in the midst of being effective and autonomous—the need to love and be loved, to care and be cared for, Autonomous dependence is not opposed to autonomy and is natural, useful and healthy, Human development is seen from the perspective of organismic humanism and requires societal influences) --Needs leading to greater Intrinsic Motivation --(ABCs = Autonomy, Belonging (relatedness), and Competence)
The How of Happiness Overview
Seligman's Happiness in the Present—joy, ecstasy, calm, zest, ebullience, pleasure, flow Enhancing Appropriate Pleasures -Habituation and Addiction -Savoring Gratification with Meaningful Activity Happiness Myths -Happiness Must Be "Found" -Happiness Lies in Changing Our Circumstances -You Either Have It or You Don't Hedonic Adaptation "We're running faster and faster, but we seem to end up in exactly the same place"—Red Queen The Five Hows Behind Sustainable Happiness—and their link to experience design! 1. Positive Emotion—experience industries provide opportunities for positive emotions 2. Optimal Timing and Variety—experience design and management provides opportunities for novelty that avoid adaptation 3. Social Support—every designed experience can develop and nurture crucial relationships 4. Motivation, Effort, and Commitment—intrinsic motivation (the most powerful kind) is a foundational principle of designed experiences 5.Habit—may be easiest to make designed experiences habitual?
Flourishing Overview
Signature Strengths -Talents vs. Strengths -A tonic trait -Valued in its own right -What parents want for their newborns -Onlookers are elevated and inspired -Culture supports strengths by providing institutions, rituals, role models, parables, maxims, and children's stories -Prodigies and idiots -Cross-cultural ubiquity Six Virtues and Twenty Four Strengths -Wisdom and Knowledge -Curiosity/Interest in the World -Love of Learning -Judgment/Critical Thinking/Open-Mindedness -Ingenuity/Originality/Practical Intelligence/Street -Smarts -Social Intelligence/Personal Intelligence/ Emotional Intelligence -Perspective Evolution of Well-Being Theory -Monism -Inadequacies of authentic happiness theory --Happiness bound to cheerful mood --Singular measurement of life satisfaction --Some possible elements of well-being are left out --Theoretical changes --Theory title --Topic --Measure --Goal Elements of Well-Being -Positive emotion -Engagement -Meaning -Positive relationships -Accomplishment -Flourishing as the Goal of Positive Psychology
Building a Good Life in the Digital Age Overview
Technology Connections Magic of Screens -Connected Experience ---Practical Need ---Potential Savings in Time and Energy ---Remembered Relationships Vitally Significant Experience Enhanced by Technology --Nurture Relationships --Fed Emotional, Social, and Spiritual Hungers --Think Creatively --Express Ourselves Essential Gap (Space) for Depth "Its good to be connected, its bad to be disconnected" --First Corollary: The more you connect, the better off you are. --Second Corollary: The more you disconnect, the worse off you are. Technology Distractions—Gone Overboard Disconnected Aloneness --"Loneliness" expresses the pain of being alone --"Solitude" expresses the glory of being alone Problems with Overconnectedness 1. Psychological and emotional disturbances (pp. 50-51) --Attention deficit trait --Partial attention --Email apnea --Internet addiction disorder --Nomophobia—fear of being out of mobile phone contact 2. Screen time replacing face time in family and personal relationships —Vanishing Family Trick 3. Distracted workers hurting the bottom line—Interruptions and recovery time take up 28% of the working day. Neurological Plasticity Evolutionary Tools of the Mind --Maps --Clocks --Alphabets --Codex or Books --Internet Decision-Making and Problem Solving 1. Reduced for experienced internet users 2. Less reading and more power-browsing 3. Effects of information overload and artificial intelligence/Church of Google VII. Global Media Use (2017) Regional Use of Internet East Asia--923 million South Asia--585 million Africa—362 million Regional Internet Penetration North America—88% West Europe—84% Oceania—68% Facebook Use by Country—Philippines, Mexico, Turkey, Argentina, Vietnam BUCKLE UPP! Plato Principle: Distance Illustration: A walk away from busy Athens Applications Putting screens out of reach—go commando Mini-escape—vacation without screens Visit places without digital connection Seneca Principle: Inner Space Illustration: Manage the crowd by focusing on one idea or person Applications A focused conversation without screens—even gently asking that they be put aside One screen or page or task at a time Control "friends"—establish a small group Gutenberg Principle: Technologies of Inwardness Illustration: Brought the great tool of inwardness, books, to more people Applications Keep book reading inward Shut out distractions when working on laptops or notebooks by disconnecting for a time—prominent disconnect button Shakespeare Principle: Old Tools Ease Overload Illustration: Handwriting even during the age of print Applications Use paper: for notes, journaling, reading Don't assume the newest tools are always the best choice for the given task Material objects can be fun: vinyl records, yo-yos, board games Franklin Principle: Positive Rituals Illustration: Goals leading to "moral perfection" Applications Restrict your own screen time with limits and rewards Keep certain hours of the day screen free—don't check email early in the morning or late at night Resolve to do something completely different and appealing with half your evening screen hours Thoreau Principle: Walden Zones Illustration: A Zone of inner simplicity and peace at Walden Pond Applications Any space that is intentionally offline—backyard treehouse Different parts of a house for different kinds of screens Digital free public spaces McLuhan Marshall -McLuhan was a Canadian English literature scholar writing 50 years ago. Coined phrases "Global village", and "The media is the message". His overriding theme was that, even in a hyperconnected world, everyone has the ability to regulate his or her own experience. Used the Greek myth of Narcissus and Poe's story "A Descent into the Maelstrom". Proposed "hot" and "cool" technologies—a hot technology is intense, overwhelming us with information and technology. Principle: Lower the Inner Thermostat Illustration: Each of us can regulate the quality of our experience Applications Step back from smartphone to flip phone Choose your content wisely—escape the global village for the local village
Wayfinding
The ancient art of figuring out where you are going when you don't actually know your destination **Enjoyment is a guide to finding the right work for you
Course Purpose
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the most basic philosophies from social science underlying recreation and experience design, particularly positive psychology, to provide understanding of foundational principles and theories and to compare these across cultures, and to explore life design opportunities.
Happiest Places Overview
Thriving Defined: those individuals that rate themselves as very happy (at least 8 on a 10 point scale) who also believe they will be happier in the next five years Denmark: The World's Happiness All Stars Singapore: Can You Manufacture a Happy Nation—highest in Asia Nuevo Leon in Mexico: The Secret Sauce of Happiness San Luis Obispo: A Real American Dream Where you live can matter -Community -Workplace -Social Life -Financial Life -Home -Self -Thriving Children
Time Famine in America Overview
Time Famine Terminology -Time Crunch -Time Thieves -Time Deepening -Time Estrangement Overwork in America --Increasing Work Hours --A worker today would only have to work 29 hours to produce the equivalent of a 40 hour worker in 1990. Exacerbating the Pace of Our Lives Overwork (forced overtime) --Overscheduling --Commuting --Unpaid Labor (Housework, Cleanliness, Church Service) -Time Cost of Stuff Media Vacation in America --Vacation Comparisons --Vacation Issues --Family Leave Policies VII. Impacts of Time Poverty --Public Health --Environmental Harm --Volunteerism
Fostering Empathy Overview
Troubled Feelings 1. A Universal Affliction 2. Feeling Stuck—experiencing other people or circumstances as having more power over our own happiness than we do 3. Honest self-understanding liberates us from our stuck emotions How We Betray Ourselves 1. Going Against Our Sense of Right and Wrong 2. Moral Self Compromise--self betrayal occurs when we do to another what we sense we should not do, or don't do what we sense we should. 3. Failure to Be Alive to Another Human Being—aware of and sensitive to his or her inner life and feelings 4. Not Related to Moral Right and Wrong—but giving ourselves without reserve Self-Justification 1. Necessary When We Self-Betray—the fault for our failure to do as we knew we should lay elsewhere, not with us. 2. Self Justification Leads to Self-Deception Developing an Outward Mindset—Arbinger Keynote Slide Set A. Mindset vs. Behavior B. How I See vs. What I Do C. Without a change of heart whatever we do will carry the smell of our manipulative, selfish, or fearful intent, and other people will readily discern it. D. Differences in Focus 1. People 2. Objects: Vehicles, Obstacles, or Irrelevancies How Our Mindsets Become Inward 1. Focus on "our" results vs. focus on "my" results 2. A desire to be helpful vs. a need to be justified 3. Self-Betrayal: a desire to help followed by a choice that is honored or betrayed. 4. List Common Symptoms 5. Inward Mindset Risks: relationships, results, happiness Moving from an Inward to an Outward Mindset A. Ways we often try to get out of the box—trying to change others, doing my best to "cope" with others, leaving, communicating, implementing some new skill or technique, changing behavior B. Why don't these work? C. Shifting to an Outward Mindset—draw diagram What is he or she wanting/trying to do? How have I been a problem? How can I be more helpful? D. Tips for shifting Notice the symptoms Notice when you are in the box and get out quickly "Never suppress a charitable impulse" "My love will indict their spirit, my blame will only console them." Terry Warner "Write in your journal, it will purge you from your box." Can I be the first one out?
Three Odyssey Plans
Truly different alternatives - Create three alternative five‐year plans, using the worksheet provided. 1. Life One—that thing you do 2. Life Two—that thing you'd do if thing one were suddenly gone 3. Life Three—the thing you'd do or the life you'd live if money or image were no object
Apply Foundational Principles
Understand and apply foundational principles of recreation and experience design for self, family, community, and diverse populations.
Mind Mapping (with good time journal)
Using simple free association of words, one after another, to open up the idea space and come up with new solutions Mind Map 1—Engagement Activity Mind Map 2—Energy Activity Mind Map 3—Flow Activity 1. Look at the outer ring of one of your maps and pick three disparate items that catch your eye. You'll know which ones they are intuitively—they should literally "jump out" at you. 2. Now try to combine those three items into a possible job description that would be fun and interesting to you and would be helpful to someone else (again, it need not be practical or appeal to lots of people or employers). 3. Name your role and draw a napkin sketch of it (a quick visual drawing of what it is). 4. Do this exercise three times—once for each of your mind maps—making sure that the three versions are different from one another.
How does Seligman define the "good life"?
Using your signature strengths everyday to produce authentic happiness and abundant gratification.
Experience Design
Utilization of design thinking principles to create meaningful and even transformative experiences for self, family, friends, and others.
Value Improving Quality of Life
Value the importance of improving the quality of lives for individuals, families, and society.
Rule of age 10
What we liked and what we were passionate about without the opinions of others
Take Back Your Time Overview
What's an Economy For? Family Time Merry Go Round Metaphor --Centrifugal Forces --Desire to Maintain Pace --Unknown Dangers It's About Time Videos: "Priceless" Vacation Days Children's Lost Time 1. Academic Preparation 2. Organized Sports 3. Media Use 4. Childhood Obesity 5. Highly Scheduled Kids 6. American Pediatric Society Recommendations Retirement Issues Balance --Elder M. Russell Ballard --Brigham Young Scriptural Considerations Mark 6: 30-32 Alma 1: 27-30 Alma 4: 6, 8 3 Nephi 6: 11-12 4 Nephi 1: 3, 24-26 Changing Pace Time Diaries and Examinations Take Stock of Finances Optimal Self Recovery Time Realistic Expectations Shabbat Simplicity Slow Food Support Group Early Rising Scriptures Temple Stillness
Wicked Problems:
actionable (we are able to do) Finding the sweet spot of personally desirable, financially viable, and technically feasible.
Gravity Problems:
inactionable (unable to do) ie: weather
PERMA
positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, achievement
Department Mission and Vision:
• ". . . facilitate well‐being and growth . . ." • ". . . committed to the development of the total individual and their quality of life. "