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My Summer Imperatives 2025  ➡️  

Use PERMA+ Model For Wellbeing

Positive Emotions - Spend time with people you care about. Perform activities you enjoy (hobbies). Reflect on what you are grateful for. Foster positive habits e.g. a daily nature walk or call a friend during your commute.
Engagement - Participate in activities you love and make you lose track of time. Practice mindfulness. Spend time in nature, watching and listening to everything around you. Identify your strengths and apply them.
Relationships - Join a class or group that interests you. Ask questions to people you do not know well. Get in touch with people you have not connected with in a while. Perform random acts of kindness for your loved ones and strangers.
Meaning - Get involved with a cause or organization that matters to you. Try new activities that might help you find your passion. Spend quality time with those you care about. Reflect on how you can use your strengths to help others.
Achievement - Set SMART minimums or goals to achieve your dreams. Reflect on past quality efforts, successes, and progress. Make a list of things you are proud of yourself. Brainstorm creative ways to celebrate your accomplishments.
+ Plus Four - Optimism, Nutrition, Physical activity, Sleep

from: Martin Seligman’s Positive Psychology - The PERMA+ Model Explained: A Theory of Wellbeing https://positivepsychology.com/perma-model/

Love Ethically

Attention - Truly see and hear each other.
Care - Take action to support others’ growth and well-being. Show concern and attention to the well-being of oneself and others.
Knowledge - Learn what others need and how to respond. Understand the needs, perspectives, and experiences of oneself and others.
Responsibility - Show up consistently for those we care about. Take ownership of one’s actions and their impact.
Respect - Treat everyone as having equal value and importance. Recognize and value the inherent worth and dignity of oneself and others.
Trust - Build safe spaces where people can be their true selves. Believe in the integrity and reliability of oneself and others.
Commitment - Choose to keep loving even when it’s difficult. Dedicate yourself to maintaining relationships and upholding promises.

from: bell hooks’ love ethic writings

Cultivate Your Brain’s Potential

1. Recognize - Recognize that we are all on a growth journey. Every time we experience something new and learn, our brains form, strengthen, or connect neural pathways.
2. Embrace Struggle - Embrace struggle, face obstacles, and make mistakes to grow your brain.
3. Change Your Beliefs - Change your beliefs to physically change your body and your brain.
4. Rethink And Change Your Critical Thinking - Rethink and change your critical thinking to get better outcomes.
5. Approach Ideas Multidimensionally - Approach ideas multidimensionally and from various perspectives to optimize your neural pathways and your learning.
6. Approach Ideas And Life With Creativity - Approach ideas and life with creativity and flexibility to optimize your learning.
7. Connect To People - Connect to people and ideas to enhance neural pathways and learning.
   
   from: the book “Limitless Mind: Learn, Lead, and Live Without Barriers” by Jo Boaler

Address Common Issues

If you fear failure or other people’s judgement try viewing failure as a learning experience and focusing on the process without caring about people’s opinions. Identify your core values driving your behaviors and practice self-compassion.
If you are not feeling the excitement try aligning your actions and goals with your purpose, and regularly remind yourself of it. Incorporate new stuff, reflect on when you felt energized and engaged. Connect with a mentor or other inspiring individuals to flame your own passions.
If you postpone tasks or are overwhelmed try breaking tasks into smaller, manageable steps. Visualize completion and celebrate each achievement. Systematically prioritize and use the 2 minute rule.
If you struggle to hold yourself accountable try finding an accountability partner. Publicly declare your goals and track your progress visibly.
If you are distracted by interruptions or internal thoughts try minimizing distractions, turn off notifications, and create a dedicated workspace. Schedule time blocks for uninterrupted work. Acknowledge distracting thoughts then return to task.

from: various

Take Actions To Feel Better

Angry? - Sing. Singing is shown to release endorphins, which helps reduce feelings of frustration and anger while lifting your mood.
Anxious? - Breathe. Try breathing in slowly through the nose for 2 counts, and exhale slowly through the mouth for 4 or more counts. Slow, deep breaths help lower your heart rate and ease anxious thoughts.
Burned out? - Walk. Give your mind a break and let your body move. A walk in nature can help process and calm thoughts so you can reset.
Impatient? - Reflect on past quality efforts, successes, and progress. When you recognize why you do something, you can work with yourself instead of against yourself. Remind yourself of how far you’ve come by listing three milestones you’ve achieved.
Lazy? - Cold shower. Cold water immersion is one of the most effective ways to quickly raise dopamine, the neurotransmitter responsible for motivation. It helps to give you the energy and motivation to tackle your day (or at least get your ass moving out of the damn cold shower).
Overthinking? - Write. Clear the clutter in your mind by putting your thoughts on paper - it brings clarity and calm. Writing down thoughts can help break them into actionable steps.
Sad? - Gratitude. Shift your perspective by reflecting on things you’re thankful for - it’s scientifically proven to boost happiness. Notice and appreciate the good things in life, and express gratitude to yourself or others.
Stressed? - Exercise. Physical activity can help pump up the production of endorphins, the brain’s feel-good neurotransmitters. Get moving! Exercise boosts endorphins, which are your natural stress relievers.

from: various

Think Critically

1. Perceive Your Environment - Perceive your environment to extract lots and lots of analytical details about your surroundings, especially about people within it. Make a ton of observations about who and what is going on around me and how it came to be.
2. Sense Dangers And Rewards - Sense danger and rewards by clarifying the complex potential rewards and the potential dangers within your environment. Figuratively what’s out there that I might want to eat and what’s out there that might want to eat me?
3. Decide Between Danger And Reward - Decide between danger and reward by using past experiences and knowledge to weigh the yays and nays using decision-making tools and techniques: pros and cons, mind maps, concept maps, SWOT analysis, decision matrix and tree, …
4. Act On The Decision - Act on the decision strategically using your best possible critical thinking skills.
5. Review And Reflect On Past Decisions, Actions, And Outcomes - Review and reflect on past decisions, actions, and outcomes by journaling to become more aware of your own critical thinking process and how things came to be!
   from: video 4 tips for developing critical thinking skills by Steve Pearlman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bry8J78Awq0