INSIDE OUT is grounded in the science of happiness. So what does that mean exactly?
Join me … and Julie Andrews … in a few bars of ‘My Favourite Things’ from ‘The Sound of Music.’ It will help explain it. Come on … I know you know the words!
Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things
Cream colored ponies and crisp apple strudels
Doorbells and sleighbells
And schnitzel with noodles
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
These are a few of my favorite things
Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
Silver white winters that melt into springs
These are a few of my favourite things
When the dog bites
When the bee stings
When I’m feeling sad
I simply remember my favourite things
And then I don’t feel…so bad
Julie (aka governess Maria) is teaching the Von Trapp children what they can do when they are feeling unhappy – be grateful for the small, simple, wonderful things all around them. So when bad things happen in life, like when ‘the dog bites’ and ‘the bee stings,’ they will know what to do. They will have learned that if they remember all their ‘favourite things’ that make them happy, then they won’t ‘feel…so bad.’
This is the essence of positive psychology, otherwise known as the science of happiness. Its focus is on what works in our lives and makes us flourish rather than psychology’s traditional response to helping people which has been to focus on what is going wrong.
Tal Ben-Shahar, the world-renowned author and teacher of Harvard’s most popular course in history, Positive Psychology, takes it a step further:
“It’s about seeing life as it really is, the downsides and the upsides. By attending to our wellbeing we enable ourselves to take more effective action in dealing with life’s difficulties. Feeling positive emotions broadens our horizons, helping us be more creative, effective, resilient, persistent and to reach out to others.”
INSIDE OUT is all about helping children improve their emotional wellbeing by engaging in simple experiential activities focused on the 5 Keys to Happiness (Look Inside. Move Outside. Share More. Be Curious. Be Kind). Children learn ways to express their inner emotions, whatever they might be feeling. So when they ‘are feeling sad’ or perhaps anxious, afraid or angry, they, like the Von Trapp children, know what to do to feel happier.
