For the first experience,I decided to attend an online course titled “A Life Of Happiness And Fulfillment”.I am very well inclined towards the field of psychology but could not choose it as one of my subject in IBDP because it did not aligned with my career aspirations.Talking about this topic,it is very crucial to learn about it especially in today’s generation because as we are growing older we are coming across even more complicated problems which can deteriorate our mental health and further does not helps us as individuals to live a life full of happiness and fulfillment.Therefore,this is why I decided to attend an online course as it helped me gain some basic information about psychology and learn a life skill which will help me a lot in future.
Learning Outcome 1
1.Did you identify your strengths and weaknesses?
Strengths Weakness
Left prefrontal activity Overly controlling
Serotonin and cortisol levels Chasing superiority
Reaction to bad things Distrusting life
Memory Being needy
Valuing Happiness
2.How do you feel now that you’re aware of it?
Now that I am aware of it I feel like improving upon my weaknesses by implementing the required actions which will help myself convert these weaknesses into strengths.I feel like I have to sincerely implement those actions in order to receive a better result which will help my mental health in the long run.
3.Why is it important for us to know our strengths? Or weaknesses?
It is important for us to know our strengths and weaknesses in order to know where do we stand which will further help us to improve ourselves at our best levels.Being aware of our weaknesses will help us know on which aspects we have to improve upon and being aware of our strengths will help us realize our real potential and encourage ourselves leading to achieve everything at its best.
4.Did you work/or would like to work on your weakness? Relate one area where overcoming this weakness would have benefited you.
I did worked on my weaknesses by implementing all those actions which were required to work on my weakness .For example for being overly controlling,I started to let off my ego and started acknowledging what others said in order to not be a over control freak.Over a period of time I starting noticing that I can adjust a lot more in life especially while socializing with my friends and younger siblings.
Learning Outcome 2
1.What was so challenging and why?
The challenging part was improving upon one of my weaknesses which is about distrusting life.Due to academic stress I am suffering from anxiety which has affected all areas of my life leading to looking at my life negatively and as I l am looking at my life negatively I have started to distrust my life and believe there is no good in my life.I personally think that this is a very serious problem and hence which is why it was so challenging.
2.Have you done anything similar before?
As such I have not done anything similar before but I have attended a life class in school itself.The online course gave me more detailed information about how can we improve upon our mental health whereas the life class which was a two hour session made me realized that my mental health should be my first and foremost priority in life.
3.How did you overcome this challenge?
I overcame this challenge by constantly reminding myself that achieving this will provide me with a variety of benefits which will strongly help me as an individual and in distinct areas of my life.
4.How do you feel about having undertaken this challenge? Why is it important for you to undertake new challenges?
I feel stress free and a bit happier having undertaken this challenge since it helped me calm my anxiety.I used to underestimate the power of self motivation but now that I can see an impactful change I will never underestimate the power of self motivation and keep pushing myself to think positive and achieve whatever I ever wanted to in my life.It is important for me to undertake new challenges in order to witness my own personal growth either mentally,physically,socially or spiritually as it will help me become a more considerate and loving person.
5.Did you discover any skills you hadn’t known or learned yet? How could this skill be useful to you in the future? How does having this new skill make you feel about yourself? Why is it important to learn new skills?
Yes I did discovered several skills I hadn’t known or learned yet like self awareness,self control,emotional intelligence,decision making and how to work under pressure.These skills can be useful to me in the future when I will again suffer from anxiety like an example while going through some ups and downs in my career I can feel anxious and so that’s when I can implement these skills.Having these new skills makes me feel much more confident as now I can handle difficult situations all by myself.It is important to learn new skills as it helps us gain new knowledge-based perspectives and new experiences which further trains our brain to handle a wide range of challenges leading us to achieve our ultimate goals.
Learning Outcome 4
1.What made this activity difficult where perseverance or commitment was necessary? How did that make you feel?
Attending an online course for almost half a month where I studied for two hours regularly did test my perseverance or commitment.I used to feel extremely exhausted at times but it was my dedication towards making my mental health better which motivated me to not miss any day.
2.What commitment was required to complete this activity?
Commitment towards making my mental health better was required to complete this activity.I really had that dedication in my mind to improve my mental health and so I overlooked all the problems I faced during the completion of the course.
3.Is it easy for you to commit to things? To be persistent? Why or why not? Why is showing perseverance and commitment important?
It is not easy for me to commit to things and to be persistent as it is a very basic human tendency to be exhausted or lose interest sometimes which makes it hard enough to commit to things and to be persistent.It is important to show perseverance and commitment because it is one of the most disciplined ways to achieve we whole heartily desire.
Learning Outcome 7
What ethical issues were involved in this activity? Explain.
Did the ethical issues affect you directly or indirectly?How did the issue make you feel?
What was your opinion on this issue before this activity? Has it changed or stayed the same after this activity?
There was an activity in the course where I had to share all my problems in life with an anonymous person which I did not found ethical as I prefer to keep my life confidential but had to reveal it in order to complete the activity.The ethical issues affected me directly because I could not trust the anonymous person to whom I was sharing my information with which lead me to worry a lot but then later I discussed this with my mentor who said that all of this will remain confidential so don’t worry about it.
Final take away
What learner profile characteristics have you developed in this activity?
Inquirer:I developed natural curiosity and showcased independence while completing the course.I actively enjoyed learning about mental health and this information will be sustained with me throughout my life.
Knowledgeable:I explored concepts,ideas and issues about mental health that had some local and global significance.I acquired in depth knowledge about how to be mentally fit and developed understanding across a broad and balanced range of disciplines.
Thinkers:I applied thinking skills critically and creatively to recognize and approach problems like depression and anxiety by making reasoned ethical decisions.
Principled:I acted with integrity,honesty and with a strong sense of fairness by completing the online course diligently without skipping a video and taking notes from the video.
There are no links between my subjects and this CAS experience and as such this activity has not benefit others but can benefit others if I share what I have learned with my family,friends and teachers.The highlight of this experience for me was when I overcame my challenge and started to look at my life from a positive angle.This not only made me a bit happier but also impacted distinct areas of my life such as academics or times when I socialize with my family or friends a bit better.Yes my perspectives or values were challenged and altered because I had many negative perspectives and values with myself like being overly controlling,chasing superiority,being needy,distrusting life but then after the completion of this course all those negative values changed into positive ones.I can spread awareness about mental health in my community by making them realize how crucial is mental health for each and every individual especially in this generation.I achieved success and this made me feel a bit happier than before and for sure bought a sense of accomplishment and enjoyment to me.From this experience I learned how to make my mental well being healthy through implementing and eliminating certain actions in life.If I did this activity again I would like to change certain activities like sharing your personal information with anonymous people.I am going to apply this learning in the future when I will again suffer from anxiety like an example while going through some ups and downs in my career I can feel anxious and so that’s when I can implement these skills.I wish to contribute to the society by spreading as much information as I can about the significance of mental health in order to let one live a life full of happiness and fulfillment.
Evidence
