This semester I took a positive psychology class, and TBH, I forgot I was even taking it until the first day of classes. But since taking it, I personally found it really helpful and thought others might too.
One of the first benefits I saw to this class was that it taught about happiness. My teacher taught about happiness setpoints that we naturally revert back to at the end of a day, either being naturally happier, sadder or neutral. I thought this was important for people to know about themselves. Had I not taken this class, I never would have known what that was or how it related to me. Even if students aren’t trying to work on themselves, it would still be nice and interesting to know where you naturally fall.
My teacher had us do activities based around being more mindful. They were mostly like mediation exercises, but I found them really helpful. It was something I wouldn’t do on my own, but her assigning them made me realize how relaxing they were. I’ve heard many people say that they want to try and meditate more in their daily lives. Maybe you’re someone who just needs an extra push to do something you’ve been wanting to and assignments like these could help you.
My teacher also had us journal our emotions throughout the day for a week. I really liked this assignment because it made me realize there were so many little wins throughout my day that I wasn’t even acknowledging. I wanted to try journaling for a while but was too lazy to actually start. After I was forced to, I found it really helpful and insightful into how I react to things in my day.
We talked about relationships in my class, both romantic and friendships. I found this helpful because it kind of forced me to reflect on what kind of partner and friend I am. The class taught what components make for healthy relationships, which I think is good to be reminded of at any age. This part of the class felt really applicable because everyone has relationships and friendships so knowing how to deal with them constructively and what exactly to put into them would be helpful.
I guess I like this class so much because it teaches stuff that people could use in their everyday lives that goes beyond relating to academics. You’re not going to be learning the quadratic equation that you’ll forget in a few weeks. This is stuff that’s important to maintain a healthy lifestyle and mental health.
I also like it because it is based around positivity, promoting it and how to create it in your life. Most of the time people say they want to do stuff but don’t actually do it. This class gives you ways to do it like those little mindfulness activities to show you how you can actually incorporate things into your daily life.
With all classes, it is what you make of it. If you don’t want to adopt anything into your real life, that’s perfectly fine. But if you’re looking for a little extra push or motivation, this class could be for you. Maybe I’m just excited because I’m all about positivity and promoting mental health but I’m glad I took this class.