What is Flourishing?
Is your school thriving or are you surviving? Are you okay with the status quo or are you ready to explore your potential as a school?
What does it mean to flourish?
It is a word that we often think of when we think of plants, and we want to keep that image in your mind as we continue.
To flourish is to thrive–it's to go beyond the status quo, which often feels safe but can actually lead us to regression. When we make efforts to grow, to expand our idea of what we can do, and to take action we actually have the power to make our lives better.
The same is true for education. If we stop thinking of education as ‘set in stone,’ and instead see it as an ever evolving concept then we have the power to make it better.
Personal Flourishing
When we are flourishing, we are reaching the potential of how much we can grow as individuals—that’s called Personal Flourishing. If we think about a person’s life and what they want to accomplish, you might begin to see flourishing as life achievement or fulfillment. Personal Flourishing is focused on individuals increasing their well-being, health, resilience, and strengths that leads to feelings of fulfillment, engagement, and success.
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Organizational Flourishing
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We can also think of flourishing in terms of the success of our institutions. If we are part of a group, we want that group to succeed because it helps us to find success. We might also want to see our friends and colleagues succeed because it makes us feel good to watch our friends do well. Let’s call that Organizational Flourishing. Organizational Flourishing is focused on schools and educational entities focusing on bringing health, purpose, engagement, and occupational success to their staff. All of this begins with a change in mindset and expectation-- as a result, the organization's culture will change. Let us help you on this journey.
Well-Being Continuum
The image above can be viewed as being a continuum upon which a person's well-being exists. Let's examine the defining features of each level:
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Suffering - a person or an organization (school) that is enduring high levels of adversity without any ability to overcome or heal from the stress/trauma.
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Languishing - a person or organizational (school) that has become apathetic, restless, or unsettled by adversity.
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Coping - a person or organization (school) that is beginning to move out of those feelings of suffering or languishing, reaching a form of neutrality where they are finding ways to hold back the distress.
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Performing - a person or organization (school) that is making attempts to reach beyond their status quo of coping by increasing their well-being through a number of different strategies.
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Flourishing - a person or organization (school) that is actively working to fulfill their purpose and increase their well-being. Flourishing allows for the envisioning and achievement of not only health, but also growth, success, and enjoyment.
How can your school get on the path to Flourishing?
Our mission to increase flourishing, both in individuals and organizations (schools) is built on the ideology of self-determination. For flourishing to truly exist, it must come intrinsically; so our methodology for increasing well-being and flourishing is through co-design. There are no "best practices" or "one-size-fits-all" methods to increase feelings of success. It must be a partnership based on the knowledge that we are acting as a guide for the journey of self-actualization. That being said, let's take a look at how HeartBridge works to increase flourishing.
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HeartBridge helps schools increase the Personal Flourishing of their students, staff, and community members through a number of direct and indirect instruction opportunities. We help members of the school ecosystem through:
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professional development opportunities;
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curriculum focused on Emotional and Social Intelligence, Positive Psychology, Mindset Theory, Mindfulness, and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy principles;
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development of positive and constructive mindsets that lead to improved behaviors and academic performance;
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opportunities for individuals to build agency and efficacy
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HeartBridge helps schools increase their Organizational Flourishing by codesigning a process with leadership teams aimed at creating frameworks that works for that school's unique culture and community. We do not tell your school what to do or what you need; instead, we help guide you through the following processes:
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regenerative principles;
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professional development;
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school-wide cultural norms and expectations;
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and a more holistic organizational structure.