ThriveRU

The goal of the ThriveRU initiative is to provide training and resources to  students, faculty and staff in order to teach the skills associated with resilience, well-being and thriving in both an academic and personal context. Principles of positive psychology underpin all of the programs associated with ThriveRU.

Our purpose is to help students feel a sense of support on campus, to better appreciate the connections between academic success and other elements of a healthy lifestyle, and, primarily, to help students develop capacities for thriving that will serve them throughout their lives.

We developed a 4 session resilience training program designed to teach the five factor model of resilience (mindfulness, gratitude, optimism, self-compassion, and grit).  This program is available separately for students, faculty and staff.

Cultivate Your Happiness: A ThriveRU Weekly Workbook, was designed to anticipate the challenges of each week of each term, and provide an exercise that students can use to increase their capacity to be resilient in the face of the challenge of that week. The exercises in the Weekly Workbook correspond with the academic school-year, and include the following topics:

• Making new friends and strengthening your connections with old friends
• Gratitude
• Cultivating optimism
• Living in the present moment
• Coping strategies
• Growth mindset
• Practicing acts of kindness and generosity
• Increasing flow
• Learning to forgive
• Committing to your goals
• Physical activity and exercise
• Meditation
• Savouring life’s joys (past, present, and future)