Thriving in 2016/17

 

University of Toronto professor Greg Wells launched the student roll-out of the THRIVE well-being project last Friday, addressing all students in Grove Time sessions on “Dream-Setting, Habits and the Environment.” 

 

Wells drew on his physiology research and his work with high performance athletes to discuss the value of pursuing a dream, rather than simply setting goals. Illustrating his points by drawing upon the experiences of Olympic athletes Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps, Wells mapped out a plan for achieving those dreams.

 

He encouraged our students to discover their dream, and then identify short-term steps that they could take over the next 90 days to advance that dream. Forming habits, Wells added, was a key factor in achieving goals, noting that although it took 66 practice sessions to form a habit, it was much easier to maintain a habit than to draw on will-power to achieve goals. Finally, Wells reminded the students to surround themselves with a circle of friends who would contribute positively toward the achievement of their dream, people who would challenge and inspire them to stay on track.

 

Wells will be following up his talk with emails and podcasts to students over the next few weeks, and will return to LCS on October 14 to work with faculty, staff and students once again, this time helping us to identify what we can achieve in the next year to advance our THRIVE dream.