Choose well – Think well – Live well!
Practical ideas to help families, children, and adults
care for their emotional wellbeing and mental health
What is Flourish!?
- Flourish! is a set of materials designed to introduce ideas and activities that can help people of all ages to choose to experience positive emotions, even when they are facing challenging circumstances.
- This is what the apostle Paul did when he was in prison. In Philippians 4 Paul lists some of the ways in which he stays positive even though he is facing execution. He chooses to praise God because is always praiseworthy. He chooses to be gentle and kind. He chooses to give his anxious thoughts to God, who cares for him. He chooses to be thankful, and to focus on positive and peaceful thoughts.
- Flourish! consists of 12 posters/pages. Each one focuses on a different aspect of emotional wellbeing, and includes a Bible verse, a brief introduction, and 10 different, simple ideas for experiencing a positive emotion or attitude.
- There is also a choice of two journal pages that encourage daily, positive reflection on healthy emotions.
- There is a tree poster for children, where they can stick or colour small green leaves each time they try out one of the flourishing ideas.
- We can provide editable design files for translation if required. Contact [email protected] if you need help with this.
How can the Flourish! materials be used?
- The Flourish! materials have been designed to make them easy to translate and share.
- Put them on your website, or link to Flourish! on the TED web pages.
- Share them with your counterparts and families.
- Print them in your Union/Conference papers for people to pull out and keep.
- Include one Flourish! idea sheet each month or place them together in the centre of the magazine.
- Host an event where you share the ideas and provide some samples of the activities for people to try out. This can also be used as an outreach opportunity.
- Share them with your schools. Children and families can use the ideas at home. Teachers can use the ideas in their classrooms, perhaps introducing one idea each day, or by creating a table or space where children are encouraged to try out the ideas for themselves. For example, a nature table, with sturdy shells, interesting stones, wood, bark, and plants can be a place where children can slow down, focus on nature, and experience wonder.
Using Flourish!
The Trans-European Division sponsored the development and design of the Flourish! materials. They were written by Karen Holford and designed by Little Zebra Designs. You are welcome to translate, use and share these in your Division in whatever way is useful to you, and is of benefit to children, families and adults. Please let us know how and where you use them, and link to our website for materials in English, so that we can measure the impact of these materials. If you have other ideas for using and developing materials based on Flourish! please let Karen know so that they can be shared with others.
Who created Flourish!?
Flourish! was written by Karen Holford, the Family, Women and Children’s Ministry Director at the Trans-European Division. She has Master’s degrees in Educational and Developmental Psychology, Family Therapy and Leadership. She was introduced to the research and concepts behind Flourish! through working on a project to support children’s mental health in Scotland (www.handsonscotland.co.uk).
Karen Holford can be contacted at [email protected]
Flourish! is inspired and informed by the research of Barbara Fredrickson into the psychology of wellbeing – what helps us to flourish and be resilient. She wrote about her ideas in her book “Positivity” (One World Publications, January 1, 2011).
