Did you know October is National Bullying Prevention Month? This month, we’re excited to partner with Character Day and share their tips for strengthening character. Character Day is an annual, global day dedicated to building character and helping everyone become the best version of themselves. Learn more about their mission below and find out how to get involved next year by visiting: http://bit.ly/2d89hFB.
On September 22, 2016 over 90,000 groups in 124 countries and all 50 states participated in the third annual Character Day – a free day and global initiative where school districts, organizations, families, and congregations of all sizes screened films on the science of character development from different perspectives, dove into free printed discussion materials catered to different ages, and joined an online global conversation around the importance of developing character strengths (resilience, grit, empathy, courage, kindness)–all rooted in evidence-based research. Character Day is one day. The resources are available year-round.
Character Day was born three years ago after our film studio, Let it Ripple, created a short 8 minute film called The Science of Character. This film explored the neuroscience behind character development and growth mindset. Our film studio decided to try an experiment…what would happen if we offered a global film premiere where people from all over the world watched films on character development and then dove into discussion materials that made them question their existence? In 2014 over 1,500 events were held throughout the world. 2015 we were blown away when over 6,700 groups joined this global movement. We were so humbled and inspired to see this year’s participation grow to over 90,000 and are excited for more organizations, families, school districts and congregations to come on board for next year! Just turning on the news or watching the current political climate, it is becoming more and more apparent how important it is to focus on one’s character.
Please take a look at The Ten Daily Practices to Strengthen Character that our Character Day team came up with along with some of our amazing partners.
- Every night before bed, think of three moments or people you are grateful for. #Gratitude
- Identify your top three strengths and find ways to bring them into your life in new ways. #Character
- Identify one strength you want to develop and make a list of practices you can do each day to strengthen it. #Perspective #Perseverance
- Think of people you see everyday but don’t know personally — find out their name and something about them. Put yourself in someone else’s shoes. #Empathy #Curiosity
- Next time you’re in a group setting, if you’re a shy person, try to raise your hand or speak first; if you’re a vocal person, let others speak first. #Humility #Courage
- Recognize character strengths in others and compliment them regularly. #gratitude #Perspective #Empathy
- Think of one of your heroes and identify the strengths you admire in them #Leadership
- If you have an email that is stressing you out, sleep on it before you send #Self-control
- Recognize teachable moments in real life and on screen and identify what strengths they exercise. #SocialIntelligence
- Ask people for permission to post (PTP) before sharing their photo online. #Kindness #Self-Control
If you would like to participate in next years Character Day on September 13, 2017 please sign up at http://bit.ly/2dhKIDS. It just takes 2 minutes! You can also learn more about this global movement and watch a 1 minute trailer at characterday.org.
We would also like to thank our partners for helping us come up with this list during the Character Day Partner Summit.
