Mental health focuses on managing emotions and mental stress through regular self-care practices and mindful decision-making. Learning to work through challenges is necessary and offers a powerful opportunity for enhancing positive growth and wellbeing. Cultivating resilience will help our ability to positively cope with stress and adversity. Self-awareness, self-compassion and self-reflection all contribute to our mental well-being.

What to keep in mind this week…

• Be aware that doing your best does not mean working yourself to the point of a mental breakdown. Rest, recovery and reflection are essential parts of personal progress and growth.
• Professional or academic ‘failures’ do not factor into your personal self-worth. You are always a valuable person.
• Schedule self-care practices into your routine. For some, it may be seeing a counselor and/or balancing your mental health needs with medication.
• Be attuned to and mindful of your thoughts and feelings. Try to focus on responding instead of reacting to stressful situations.
• Cultivate a growth mindset that acknowledges that you can learn from challenges, and that these experiences can increase your intellect and abilities.

This week’s activities…

• Pick a mindful meditation class to attend this week. These sessions offered through Cornell Health have options for each day of the week.
• If none of those sessions fit in your schedule, consider an app like Calm, Insight Timer or even a YouTube channel like this one so you can customize your participation.
• Watch this 20-minute TED talk by Dr. Kristin Neff entitled “The Space Between Self-Esteem and Self-Compassion.” Watch alone or with a friend or colleague, and share your thoughts.
• Choose a NatureRx at Cornell option this week — invite someone to join you, or pick a new path to try on your own.
• Read about healing sound frequencies and choose one to listen to this week.
• Send us a picture of a place you went this week that made you happy.

Let us know what you tried this week and how it made you feel! Visit the CVM Staff Council on Facebook to share your thoughts. Every contribution to the Kudoboard is eligible for a raffle prize!

Relationships include family, friends, animals, co-workers and our community. Develop and foster healthy relationships based on care and mutual respect. Find a balance between work, academics and your personal life. Address interpersonal conflict quickly and with empathy. Practice self-awareness, boundary-setting and personal accountability while seeking and establishing healthy relationships.

What to keep in mind this week…

• Clearly communicate and respect boundaries and needs in any type of relationship.
• Know the difference between love and attachment.
• Strive for diverse and inclusive relationships. Welcome people into your circles.
• Find a balance between relationships that are restorative and non-restorative.
• Develop and foster relationships that help bring a greater sense of peace and happiness into your life.

This week’s activities…

• Choose someone in your life and send them a hand-written note this week. This can be an old friend you’ve fallen out of contact with or someone special you see every day.
• Set aside one evening this week to play a board or card game with your loved ones. What game did you choose and why?
• Strike up at least one conversation with a colleague or neighbor you don’t know well.
• Share an uninterrupted meal (no screens!) with someone you love and let them know why they mean so much to you. Whom did you dine with? What did you have to eat?

Let us know what you tried this week and how it made you feel! Visit the CVM Staff Council on Facebook to share your thoughts. Every contribution to the Kudoboard is eligible for a raffle prize!

Physical well-being strives to maintain good physical health through regular medical check-ups, mindful nutrition, regular body movement and healthy sleep habits. Nourishing and caring for our bodies can help us feel agile, energized and more able to accomplish our short- and long-term physical goals throughout our entire lives.

What to keep in mind this week…

• Set realistic goals that are achievable.
• Consider lifestyle changes to help address chronic physical concerns.
• Strive for a positive relationship with food and cultivating a caring relationship with your body.
• Prioritize and stay current on health screening appointments.
• Strive to better understand the connection between nutrition, metabolism and physical and mental health.
• Navigate barriers to mindful eating practices such as time management, stress and anxiety, negative emotions or self-talk and complicated food environments.

This week’s activities…

• Choose a good weather day this week and head outside for a 10-15-minute walk alone or with a friend (human or otherwise). Take a photo and share it with us!
• Choose at least one demo from the Cornell Wellness Program website to try: Cooking, exercise and so many other topics/options.
• Set aside one evening this week to review your health screening history. Are you up to date on your exams and tests? Make a plan to call your provider and schedule any annual or follow-up exams, if necessary.
• Pick one of these nutritional changes for the week: Eat one additional fruit or vegetable serving; swap one sugary or caffeinated beverage for water or seltzer; try not to eat two hours before bedtime; embrace a new, healthy breakfast.

Let us know what you tried this week and how it made you feel! Visit the CVM Staff Council on Facebook to share your thoughts. Every contribution to the Kudoboard is eligible for a raffle prize!

A culturally well person strives to develop an awareness of their own cultural background and identity, how it has shaped and informed their lives and sense of self, as well as a curiosity and openness to the diversity and richness present in other cultural backgrounds and identities. This may also involve a spiritual connection or a deep commitment to something larger than yourself. Cultural well-being implies an understanding, awareness and intrinsic respect for diversity and inclusion.

What to keep in mind this week…

• You can develop values and beliefs that sustain and strengthen you during difficult times.
• If you contemplate your cultural past, your present and your desires for the future, you may find what connects you to yourself and to others.
• Explore your sense of purpose and pursue meaning in life. Identify what gives you hope and peace.
• You can make the world a more inclusive place for those around you and for those who will come after you. 
• CVM-sponsored events like the monthly Many Voices, One College diversity and inclusion dialogue series are great ways to learn about and celebrate the people around us.

This week’s activities…

• Listen to this 55-minute Hidden Brain interview with Professor Anthony Burrow about how he defines “purpose” and how it can serve a vital function in our well-being. Discuss with a friend or colleague.
• Swap favorite a favorite family recipe with a friend or colleague and discuss why they’re meaningful to you. Post or share links to your recipes so others can try them, too!
• Familiarize yourself with the Cornell Diversity and Inclusion website and register for one of their upcoming events.
• Review the many Cornell Colleague Network Groups. Join one that speaks to you if you aren’t already a member.

Let us know what you tried this week and how it made you feel! Visit the CVM Staff Council on Facebook to share your thoughts. Every contribution to the Kudoboard is eligible for a raffle prize!

Environmental well-being is connected to the quality of our home, work environments, our community and to nature. Strive to create personal environments that promote cleanliness, restoration and stress reduction. Engaging respectfully and frequently with nature is essential to building a positive relationship with our natural surroundings.

What to keep in mind this week…

• Strive for environmentally sustainable solutions when you can. When given options, try to choose the most sustainable option that you can comfortably afford.
• Remember to do you part to reduce, reuse and recycle appropriately, and be aware of recycling contamination.
• Spending time in nature when possible can be restorative.
• Eliminating excess clutter from home and work environments can clear your mental space as well.
• Daily habits can reduce your impact on natural systems and resources. Become a more conscientious consumer.

This week’s activities…

• Read about Cornell’s Sustainability and Climate Change Committees, and register to attend at least one upcoming event.
• Learn what it means to live a low-impact lifestyle via Cornell’s Beyond Waste Campaign. As an individual, register for one of their events to learn more. As a group (with colleagues, friends or fellow students) discuss opportunities provided by the Beyond Waste Campaign to lower your group or department’s impact.
• Pick a good weather day and choose a few minutes between classes or meetings or on your lunch to go for a walk in the Cornell Botanic Gardens.
• Prefer to stay inside? The Botanic Gardens also has video tours and lectures that will help you appreciate the environment you live in.
• Commit to disposing of your household hazardous waste appropriately (paints, fluorescent lights, etc.). Mark your calendar for the next Tompkins County drop-off event.

Let us know what you tried this week and how it made you feel! Visit the CVM Staff Council on Facebook to share your thoughts. Every contribution to the Kudoboard is eligible for a raffle prize!

Occupational well-being involves preparing and making use of our skills and talents in order to gain purpose, happiness and enrichment in our lives. Intellectual stimulation and career fulfillment allow us to maintain a positive attitude and experience satisfaction and pleasure in our employment. Expand your knowledge and seek opportunities for growth. Be creative, think critically and embrace new challenges.

What to keep in mind this week…

• Connect with professionals who are working in roles that you find potentially interesting and fulfilling to find out more about their career path.
• Seek out and contribute to a safe, comfortable working environment.
• Join professional organizations to connect with others in your field.
• Strategize for both short- and long-term career goals.
• It is possible to pursue a career that is interesting to you, satisfying, meaningful and that contributes to the larger society.

This week’s activities…

• Pick at least one training opportunity provided through Cornell and make a plan to attend a session. Discuss with your supervisor or colleagues.
• Create or update your LinkedIn profile this week.
• Invite someone you admire professionally to have a conversation. Schedule a Zoom session or coffee date with them. Discuss why you admire them and ask about the steps they took along their career path.
• Explore 80,000 Hours to learn more about why your career is your biggest opportunity to make a difference and how you can use it best.  Did anything you read about inspire you to take action?

Let us know what you tried this week and how it made you feel! Visit the CVM Staff Council on Facebook to share your thoughts. Every contribution to the Kudoboard is eligible for a raffle prize!

Financial health involves managing short- and long-term goals for our personal finances to reduce stress and build toward financial security and stability. Create budgets and be actively engaged in managing your loans, investments, taxes and expenses. Seek financial knowledge and resources that will help you accomplish your goals over your entire lifetime.

What to keep in mind this week…

• Be mindful of what emotions or situations trigger your negative spending habits.
• Don’t ignore a problem until it is too late! Identify potential problems before they start and use your resources to make a plan.
• Create a monthly budget to help you live within your means. Reassess as your situation changes.
• Manage your finances for both the short- and long-term. Develop a plan to manage emergency expenses.
• Keep organized records that you can refer back to when identifying spending patterns throughout the year.

This week’s activities…

• Listen to this 18-minute interview with Tiffany Aliche, author of Get Good with Money, on NPR’s Life Kit series, entitled “Emotions, Money and What it Means to be ‘Financially Whole’”
• Pick at least one resource from Cornell’s “Navigating Personal Finances and Debt” webpage to tap into. This page covers day-to-day expenses, retirement, parenting, debt, transportation and much more.
• Explore apps like Mint that can help you track your expenses, accounts and progress toward financial goals.
• Pick one small change to make to your finances this week. Swap this tactic with a friend or colleague.

Let us know what you tried this week and how it made you feel! Visit the CVM Staff Council on Facebook to share your thoughts. Every contribution to the Kudoboard is eligible for a raffle prize!