In this In Practice Episode, Abraham explores his personal journey of self-reflection to guide his growth as a person and Paralympic athlete. He share about his own process of choosing emotions for his life and accepting struggles, self-criticism, self-acceptance, and growth.

Guest:
Abraham Amon is a Nigerian Paralympic high jumper, speaker, and creator who transforms pain into power. His story inspires others to break limits, master their emotions, and rise with purpose.

To learn more about Abraham, please visit:
https://www.tiktok.com/discover/amon-abraham

Timestamps:
4:00 – Personal Story – Abrahams Story & Finding Jumping
8:40 – Concept – Keeping a Positive Mindset
10:50 – Concept – Believing in Self First
17:45 – Concept – Balancing Positive and Negative Thoughts
222:30 – Concept – Weighing Pain with Positive and Negative Benefits
23:30 – Concept – Choosing to Love Self Before Loving Others
27:40 – Concept – Finding and Accepting Yourself
30:00 – Skill – Using Imagination to See Mental Images
31:30 – Skills – Start with Exploring Self and “Who I Am”
32:30 – Concept – Choosing Emotions vs. Pushing Thoughts on Self
36:20 – Strategy – Self-Exploration: Being Conscious of Thoughts
39:30 – Strategy – Identifying Emotions: Noticing Feelings or Emotions
41:45 – Awareness – What Abraham Learned about Himself
44:20 – Personal Strategy – Time for Reflection

Special thanks to musical artists:
Psalm Trees: https://psalmtreesbeats.bandcamp.com/
DJsNeverEndingStory: https://djsneverendingstory.bandcamp.com/

To provide suggestions for new topics in future episodes, visit:
present-mind.org/podcast

In this In Practice Episode, Drea Gallaga explores the benefits of failure, expanding on her years of running an entrepreneurship high school class. She talks hardships and successes, and the power of vulnerability to grow comfort with failure!

Drea Gallaga is currently the director of the Live+Serve Lab at North Shore Country Day School, where she has also spent over two decades as an upper school humanities teacher. The Live+Serve Lab is a JK-12th grade space that combines service and innovation to help students and teachers connect classroom learning to the real world; Drea works with colleagues and students to support projects in service learning, creative and design thinking, community engagement, and more. Drea has a lifelong and deep interest in the power of community, an interest furthered by being an educator, making music with others, and immersion in both Quakerism and Buddhism. She aspires to participate in and contribute to communities that are authentic, accountable, and hopeful, and that uplift young people and their contributions.

To learn more about Drea:
Email: dgallaga@nscds.org
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drea-gallaga-b1a37445

Timestamps:
2:50 – Personal Story – How Drea found failure
5:00 – Concept – Why talking about failure is important
12:00 – Idea – What failure looks like in class
18:00 – Concept – The core of failure is vulnerability
18:00 – Research – Concept: Vulnerability Paradox. Book. Daring greatly: How the courage to be vulnerable transforms the way we live, love, parent, and lead. (Brown, 2012)
19:00 – Adult Strategy – Modeling Failure
20:00 – Idea – Hardships for acknowledging failure
21:00 – Concept – How students define failure?
31:00 – Personal Strategy – Debunking Perfection
36:00 – Parent Strategy – Offering Perspective
38:00 – Parent Strategy – Practice Failure in Safety
39:50 – Favorite Failure – Worth Connected to How Hard Working

Special thanks to musical artists:
Psalm Trees: https://psalmtreesbeats.bandcamp.com/
Josh Jacobs: https://josephjacobsmusic.bandcamp.com/music

To provide suggestions for new topics in future episodes, visit:
present-mind.org/podcast

In this In Practice Episode, Xavier shares personal stories from his experience spending time outdoors as a camp counselor in Northern Wisconsin. He shares what time in Nature has taught him and the kids at his camp.

Guest:
Xavier Meza is 19 years old, born and raised in Chicago. He didn't go to college after graduating high school while taking college classes. He became a swim coach for kids for a year, and works at a local Chicago gym. Currently, Xavier working towards entering the field of real estate, while leading summer camps in Northern Wisconsin.

To learn more about Xavier, please visit:
xavierdmeza@gmail.com

Timestamps:
3:00 – Personal Story – How Xavier found nature
5:45 – Concept – Open to being uncomfortable
7:30 – Process – What did you notice slowing down?
11:45 – Process – Slowing down and building a fire
15:30 – Concept – Learning about Camp!
17:50 – Process – Learning about the outdoors, being from the city
22:05 – Personal Story – Interesting story from traveling to canoe trip
31:00 – Impact – Natures impact on Xavier
34:45 – Idea – How to get connected to nature
39:00 – Everyday Experiences – Taking a bath out in a lake
41:00 – Personal Strategy – Exercise
44:24 – Research - Mindfulness meditation and exercise both improve sleep quality: Secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial of community dwelling adults (Barrett et al., 2020)

Special thanks to musical artists:
Psalm Trees: https://psalmtreesbeats.bandcamp.com/
Marysia Osu: https://marysiaosu.bandcamp.com/

To provide suggestions for new topics in future episodes, visit:
present-mind.org/podcast