We know your time is precious (and limited)
Therefore, this year's Wellbeing Lunch and Learns have been designed to accommodate for this time constraint. There are six Lunch and Learns scheduled for this year. On the first day of a Lunch and Learn month, videos and handouts will be uploaded to this page. You will have a couple weeks to watch the videos, read through the materials and if you desire, work through the corresponding handouts provided - all from the comfort of your own desk. Feel free to 'lunch and learn' anytime.
Then, if you want to, BYO lunch and eat with other colleagues who have also interacted with the online resources. Enjoy a facilitated conversation, discussing what you have been thinking about as you have worked through the online materials. Facilitated conversations will occur on the third Thursday of a Lunch and Learn month. L&L months: September, October, November, January, February, April.
Then, if you want to, BYO lunch and eat with other colleagues who have also interacted with the online resources. Enjoy a facilitated conversation, discussing what you have been thinking about as you have worked through the online materials. Facilitated conversations will occur on the third Thursday of a Lunch and Learn month. L&L months: September, October, November, January, February, April.
This year's focus:
the emotional dimension of the wellbeing wheel
WHY:
several reasons:
1. this year at work may be emotionally challenging for some employees
2. college student 'mental health' is a popular (read critical) topic in higher ed these days
3. this new format for Lunch and Learns makes it comfortable to focus on this dimension of the wheel -
no need to interact with others about this topic if you don't want to
1. this year at work may be emotionally challenging for some employees
2. college student 'mental health' is a popular (read critical) topic in higher ed these days
3. this new format for Lunch and Learns makes it comfortable to focus on this dimension of the wheel -
no need to interact with others about this topic if you don't want to
fifth lunch and learn
Instead of providing online information this month, a more useful way for the Center for Wellbeing to provide support to employees is by offering ... presence.
During the months of February and March, please feel free to reach out to Christine Osgood and set up a time for a cup of coffee and a conversation. Employees are reaching out to Christine to talk about grief/loss, to process their anger/fear, to lament, to pray, to dream and/or to strategize for the future. If you would like to meet with Christine for any of the above reasons or something else entirely, please email her at osgchr@bethel.edu. |
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Fourth Lunch and Learn:
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Navigating uncertaintyFor many employees,
this year feels completely uncertain... and it's beginning to take a toll. |
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Seasons of change or uncertainty induce stress, fatigue, apathy, absenteeism and presenteeism (the practice of coming to work despite illness, injury, anxiety, etc., often resulting in reduced productivity). It can be exhausting to show up everyday to a work environment that feels uncertain. Motivation begins to slide and the path of least effort looks appealing. If this is sounding familiar, fear not. You are not alone.
There are many employees that love Bethel and want to keep pressing on but are overwhelmed by the ongoing experience of uncertainty. If you are desperately trying to find ways to cope and press on, this Lunch and Learn is for you. Below you will find a worksheet that will walk you through five ways to cope with uncertainty. Consider this handout an invitation to pause over lunch and remember the agency you do have in your life. Then, on Thursday, January 23rd, come to the Center for Wellbeing group room at 11:00 am for a facilitated conversation around coping with uncertainty, the recent layoffs, and the unknown regarding job description/role changes that are inevitable this spring and summer.
There are many employees that love Bethel and want to keep pressing on but are overwhelmed by the ongoing experience of uncertainty. If you are desperately trying to find ways to cope and press on, this Lunch and Learn is for you. Below you will find a worksheet that will walk you through five ways to cope with uncertainty. Consider this handout an invitation to pause over lunch and remember the agency you do have in your life. Then, on Thursday, January 23rd, come to the Center for Wellbeing group room at 11:00 am for a facilitated conversation around coping with uncertainty, the recent layoffs, and the unknown regarding job description/role changes that are inevitable this spring and summer.
the interconnection between food, mood, physiology & wellbeingExplore a bit about Dan Nelson's journey with the Keto Lifestyle, what the Keto lifestyle is, and consider why we would be including this information during a year of exploring the emotional dimension of wellbeing.
Note: The Wellbeing Initiatives are not endorsing the Keto diet/lifestyle. Instead, we are trying to learn about and from this way of eating and living. |
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Highlights from Dan's journey (in his own words):
- We've been on the Keto lifestyle since August, 2018.
- Nancy's original reason for starting down this path was not primarily weight loss, but rather avoiding diabetes and Alzhimer's in the future. Nancy started "all in", Dan a little more reluctantly at first.
- Once we started to see weight loss, we set intermediate goals, with a final goal of losing 45 pounds (Nancy) and 90 pounds (Dan) for a total of 135 pounds.We've gone way beyond that.
- As of yesterday, I am down over 120, and Nancy is down 58. We are both a little under the "ideal" weights that we would like to maintain going forward.
- This spring, Kristi Moline told me about Dr. Gibas's clinic, Bristlecone Health Inc. Even though we had already reached our first weight loss goals, we started a series of weekly meetings where we learned much about brain health, using appropriate supplements (to offset dietary lacks) and how to maintain a long "healthspan".
What is the keto diet/lifestyle?
DAN recommends this 8 min.
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considering the interconnection between food & Mood: |
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questions for your reflection:
1. What has your relationship with food been like over your lifetime?
2. Do you consider food a gift that assists brain health and body functioning? Or is food a temptation you need to overcome?
3. How might an altered relationship with food lead to a different experience of wellbeing?
2. Do you consider food a gift that assists brain health and body functioning? Or is food a temptation you need to overcome?
3. How might an altered relationship with food lead to a different experience of wellbeing?
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Second Lunch and Learn:
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Might there be a theological reason to invest in our wellbeing?This question in and of itself could cause
an emotional response inside people. Some may not like having theology and wellbeing intersect. Others may find great delight in considering how these topics influence one another. Engage this lunch and learn's materials to recognize what you think (or better yet, feel) about the intersection of theology and wellbeing. |
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Recently, at the W.E.L.L. event, people were encouraged to shift their thinking from WHAT is wellbeing to What might be theological reasons to invest in our wellbeing? At a Christian liberal arts university, we are constantly challenged to explore all disciplines and fields of study through a Christian worldview. The subject of Wellbeing is no different. So, in the spirit of the Christian liberal arts, let's expand our thinking regarding reasons to invest in our individual and communal wellbeing.
REGARDING THE INDIVIDUAL
In John chapter 5, there is an interesting interaction between Jesus and man who has been disabled for 38 years. This man's life was a series of similar days, lying under the covered colonnades, waiting for the water to be stirred, trying to drag himself into the healing pool (5:7). Perhaps for years, this man's meaning and purpose for living was focused on making it into the water. His social support had become those around him. His habits of thinking and feeling were most likely consumed with desires for wholeness and thriving in both body and mind. Clearly, his physiology was inviting renewal and restoration. Jesus comes upon this man and asks a very peculiar question: "Do you want to be well?"
At first glance, readers today might eloquently think; "Duh, Jesus! This guy of all guys wants to be well! No need to ask him that question!"
But Jesus, the masterful teacher and possible knower of our inmost being, asks anyway. Because the question is a powerful one. Do you want to be well?
If Jesus heals this man, his meaning and purpose for living will change, his social support may shift, his habits of thinking and feeling will be outdated, his body will be capable of things it has not been capable of for decades. If Jesus heals this man, his ENTIRE LIFE WILL CHANGE. Before a major life transition, it is helpful to pause and ask oneself... do I really want this?
Do I really want to be well? Do I want to initiate that first domino dropping and experience the subsequent ripple effects? Do I want to inhabit a new way of being? Do I want my life to change?
If our lives don't change, then our lives remain familiar. And familiar is often desired by people. Change is bad. Familiar is good.
However, look what happens when this man is made well (5:8-15). This man literally embodies the good news of Jesus. As he subsequently moves about his life, he is constantly invited (challenged) to speak of how he was made well. The story of God is told as this man recounts how his body was restored and renewed.
Now, before you think I'm trying to pitch the "become well so you can tell others about God's goodness in your life" storyline. Stop. Here's what I'm trying point out: Each of us needs to decide if we want to be well. If we engage habits that allow for individual and communal transformation to occur, life might change. Our familiar habits of thinking, feeling, behaving, relating, and so on may become outdated. And if we're really honest with ourselves, some of us may not want our lives to change. Sometimes our current situations function for us in ways we can't even articulate. Thus, we end up resisting change.
So... when you think about investing in your wellbeing, a first question to ask yourself is: Do I really want to be well?
REGARDING THE COMMUNAL
This second consideration asks you to look outside yourself and your life and recognize that you are part of the people of God. It is my understanding that the people of God are to be a communal group that embodies God's light and love in the world. If you think I'm theologically off base here, please invite me out for coffee and help me understand how I'm wrong. However, when I read scripture, I think I see that for generations God has been calling out to his people, inviting them to be a light to the nations in order for the nations to know that God is God. A communal embodiment for the world to see. A communal embodiment of light. A communal sowing of shalom. A communal experience of God's love. A communal experience of God's kingdom come.
Jesus taught us to pray that 'your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.' How can our lives together participate in the coming of God's kingdom here and now? And, what stops us from communally participating in the coming of God's kingdom? Well, this is where it ties back into our wellbeing.
Watch this quick video shown at the W.E.L.L. event this fall and then answer the questions below.
REGARDING THE INDIVIDUAL
In John chapter 5, there is an interesting interaction between Jesus and man who has been disabled for 38 years. This man's life was a series of similar days, lying under the covered colonnades, waiting for the water to be stirred, trying to drag himself into the healing pool (5:7). Perhaps for years, this man's meaning and purpose for living was focused on making it into the water. His social support had become those around him. His habits of thinking and feeling were most likely consumed with desires for wholeness and thriving in both body and mind. Clearly, his physiology was inviting renewal and restoration. Jesus comes upon this man and asks a very peculiar question: "Do you want to be well?"
At first glance, readers today might eloquently think; "Duh, Jesus! This guy of all guys wants to be well! No need to ask him that question!"
But Jesus, the masterful teacher and possible knower of our inmost being, asks anyway. Because the question is a powerful one. Do you want to be well?
If Jesus heals this man, his meaning and purpose for living will change, his social support may shift, his habits of thinking and feeling will be outdated, his body will be capable of things it has not been capable of for decades. If Jesus heals this man, his ENTIRE LIFE WILL CHANGE. Before a major life transition, it is helpful to pause and ask oneself... do I really want this?
Do I really want to be well? Do I want to initiate that first domino dropping and experience the subsequent ripple effects? Do I want to inhabit a new way of being? Do I want my life to change?
If our lives don't change, then our lives remain familiar. And familiar is often desired by people. Change is bad. Familiar is good.
However, look what happens when this man is made well (5:8-15). This man literally embodies the good news of Jesus. As he subsequently moves about his life, he is constantly invited (challenged) to speak of how he was made well. The story of God is told as this man recounts how his body was restored and renewed.
Now, before you think I'm trying to pitch the "become well so you can tell others about God's goodness in your life" storyline. Stop. Here's what I'm trying point out: Each of us needs to decide if we want to be well. If we engage habits that allow for individual and communal transformation to occur, life might change. Our familiar habits of thinking, feeling, behaving, relating, and so on may become outdated. And if we're really honest with ourselves, some of us may not want our lives to change. Sometimes our current situations function for us in ways we can't even articulate. Thus, we end up resisting change.
So... when you think about investing in your wellbeing, a first question to ask yourself is: Do I really want to be well?
REGARDING THE COMMUNAL
This second consideration asks you to look outside yourself and your life and recognize that you are part of the people of God. It is my understanding that the people of God are to be a communal group that embodies God's light and love in the world. If you think I'm theologically off base here, please invite me out for coffee and help me understand how I'm wrong. However, when I read scripture, I think I see that for generations God has been calling out to his people, inviting them to be a light to the nations in order for the nations to know that God is God. A communal embodiment for the world to see. A communal embodiment of light. A communal sowing of shalom. A communal experience of God's love. A communal experience of God's kingdom come.
Jesus taught us to pray that 'your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.' How can our lives together participate in the coming of God's kingdom here and now? And, what stops us from communally participating in the coming of God's kingdom? Well, this is where it ties back into our wellbeing.
Watch this quick video shown at the W.E.L.L. event this fall and then answer the questions below.
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For those who are not seeing this connection or are feeling a bit exposed because you do see the connection, I'll be open about one of my habits of thinking and feeling that could use renewal. This habit of thinking and feeling actually holds me back from joining with others and God in the renewal of this world. It is my habit of cynicism. For those who want to hear more to this story, join me at the Lunch and Learn discussion on Thursday, October 24th at noon in the Center for Wellbeing Group Room. Please RSVP if you plan to attend.
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FIRST LUNCH AND LEARN:
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Expectations &
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Unmet and unclear expectations can be a silent killer of contentment and wellbeing.
This summer, our family’s vehicles were at the mechanic’s shop for a cumulative total of about 3 weeks. For a busy family of four with both parents working full time, I’m sure you can imagine that put more than a wrinkle into our schedules (and wallets!). The whole situation had me stewing (that’s what I do), irritated, and highly frustrated until my wife asked a simple question that broke through my grumbling: “What do you expect?” It wasn’t meant to be snarky or shaming. She just genuinely wondered about the expectations I held for our vehicles--each with over 130,000 miles.
“What do you expect?”
This question brought my heart and mind right back to earth. I decided to take it literally and let it teach me. What I quickly learned was that the source of my frustration and stress was an unmet expectation (that our vehicles would not have mechanical breakdowns). Reflecting on my expectations--in this case, pretty clearly unrealistic--and naming those expectations relieved the pressure and some of the irritation. It brought the whole situation into better focus, it brought me into better touch with myself, and it helped me cope with reality.
I think it’s powerful to become honest about the difference between our expectations and what life is actually like. Life throws us curve balls. Mundane curve balls like vehicle transmission issues as well as bigger things like pain, grief, loss, health challenges, betrayals, major changes in relationships. And we naturally walk through life with expectations. Somehow identifying that difference between my expectations and my actual life reduces the frustration and makes it easier to cope.
I’ve begun to think of this as a little “emotional health” equation:
Expectation - Reflection = Frustration
It’s not nearly as neat and tidy as mathematics, but I have found that my frustration level (stress) is often the difference between my expectations and my willingness to reflect on them. The Holy Spirit is critical to helping me do this reflection and discernment.
Peter Scazzero, author and founding pastor of New Life Fellowship in New York, has been really helpful to me in my spiritual and emotional life. In his book Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, Dr. Scazzero writes about unmet expectations--of life in general, but especially in our relationships with other people. His framework (also discussed in this podcast) has helped me to recognize whether certain expectations are valid or not, and learn to clarify expectations with others for greater understanding and better relationships.
For Scazzero, a valid expectation is one that meets the following qualifiers:
1. Conscious
2. Realistic
3. Spoken
4. Agreed upon
We sometimes expect other people to know what we want before we say it, especially when we know them well. But even those closest to us can not read our minds. Communicating clearly about expectations is essential to emotional, spiritual, and relational health and wellbeing.
Here’s a little exercise you can do to work this out:
This summer, our family’s vehicles were at the mechanic’s shop for a cumulative total of about 3 weeks. For a busy family of four with both parents working full time, I’m sure you can imagine that put more than a wrinkle into our schedules (and wallets!). The whole situation had me stewing (that’s what I do), irritated, and highly frustrated until my wife asked a simple question that broke through my grumbling: “What do you expect?” It wasn’t meant to be snarky or shaming. She just genuinely wondered about the expectations I held for our vehicles--each with over 130,000 miles.
“What do you expect?”
This question brought my heart and mind right back to earth. I decided to take it literally and let it teach me. What I quickly learned was that the source of my frustration and stress was an unmet expectation (that our vehicles would not have mechanical breakdowns). Reflecting on my expectations--in this case, pretty clearly unrealistic--and naming those expectations relieved the pressure and some of the irritation. It brought the whole situation into better focus, it brought me into better touch with myself, and it helped me cope with reality.
I think it’s powerful to become honest about the difference between our expectations and what life is actually like. Life throws us curve balls. Mundane curve balls like vehicle transmission issues as well as bigger things like pain, grief, loss, health challenges, betrayals, major changes in relationships. And we naturally walk through life with expectations. Somehow identifying that difference between my expectations and my actual life reduces the frustration and makes it easier to cope.
I’ve begun to think of this as a little “emotional health” equation:
Expectation - Reflection = Frustration
It’s not nearly as neat and tidy as mathematics, but I have found that my frustration level (stress) is often the difference between my expectations and my willingness to reflect on them. The Holy Spirit is critical to helping me do this reflection and discernment.
Peter Scazzero, author and founding pastor of New Life Fellowship in New York, has been really helpful to me in my spiritual and emotional life. In his book Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, Dr. Scazzero writes about unmet expectations--of life in general, but especially in our relationships with other people. His framework (also discussed in this podcast) has helped me to recognize whether certain expectations are valid or not, and learn to clarify expectations with others for greater understanding and better relationships.
For Scazzero, a valid expectation is one that meets the following qualifiers:
1. Conscious
2. Realistic
3. Spoken
4. Agreed upon
We sometimes expect other people to know what we want before we say it, especially when we know them well. But even those closest to us can not read our minds. Communicating clearly about expectations is essential to emotional, spiritual, and relational health and wellbeing.
Here’s a little exercise you can do to work this out: