New Year, New Thoughts!

Cherishing the wonderful moments of 2018, we welcome the New Year 2019! A new year is the beginning of new hopes and new horizons! Many of us have made new resolutions and are eagerly waiting to make a difference. It may range from personal fitness to helping others and taking care of the environment. This aspiration to bring about a change is a sign of our progressive thought process. The change may be very small, but it is a step towards a healthy and harmonious society.

As a new thought, let us introduce ourselves to the PEACE code i.e. Positive Engagement And Collaborative Environment. Today all of us are facing the rat race, each one is stressed out due to many reasons, there is hardly any effort to understand each other and accept people for who they are. The thought of truly accepting diversity needs to be instilled. That’s the reason; we have established PEACE code for our students as a part of the ‘Creating Positive School Environment’ project. I feel this PEACE code is applicable to each one of us to create a better society where people are cared for and feel worthy, relationships are mature and there is concern for the environment as well. This code has five main components and it gives simple and clear guidelines about our behaviour.

Show Empathy: Empathy involves the ability to understand the perceptions, points of view, interpretations, emotions and needs of different people. For this it is important that we listen to others. Use words like, I understand, how can I help you?, etc. Be kind to people who are in distress and offer help. Avoid blaming others.

Practice Mindfulness: Mindfulness is a simple but powerful technique to focus attention, manage emotions, handle stress, and resolve conflicts. This allows you to make wiser decisions in the heat of the moment. To develop this, one needs to slow down actions and be conscious of what you say or do. Think of the present and don’t worry about past or future. Check how your actions impact others. Mean what you say, for instance, when you say ‘Sorry’ or ‘Thank you’, let it come from within.

Resolving Conflict: Most of the times conflict is considered as fighting and hurting others. But conflict can be managed in peaceful ways to have win-win situations. Good conflict resolution will make people feel understood and the relationship stays positive. For this, one needs to practice co-operation, problem solving and negotiation skills. Do not get pressurized by others’ opinions. Learn to respect others opinions and it is okay to disagree.

Build Self Esteem: Self- esteem is how much you value yourself. It is about maintaining dignity, self respect, and self awareness. People with high self esteem tend to be more balanced in life, independent thinkers, and rational in their approach. To build high self esteem one needs to be aware of own strengths and challenges. Find positive in every situation, never give up. Avoid comparisons. Be solution-oriented.

Learn Social Skills:  To be a responsible member of the community, one should be respectful and polite to everyone. Remember, rights come with responsibilities. Learn to collaborate. Understand that each one is unique. Similarities and differences are what make people interesting.

This is the gist of the PEACE code. If we practice these behaviours, many complexities will be transformed into much simpler facts. We will learn to respect and accept people with different skin colours, food habits, viewpoints, cultures and traditions. All of us are an integral part of this society and it is our responsibility to participate actively in this peace thought to make a positive shift!

Let this new year get marked for implementing the ‘peace’ policy in our daily routine for the welfare of all of us and in turn the society!!

Wish you all a very happy and prosperous 2019!!!