This year we have introduced the zones of regulation which is an emotional and social learning programme to support self-regulation and finding strategies for each zone. Here is an article about being grateful in the green zone by Emily Walz, Zones Implementation Specialist

No matter what walk of life we are from, we can all agree that 2020 has thrown us for a loop.  

So, in the midst of this unique year we need to think of the  place gratitude fits and how we can do   something extra radical and start with gratitude for OUR OWN SELVES?
The simple practice of gratitude has been proven to be a key tool in helping to relieve toxic stress and boost overall happiness, especially if practiced regularly. In short, being grateful is a Green Zone Tool. The majority of you reading this are caregivers of some kind, and speaking from experience, we aren’t accustomed to turning our attention inward. I invite you to take a moment to notice and acknowledge yourself; are you ready?

• Be grateful to yourself for the millions of hard decisions you’ve had to make on a daily basis since this pandemic started.
• Be grateful to yourself for engaging in the many difficult conversations you’ve had to have with your children, colleagues, family members, and even within your community.
• Be grateful to yourself for your own flexible thinking, changing habits, routines, careers, holiday practices and finding a way to stay connected.
• Be grateful to yourself for your small accomplishments- getting a healthy dinner on the table when you really just wanted to throw another frozen pizza in the oven, putting your warm coat on and taking a walk when you could have stayed on the couch, turning off your phone to focus on the people inside your four walls.
• Be grateful to yourself for the lessons you’ve learned from the inevitable mistakes you’ve made. Remember those times your kid was on Youtube instead of on their Zoom meeting? You learned from it. Remember when you said something insensitive to a colleague and regretted it? You learned from it.  
• Be grateful to yourself for continuing to show up for the people who matter to you, even when it has felt impossible.
• Be grateful for your own resilience, you’ve made it this far, haven’t you? You’ve juggled, budgeted, negotiated, multi-tasked, and just powered-through.

Let’s try to hold on to this Grateful Green Zone feeling, and come back to it to keep us afloat. We’ve got this. Want to read up on the science of gratitude and well-being?