The project ' Your Health is Your Wealth' has officially come to end. However, we trully believe the outcomes we have achieved will stay with us and we do hope they will be of service to our school community and far beyond.
As a final product, we have produced a mini guide entitled "Your Health is Your Wealth," a mini guide for teenagers, is the capstone of the two-year cooperation between FAS and LO nr VII. . It is a publication based on the project by the same name, supported by the expertise and experience of the coordinating teachers. It is the effect of insightful analysis of young people's needs and consultations with experts in the fields of health and wellbeing. In addition to the theoretical knowledge, useful to understand more complicated points, the book encourages a mindful way of living, and offers practical advice and tools that teens can use to feel better in their skin.
About the Project
This guide has been inspired by and written for teenagers.
It is a result of the two-year-long project Your Health is Your Wealth, funded by Erasmus+ Program, that gave Polish and Icelandic high school students a wonderful opportunity to work together and learn about our cultural differences and similarities. This international cooperation made the students aware that although they come from seemingly different worlds, they share the same emotions, dreams, concerns and insecurities.
The project gave the participating students and teachers an opportunity to explore creative ways of making school a better place, a place where teachers actively help students learn, grow and thrive. The Polish and Icelandic teams visited each other several times over the two-year period to learn about the country, culture and school environment of the counterpart. In addition to attending lectures and workshops, they took part in fun activities such as preparing delicious healthy meals, dancing, meditation and yoga classes, and trips to museum and scenic places.
Working together, our project group has developed some practical tools to help you make better choices so your journey through adolescence feels like an exciting adventure, and you emerge on the other side as a confident, strong, healthy and well adjusted individual ready to grab life by the horns.
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to all the people who contributed their time, effort and creativity to the project.
Our special thanks go to
Hjördís Skírnisdóttir, the project coordinator, for planning and organizing visits of the Polish team to Iceland, and for sharing her knowledge and insights into the history and culture of Iceland. You exposed us to the breathtaking beauty of your country and turned this project into a great adventure.
Bożena Rośkiewicz, for making sure that all project-related meetings were well organized and productive.
Hlíf Gylfadóttir, for inspiration, advice, and helping to keep the project going in the right direction.
Sigurður Mar Halldórsson, for awakening our creative side through arts and photography.
Hulda Laxdal, for guiding us thorugh yoga and relaxation techniques, and encouraging us to open our minds, embrace challenges, learn from criticism and persist in the face of obstacles.
We are indebted to the Polish and Icelandic families who agreed to provide a home away from home to the students and teachers during guest visits. You are awesome!
And last but not east, big thanks to all the Icelandic and Polish students participating in the project for your involvement and invaluable input.
Introduction
It’s not easy being a teenager. The transition from childhood to adulthood is often a turbulent time, described by some as a hormonal and emotional rollercoaster. You may become overly concerned about your physical appearance, rebel against established rules to assert out independence, and since you feel invincible, you may act up and engage in risky behaviors such as unsafe sex, smoking, alcohol or drug use. You may also experience mood swings, anxieties and disturbing thoughts.
It is all normal and common, yet you probably believe that you are the only one dealing with this inner turmoil. You don’t understand what is happening to you, and often you may feel like you are not in charge of your body and mind.
To make things even more difficult, you may feel that both your teachers and your parents burden you with unreasonable demands. They want the best for you, and they know that good education and well-developed learning habits will give you more choices and better opportunities in your chosen career path.
In this guide, we wanted to show you that what you experience is to a big extent the product of your choices. Things happen, sometimes you make bad decisions, run into wrong people or difficult situations, but it’s ultimately up to you to take control of your body and mind, to discover and use your talents and inner strengths, and realize your full potential.
We will start by describing the eight dimensions of well-being - areas of your life that contribute to your overall feeling of being happy and satisfied. You will see how the individual areas influence others, and how improving just one of them can have a positive impact on your overall contentment with life.
You will learn about your brain, the tricks it can play on you, and the ways to make it work for you, not against you. We will show you how to develop good habits and keep your emotions under control so you stay on top of your tasks and always do your best even if you don’t “feel like it.”
You will also discover how to nourish your body and brain with nutritious foods for optimum performance, meditate your way out of stress and overwhelm, and exercise your way to health and strength.
You can expect a ton of good information and fun facts in this guide, but we hope that you take to heart its most important message: You are responsible for your thoughts, feelings and attitude. You can choose to be happy or grumpy, a good friend or a bully, a loser or an achiever. Decide today.
