At enter into May, the month of Mary,let’s think about some of the attributes of the

mother of Jesus, starting with ...

What springs to

mind when you think of ‘faith’?

“Faith is believing that something good will happen, being positive and having hope that

everything will be ok in a troubling situation.”

“Having Faith IN something,IS Faith; for some it is religion, for others

it is Faith in their own instinct; but both are founded in the instinct to adapt and change and to

survive, in order to live a life worth living.

So I would say that Faith is a great path to finding those other parts of ourselves, determination,

resilience, tenacity and so on, but it also leads us to the belief that by having held Faith, that things can

change, get better, improve, difficulties will pass, we can create new and better things; we can make

positive change happen!”

Katy Hunter-Pilkington, Marketing Department Erinna Delaney, Head of Drama & Theatre

You’ve probably heard the phrase ‘blind faith’.

Does faith seem to you to be something beyond our usual sense and logic?

Discuss these ideas of ‘faith’ withfriends, familyor staff at college.

What do you think gives people confidence in what they hope for?

Where do you think people who have a faith

get assurance about what they cannot see?

Do you think dark times can be a stimulus for faith to grow?

What do you think the first step out in faith would feel like?

What will you choose to believe this week that you would want to see…

…about yourself?…about others?

…about humanity?…about a higher power?

…about the future?

Loving God,We ask you to strengthen our faith during these difficult times. To be able to cope with the mess, discomfort, emptiness and at times, sadness.Give us what we need to get through this and keep us hopeful until light returns. Amen

Some people don't think they have Faith as it is often a word associated with Religion, and not everyone is religious. They might use other words which fit around it like determination, foresight, perspective, realism, tenacity, grit, will, energy, resilience. But the foundation to all of these things is Faith. Why do I think this?

Well, if I reflect over my life so far, and contemplate the difficult times I have had, how is it that I have overcome those difficulties? Well some may say by using or having the abilities listed above, but how does any one know they actually have those abilities until they are tested? We have Faith that we do! (or at least that we hope we do) Hope, now that's another story...but I think Faith becomes real, tangible and attainable once we see it as something not wholly associated with religion, but as something that can run beside it.

Having Faith IN something, IS Faith; for some it is religion, for others it is Faith in their own instinct; but both are founded in the instinct to adapt and change and to survive, in order to live a life worth living.

So I would say that Faith is a great path to finding those other parts of ourselves, determination, resilience, tenacity and so on, but it also leads us to the belief that by having held Faith, that things can change, get better, improve, difficulties will pass, we can create new and better things; we can make positive change happen! And when difficulties come round again, which they inevitably will, we can revert to Faith.

The mistake is that Faith alone isn't what gets us 'through'. It is Faith in the power of ourselves along with a bit of Hope and a dash of Spirit. And I don't mean Gin!

- Erinna Delaney, Head of Drama & Theatre

further thoughts to ponder…

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This theme this week is faith.

Having faith or belief in ourselves can play a really important part in our

overall sense of wellbeing. So this week we will explore the broader concepts

of self-esteem & self-confidence and how we can begin to

improve them. Improving our faith in our ourselves and our abilities

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g We often think of the terms self-confidence and self-esteemas interchangeable but it can be helpful to explore them as two

similar yet different concepts. To keep things simple we can think about self-confidence as the external stuff, how we think about what we do and self-esteem as the internal stuff, how we think about who

we are. So…

Self-confidenceas our faith in our abilities, skills and

knowledge. It is about believing you are a capable individual.

Self-esteemas how we feel about

ourselves, our sense of self. It is how we value

ourselves and our sense of self-worth.

&

Or as someone once explained it to me, you can think of self-confidence as the human doing and

self-esteem as the human being

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It’s possible to have high self-esteem but to have low self-confidence and vice-versa.

A person with low self-confidence

might think about the act of speaking

Imagine you were asked to give a talk to your peers…

How can I handle speaking in front of

others? Will I be able to keep people engaged?

A person with low self-esteem might think ‘why me?’

Do I have something of value to offer? What can I provide that will

be of worth?

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So what can we do to raise our self-confidenceand self-esteem so that we can have more faith

in ourselves?

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gTips for boosting self-confidence

Identify your positive qualities – ask people you

trust to tell you what they think your positive

qualities are

Ask yourself ‘what am I good at?’

Remember that it’s okay not to be good at

everything…nobody is!

Think of failure as an opportunity to learn

Think about past achievements – use these reflections as evidence of

your ability to achieve new goals

Embrace self-doubt and face

your fears

Try not to compare

yourself to others

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gTips for boosting self-esteem

Keep a diary/note all the nice things

people say about you

Make a list of all the things you value about yourself

Challenge the thoughts that limit

you

Try limiting self-criticism and show yourself more compassion – be kind to

yourself

Connect with others –spend time with

people who it feels good to be around

Create positive affirmations

Take good care of yourself – make

time for you, you’re worth it!

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gInspiring Quotes

We have to be our own best friend because we fall too easily into the trap of being our own worst enemy – Roderick Thorp

We ask ourselves, ‘who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? – Marianne Williamson

Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will – Suzy Kassem

Confidence comes not from always being right but from not fearing being wrong – Peter McIntyre

If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced – Vincent Van Gogh

With realization of one’s own potential and self-confidence in one’s own ability, one can build a better world – Dalai Lama

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gNHS Raising Low Self-Esteem

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/raising-low-self-esteem/

5 Ways to Boost Your Self-Confidence

https://www.verywellmind.com/how-to-boost-your-self-confidence-4163098

About Self-Esteemhttps://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/self-esteem/about-self-esteem/

8 Steps to Improving Your Self-Esteem

https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/nurturing-self-compassion/201703/8-steps-improving-your-self-esteem

TED Talks

The Skill of Self-Confidence: Dr Ivan Joseph: TEDxRysersonU

Meet Yourself: A User’s Guide to Building Self-Esteem: Niko Everett: TEDxYouth - WARNING: Contains potential trigger content