Well-being
How people talk about mind and well-being
in exams
Items in this lesson
How people talk about mind and well-being
in exams
FILL YOUR JAR FOR THE FUTURE
CHOOSE 2–3 THINGS YOU WOULD LIKE TO HAVE
What kind of attitude to life do you need to achieve those things? What shapes it? (e.g. family, society, culture etc)
Complete the table with the correct forms
Topic-specific vocabulary
Fill in the blanks
Prolonged anxiety about job security can have a detrimental effect on one’s physical health.
She expressed her profound gratitude to the team for their support during the crisis.
Many young entrepreneurs draw inspiration from failure stories rather than just success tales.
For some people, gardening is deeply therapeutic, serving as a form of mindfulness practice.
Blind optimism without strategic planning rarely leads to tangible outcomes.
True contentment often arises from meaningful relationships rather than material wealth.
Listen to two candidates. Who develops their answer more fully?
Speaker 1
Speaker 2
Listen to five students and and match speakers with the way they develop their answers.
Strategies to develop your answer
There are several factors that can significantly improve a person’s outlook on life.
1. Giving an example
“A case in point is a meaningful job. Offering both financial security and a sense of purpose, it contributes to a long-term well-being.”
Strategies to develop your answer
There are several factors that can significantly improve a person’s outlook on life.
2. Making a comparison
“In contrast to passive entertainment, such as scrolling Instagram reels, regular exercise and social interaction have a far deeper positive effect, boosting mood and resilience simultaneously.”
Strategies to develop your answer
There are several factors that can significantly improve a person’s outlook on life.
Giving alternatives
“Rather than chasing constant external validation, a more sustainable approach involves cultivating gratitude. Focus on small daily achievements instead of rare big successes.”
Strategies to develop your answer
There are several factors that can significantly improve a person’s outlook on life.
Explaining cause and effect
“Trying to be grateful, people rewire their neural pathways, leading to a permanent shift toward optimism. Consequently, they interpret life’s challenges as manageable rather than threatening.”
Strategies to develop your answer
What improves people’s outlook on life? Well, a case in point is regular exercises, which offer chemical and psychological benefits. In contrast to passive leisure, it actively boosts mood. This happens because of endorphins, known to reduce pain and stress. Rather than seeking quick dopamine hits from social media, choosing physical activity produces lasting effects. Having adopted this habit, people become more resilient, leading to a fundamentally optimistic outlook.
Answer
What do you know about stoicism,
an Ancient Greek and Roman philosophy?
Listening
Stoicism is still relevant today because of its 31________ appeal.
Ancient Stoics:
Stoicism was founded over 2,000 years ago in Greece.
The Stoics' ideas are surprisingly well known, despite not being intended for 32__________
Stoic principles
Happiness could be achieved by leading a virtuous life.
Controlling emotions was essential.
Epictetus said that external events cannot be controlled but the
33 _______ people make in response can be controlled.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/18dTltM47IbZWgHZkfNUeOgIztRCJhR2M6XI9dxOXPhE/edit?usp=sharing
Specifically, I am referring to Stoicism, which, in my opinion, is the most practical of all
philosophies and therefore the most appealing.
Amazingly, we still have access to these ideas, despite the fact
that the most famous Stoics never wrote anything down for publication.
In the words
of Epictetus: "external events I cannot control, but the choices I make with regard to them. I do control".
Lead-in
Stoics view helping others not as an emotional response, but as a rational duty to the human community. What’s your stance?
Fact
Opinion
Fact or opinion? Decide
What Autrey did was representative of how most humans would react.
Scientists offer different answers on how to help altruism flourish.
One day, an ordinary New Yorker jumped in front of an approaching train to rescue a young man who had had a seizure and fallen on to the subway tracks. This ordinary New Yorker, Wesley Autrey, rolled them both into a drainage ditch and covered the stranger with his body as the train passed over them. Against the odds, both survived.
Autrey, who has been feted round the world as a hero, showed a selflessness which should restore our faith in human nature. However, although Autrey’s good deed could be interpreted as heroic, it might lead us to draw quite the opposite conclusion about the behaviour of human beings. It is not because his action was ordinary that Autrey has since been proclaimed as one of the most influential men of the year by Time magazine, but rather because it was so exceptional. Amid the frenzied indifference of city life, his self-sacrifice is striking. His case simultaneously draws attention to the possibility of genuine altruism and highlights its everyday absence. Indeed, how we might have evolved to be self-sacrificing has long been a challenge for Darwinism since those who renounce their lives to save their community do not transmit their genes. Even less extreme acts of kindness, such as sharing food with a sick friend, could disadvantage someone in the ruthless race to survive.
No
Not Given
Yes
The importance of altruism for human survival is widely acknowledged.
Various theories have been proposed to resolve this puzzle. David Sloan Wilson, Professor of Biology and Anthropology and author of Does Altruism Exist? has long been an advocate of one particular theory which is called group selection. The reasoning behind this theory is that groups of altruistic individuals can flourish because they outperform groups of cowards. Competition within a group, he asserts, tends to make us selfish individuals, whereas competition between groups turns us into co-operative, self-sacrificing team players. However, although Wilson maintains that this view is now generally accepted, it is a claim which many biologists would disagree with. In any case, a sceptic could argue that supporting others on the assumption that this will improve our collective strength would imply we were not truly altruistic. Nonetheless, Wilson is dismissive of such speculation, maintaining that the beliefs or thoughts are immaterial; the resulting actions should be sufficient.
No
Not Given
Yes
