Lesson 10 Transcript

Below is the full transcript of Lesson 10

This lesson and transcript are part of the RAD for Life social-emotional learning program. Educators, counsellors, and parents may view and use this material for personal learning or classroom discussion. The content may not be reproduced, redistributed, or used commercially without permission. The lesson is provided so you can preview and plan how RAD may be used in your classroom or particular setting. Copyright © RAD for Life. All rights reserved.

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Lesson 10: Living a RAD Life

Transcript Introduction

The following transcript accompanies the RAD Lesson 10 video and concludes the core RAD SEL lessons. In this lesson, learners review the key ideas and skills of RAD and reflect on how these tools can help them live a meaningful life guided by their values.

Welcome back to radforlife.com — the home of the RAD SEL Lessons.

This is Lesson 10: Living a RAD Life.

The first ten lessons include the most essential skills and ideas that make up RAD. They form the core foundation of the program. Of course, there is always more to learn. Understanding ourselves and how we react to and influence the world is a lifelong endeavour. Because of that, the skills in these core lessons are lifelong skills — skills you can keep using, practicing, and improving over time.

In this lesson, we are going to review what we have learned and see how it can help you live a RAD life. I have mentioned that phrase many times throughout the lessons, but now it is time to talk more clearly about what it actually means.

Let’s start with a quick review.

So far, we have learned how to notice our thoughts, feelings, and behaviours, and how to label them and classify them as either comfortable or uncomfortable.

We explored the idea that uncomfortable feelings are not bad — they are simply uncomfortable.

We also spent time identifying our values, which are the big ideas that guide how we want to live our lives.

We learned how to recognize RAD moves — actions that align with our values — and notRAD moves, which move us away from those values.

We also learned about RoAD Blocks — the uncomfortable thoughts and feelings that can leave us stuck and lead us to make notRAD moves.

Along the way, we explored strategies to help us respond to RoAD Blocks and stay focused on what matters.

Two important strategies we practiced were Taking Notice — Looking In and Taking Notice — Looking Around.

Both strategies help us recognize and accept our RoAD Blocks while reconnecting with our values so we can do what is important to us.

One of the most important things to remember about RAD is that the skills we learned are connected and work together. However, sometimes one part of RAD might need more attention than the others.

For example, there may be times when you really need to focus on R — Recognize, especially if you are trying to understand confusing thoughts or feelings.

At other times, you might find yourself getting stuck and need to focus more on A — Accept. This might happen when life suddenly becomes difficult and RoAD Blocks appear more often.

In those moments, the Taking Notice strategies can be especially helpful.

At other times, the challenge might not be your thoughts or feelings. Instead, you might lose sight of what matters most to you. In that situation, you might focus on D — Do What’s Important, reconnecting with your values and choosing actions that reflect them.

Thinking through the RAD acronym — Recognize, Accept, Do — can be a helpful way to remind yourself of these skills when life gets challenging.

Now let’s return to the idea of living a RAD life.

Throughout the lessons, I have used that phrase quite a bit. But what does it really mean?

Sometimes the world sends us the message that we should be happy all the time — and that if we are not, something must be wrong.

But that is not how life actually works.

Sometimes you will feel happy, and sometimes you will not.

Sometimes your mind will feel calm and peaceful, and other times it will feel busy or stressful.

Many people say that they want to be happy — and that is a great goal. But we now know that happiness is a feeling, and like all feelings, it comes and goes.

Living a RAD life does not mean always feeling happy or only having comfortable thoughts and feelings.

In fact, in RAD we expect you to experience uncomfortable thoughts and feelings. That is simply part of being human.

Accepting our thoughts and feelings does not mean they are unimportant. Feelings matter. They give us information and meaning in our lives.

But they do not have to control everything we do.

An important part of life is experiencing the full range of thoughts and feelings — both comfortable and uncomfortable.

Living a RAD life means being able to make RAD moves that align with your values, both when things are going well and when life feels difficult.

It means recognizing your thoughts and feelings, accepting them when they show up, and still choosing to do what matters most to you.

That is what living a RAD life is all about.

Now that you have been introduced to these skills, I encourage you to practice them, use them, make mistakes as you figure them out, and then try again.

Because learning how to live by your values is something we all continue working on throughout our lives.

And most of all —

Be RAD.

Activity 10

For Activity 10, reflect on what you have learned throughout the RAD lessons.

Think about how the skills of Recognize, Accept, and Do might help you respond to challenges in your own life.

Consider how you might use RAD to Do What’s Important and make more RAD moves that align with your values.