Red River College’s VP Academic and Research Stan Sae-Hoon Chung joined RRC in 2012 because of its reputation as a global leader in advanced learning. Stan is an award-winning writer, visionary advocate for life-changing learning, and passionate believer in the college as an engine for social and economic transformation (full bio here). Mike Krywy (Chair of the Wellness Committee) sat down with Stan to get his thoughts about wellness.

Q: Wellness is sometimes broken up into physical, mental and spiritual aspects. What are your thoughts on this way of thinking?

I agree with that breakdown, as all those aspects are important. But I also think of wellness in terms of individual wellness, organizational wellness and global wellness. And those same three principles – physical, mental and spiritual – would apply to all three.

Take individual wellness. If we are not well as individuals, how can we be well as a community or as a people? So if individual wellness is not connected to the workplace or we fail to see the connection, you CAN end up with challenges. Then you have to ask, “What is the missing ingredient? Why are people not well or unhappy at work? What can we do to sustain and support individual wellness?” For me, the answer resides in a uniting sense of purpose.

Q: What are the key components of organizational wellness?

Organizational wellness can be defined in many ways. One way to understand it is through the strength of social bonds. We are all individuals linked in a network or community, and it is important to be socially connected, whether that’s at home or at work.

A simple question to ask is “Do you have a best friend at work?” Someone who – if you had a question as simple as “where’s the mail room?” – would provide you with directions. Research has shown that strong friendships can help make people more resilient and adaptable. When you have those social supports at work, you’re more likely to want to come to work, make a contribution, and enjoy it.

Q: As an organization, is there anything the College can do to help develop these social bonds and strengthen personal networks?

Read More →

When did we acquire the fear to make mistakes? I was wondering if a child would learn to walk if every time he/she falls down, the parents criticize him/her. I wonder if a surfer would get to enjoy the experience of learning to surf, if every time he falls down, he thinks, “Here you go, I failed again.” Before we learn to ride a bicycle, we fall many times. At the end, learning to ride a bicycle is worth the effort.

In school, we are marked down if we make mistakes, if we fall down below the standard. There is research supporting the idea that innovation blossoms when people are given the space to make mistakes. Even Mahatma Gandhi valued experimentation and said, “Freedom isn’t worth having if it doesn’t include the freedom to make mistakes.”

Then why don’t we allow and encourage making mistakes? At work or business, we avoid mistakes in order not to be seen as incompetent. There is an underlying message that in order to be successful, we need to be experts. How would we learn if something works for us or is for us, unless we try it first?

The fear we have of making mistakes is the underlying cause for procrastination. If we lived our lives as a surfer who knows that falling down is a natural part of the experience, we would take more risks. There are so many difficult conversations we are avoiding all the time with our boss, our partner, friends, family, etc. That book or e-mail we wanted to read/write or send. That new business idea or product you are overanalyzing.

If we fall down (because if we risk, you will fall), you will get up and keep going for the sake of the adventure of being alive. So why don’t we accept falling or failure as part of the ride?  We are afraid of feeling something unpleasant. At the same time, the same unpleasant feeling is a reminder that we are alive.

Sixty percent of all skateboard injuries happen to children under 15 years old and are predictable and preventable. Make sure your child has a good helmet and all the other safety equipment.  After watching the incredible display by Tony Hawk at Polo Park and the great example they showed in wearing all their safety gear, it is important to reinforce safety habits. The height of the ramp was breathtaking. After it was over and as I was picking up my son, I could not help but notice the number of skateboarders trying out their skills. Some had safety gear, some did not. We can use professionals’ habits of safety to reinforce that it is the right thing to do. In our  communities do we ask skate parks to post signs that encourage wearing of safety gear?

Did you know we have a fantastic kids safety resource at our fingertips? A number of Canadian child safety groups got together and now you can connect to them under Parachute!

They have free downloads on many topics from a quick reference on how to spot a concussion in sports to home and recreational (don’t forget about summer water safety!) activities for kids and their parents.

There is a volunteer group called ThinkFirst you should check out. Chapters are across Canada and they support child safety and could likely use some more volunteers to spread the word about child safety.

From Health Services

We all need to dream a bit about what we would do with some extra money or win the Lottery. Here are 36 fun, mind distracting must have ideas for dressing up your home given that unlimited budget in our dreams! My favorite is the door that rotates in the middle to become a ping pong table for those with limited floor space. That might not be a bad idea or even that expensive or the bone shaped pool for the dog. I just never thought of it before! Maybe you can think of some neat ideas by letting those budget restrictions just disappear for a while. Perhaps they are not so expensive AND creative!  Enjoy dreaming

From Health Services

Feeling stressed, anxious, sad, or need to clear your brain? Here are a few of my favorite sites to make me smile and laugh (sometimes to the point of crying)!

• Need a card for an occasion so strange that Hallmark doesn’t even recognize it? SOMEECARDS.COM has it covered. Still can’t find what you are looking for….they even let you create your own.
• Ever feel gypped that you never find yourself in the middle of a flash mob? IMPROVEEVERYWHERE.COM brings silliness and joy to the serious folk of New York. The troupe is famous for their “No Pants Subway Ride“, “MP3 Experiments” and other fun events – check it out! CAUTION: it is my mission this summer to bring the “Black Tie Beach” event to Winnipeg….keep tuned in for details….  
• Like lists? Sometimes you just need to know the “26 Invaluable Life Lessons According to Sloths“. Be warned: you could spend a full weekend surfing through funny compilations on BUZZFEED.COM!

Now are you feeling a little better? That’s good!  🙂

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GroupNet™ Mobile

Information when you’re on the go from your Benefits Solutions People. Great-West Life’s GroupNet™ Mobile app lets you take GroupNet™ for Plan Members with you. You can download GroupNet™ Mobile to Android™, BlackBerry®, and iPhone.

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Planning to fish this summer?  Travel Manitoba has a photo contest with 3 great prizes. You can enjoy your hobby, get great sun, enjoy a day or a camping trip! The first time I went fishing, it felt like I caught a whale. It turned  out to be a tiny little sun fish but that didn’t change my opinion of the battle!

Here is a great recipe from Canola Growers of Manitoba Be Well  e-newsletter for Pan Fried Pickerel fillets. HMMMMMMM

1/4 cup all-purpose flour (60 mL)
1/4 tsp salt (1 mL)
1/4 tsp pepper (1 mL)
2 lbs pickerel fillets (1 kg)
3 Tbsp canola oil (45 mL)
4 lemon wedges(4)

1. Combine flour, salt and pepper in a shallow dish. 2. Lightly coat one side of each fillet in flour mixture. Turn each fillet over and coat second side of each fillet. 3. Heat canola oil in large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. When oil is heated, fry the fillets for approximately 2-3 minutes on each side. 4. Garnish with lemon wedges and serve immediately.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:

RRC President Stephanie Forsyth, at the 2012 Welcome Party for Immigrant and International Students.

At Red River College, we value a healthy environment and express this through promotion of creativity, wellness, flexibility, safety and sustainable learning. RRC President Stephanie Forsyth is a strong proponent of health, wellness and life balance.

As she did last year, Stephanie recently provided some insight into her personal beliefs, attitudes and activities on the subject.

Who are some of the people in your life that you look up to as Wellness role models?

My partner. She is the epitome of health, placing a high priority on physical fitness, healthy eating and mental health.

Children often act as good wellness role models, due to their ability to play, take on new things, and laugh and enjoy themselves. Are there some lessons or experiences that you can draw from your own childhood, or from being with children when it comes to Wellness?

I have the gift of two elementary-aged children in my life who have been great in keeping me focused on taking time each day for play. Hardly a day goes by when I don’t spend at least 30 minutes playing football, baseball or road hockey, or some other active activity with them.

Wellness is sometimes broken up into physical, mental and spiritual aspects. How do you try to balance these areas in terms of your own personal wellness?

It can be pretty hard to balance and schedule physical, mental and spiritual fitness. My partner and kids remind me of the importance of wellness; I want to be around for the long term – for them and for myself.

I try to stick to a routine of physical fitness by engaging in some physical activity at least 30 minutes to an hour each day; generally that involves doing something with the kids. When we are not out doing a sport, we hit the community centre as a family – my partner and I are in the gym while the kids are in swimming lessons or enjoying the pool.

I also try to avoid the ‘grab and go’ meal approach. I keep a small stock of healthy snacks in my office, and focus on meals that give carbs and sugars a miss.

It’s easy to become stressed in my job, so it’s important to focus on mental and spiritual fitness. For me that comes in the form of talking and connecting with family and friends, and by taking time out for reflective practice – e.g. reviewing the events of the day and thinking about the lessons learned, ways to enhance my performance, as well as acknowledging the things achieved.

To do these jobs, you need to be grounded and have mentors or ‘thought-partners’ you can turn to.

I find that ‘grounding’ in the Indigenous view of the world, the values of which are almost universally held among Indigenous people. These are values of community, relationship, harmony, wholeness, respect, interconnectedness and reciprocity – reciprocity between people and the natural world (the Buddhists might say ‘mindfulness’), and the circular nature of life – the natural cycles that sustain all life.

This Indigenous view was taught to me by Elders and knowledge-keepers through conversations, ceremony and story-telling, and there are particular Indigenous people who have remained my guides and ‘thought-partners’ today.

Some people will seek “creative” activities as part of their Wellness mix, whether this be writing, photography, acting, gardening or storytelling. Are there any creative activities that help you maintain a sense of wellness?

I express my creativity in cooking and gardening. I enjoy cooking with fresh vegetables and herbs from the garden to use in dishes like lettuce wraps, salad rolls and pad thai.

How important do you think it is to set Wellness goals?

It’s very easy to get off track, to let health and wellness priorities fall to the wayside. It’s very easy to not put ourselves first a few times a day or a week.

I have found it important to set small attainable goals – for me that currently means eliminating carbs like bread and pasta from my diet, as well as all sugar (with the exception of course of dark chocolate!) and having meetings while walking about. As I spend most of my day engaged in meetings, either one-on-one or in small groups, I am striving to have more ‘walking and talking’ sessions when I am meeting with someone one-on-one.

Given how busy life is, do you have any strategies for “making time” for Wellness activities as opposed to “taking time”?

I schedule wellness times in my calendar and try to stick to them.

The Wellness Committee at RRC tries to foster a wellness culture on campus through the Wellness blo, and activities like the Wellness Walk-a-thon, the Rebel Run and the Chili Cup. In what ways can the College continue to build upon the Wellness culture on campus?

It’s good to see College staff engage with each other across the organization, as it helps build community and organizational health. Community engagement is critical to the health of an organization. It would be nice to see monthly events held, even informally. These help build awareness and understanding of each other as individuals, not just co-workers.

Building this sense of community is challenging, however, as we sometimes forget that organizations are ‘living’ ‘human systems’, not words or organizational charts on paper. Our emphasis needs to be on people and the relationships that we have to one another. Too often we get focused on tasks and timelines and the end products, and forget that the process of working together is often more important than the end goal. If we focus more on these relationships at work and how we are working together, I believe we will become a more compassionate College, and will exhibit even greater patience, kindness and understanding with one another. Read More →

It’s official, there is now an RRC team registered for the Color Me Rad run/walk on July 21! What is Color Me Rad? The website has a very “colorful” way to describe what it is….basically you run/walk 5km and throughout are attacked with color bombs. Really for no good reason, other than it’s silly and fun!

All proceeds from the race go to Camp Manitou, and everyone is a winner as this is a fun run/walk. Read More →