Student Anxiety

I’ve been thinking a lot about how we pay attention — and how we often miss what’s best in our kids because we have our attention trained on what we think they should be doing. Now don’t start blaming yourself… our whole approach to education teaches us to believe our kids should be other than […]

What do you think is the most common mistake even smart women (and men) make that leaves them struggling with stress and worry about their futures… or their child’s? What did you come up with? I’d love to hear your thoughts: share them on Facebook and see below for the single biggest mistake I see […]

Book Cover Photo

What would you guess are the four strengths found in people with the highest life satisfaction?  One is enthusiasm, according to research by Chris Peterson and Marty Seligman, and colleagues. This was inspiring news to me because “Enthusiasm Makes the Difference” is the book I read at 17 that sparked my lifelong passion for positive psychology.  With all the hype and stress about […]

Image for "You control what you think"

There are times when it doesn’t feel as if I have control of my thoughts– it’s more like my thoughts are the inmates running the asylum. That’s when I remind myself that the only thing that imprisons us is our own thinking. And when I remember that I control what matters most — my own […]

Even though I know better, it’s easy to forget that where I put my attention is a choice. My choice. Sometimes I get caught in the trap of feeling stressed and I keep thinking about the stressful thing… I may even talk about it, which keeps it front and center…. and it’s like a whirlpool, […]

Happy Golden Retriever Photo and Quote

  You may have heard people say, “you’re only as happy as your unhappiest child…”  I try to remind myself: that’s only true when I choose to let it be. I try to remember this when my child is going through a tough time.  It can feel more painful to see her suffer than to […]

Have you ever found yourself trying to think more positively about something but in your gut or your chest you feel a clenching that says, “I don’t really believe this” ? If so, you’re not alone. Sometimes when we try thinking positively about a difficult topic,  not only do we not feel better, we may even […]

Standing amid the trees

People — students, recent graduates, parents, adults– are always talking to me about finding their “path.”  The notion being that if they can just figure out all the elements of what they’re good at, what careers they’re suited to, and where they can earn the living they want, they’ll discover  the path they should walk […]

See All of Christine’s Videos as she works with students, speaks to a group, and responds to interview questions.  Watch  Christine Duvivier’s youtube channel.

Not seeing the best in our students is not as much an issue for them as it is for us. Many of them go happily along feeling free and knowing they just want to stay under the radar of parents, school, teachers and traditional expectations. Jimmy, for example, is a C-student who, “… trained us. […]