What is Centered On Success?
Centered On Success is a research-based program sponsored by the Montgomery County Educational Foundation to support student success through trauma-informed intentional awareness.
Centering helps to support:
Awareness of the present
Emotional self-regulation
Self-care
Reflection
Stress management skills
Curiosity
Memory
Listening skills
Focus
Learning readiness
How does being centered work?
Pay attention to the present moment, not the past or future.
When a thought or feeling comes up — and it’s normal that they do — remember that smooth-flowing stream. Your thoughts and feelings are like rocks in the stream.
To center, concentrate on the slow, smooth water itself as it encounters each obstacle — each thought or feeling — and moves past them without a struggle.
It’s not bad to get stuck on a thought or a feeling. Thinking and feeling are important, but centering offers mini-breaks from both. When you get hung up with a thought or emotion, picture it being carried away by the water. You can always find it later. Go back to looking for the spaces in between.
Centering is not a complicated technique that only a few can achieve. It’s not religious or spiritual. It’s just a tool that has a good effect on your brain.
Anybody can do it, and with practice, anybody can do it for longer and longer stretches.
Practicing centering is like practicing music or a sport. You have the ability to become centered. The more you practice, the easier it gets, and the greater the benefits you’ll experience.