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Connect: Serendipity

Activity 7: Serendipity

Welcome back!

At the end of this lesson you will be able to:
  • Understand that life is full of opportunities—sometimes unplanned—that we should embrace as part of the learning process
  • Understand that a positive mindset can push us through hardships and help us through life's challenges

What is serendipity?

In the previous activities, we learned about how important sticking with it, following through, and setting goals are.
Sometimes, though, we don’t know what challenges are coming, and the choices we face may not be as straightforward and structured as they are in school. We don’t have enough information to make those decisions now, and that’s perfectly okay. It's a part of life: We live and learn.
We call these unexpected moments in life serendipity. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines serendipity as "the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for".
Brain with map
Even if we don’t know exactly what we want to be in the future, we shouldn't sit on our hands and wait for something to happen. When the end goal or path is not clear and we’re not completely certain of what we want or where we are going, we can still push ourselves to grow and learn.

Connect this concept to your own life.

  • What does rolling with the punches mean to you?
  • Why is rolling with the punches important?
  • List 3 examples of moments you have rolled with the punches in your life.
You have completed part 1 of 3 for this activity: Connect!

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  • aqualine seed style avatar for user Sheila  Alvarez
    Rolling with the punches means that one has to keep moving through the challenges no matter how tough. This concept is important because if you give up when things get difficult then you will never get anywhere.
    (16 votes)
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  • blobby green style avatar for user Sehwan Choi
    I don't understand yet the meaning of Rolling with the punches. But important thing is I think I have to have positive mind.
    (5 votes)
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  • blobby green style avatar for user Valerie682
    Your environment and how you adapt to it has plenty to do with this. Be able to adapt to new things even if its unexpected. The worst thing you can do is to get intimidated by the circumstances.
    (7 votes)
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  • blobby green style avatar for user Avalon Perry
    Rolling with the punches means continuing on despite difficult or challenging obstacles in your way. I think this is important because otherwise you’re just letting hardships and bumps in the road control your decisions. 3 times I have rolled with the punches, is when I had a sore throat before my dance show but danced anyway, when I had learn a song for school on short notice but was out of town, so I worked with what I had, and when I was dealing with my passing out disorder but I still found a way to do school instead of letting it control me.
    (5 votes)
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  • blobby green style avatar for user Jaylani
    What rolling with the punches means to me, is getting through something no matter how difficult it is and no matter what circumstances it comes with. It's important because, if you can't "roll with the punches" you'll never learn how to deal with some situations and end up giving up or being frustrated about it for a long period of time, causing you to lose sight of what's important.
    (4 votes)
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  • blobby green style avatar for user asc9335
    I believe Rolling with the punches means that one has to keep moving through the challenges no matter how tough. This is important because if you give up you will never accomplish anything.I have rolled with the punches to try to pass school, tests, quizes.
    (3 votes)
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  • starky seedling style avatar for user rrodriguez40
    rolling with the punches means go along or adapt to the transition with the bad thing that are going to happen.
    (3 votes)
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  • blobby green style avatar for user nileyleil_p2366
    the phrase means to take the bs life gives you, but still go about your life. This is important because it's just temporary, the thoughts that are brought to you in the moment, won't matter in a week or even the next 15 minutes.
    (3 votes)
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  • blobby green style avatar for user Ydalee
    rolling with the punches means when someone can adapt to certain circumstances. It's important to adapt these conditions so you'll be able to adapt to certain situations.
    (3 votes)
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  • blobby green style avatar for user aldoniev20
    I don't understand yet the meaning of Rolling with the punches.
    (3 votes)
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