Realiteen Talks

In the first two Realiteen Talks conversations about unconscious bias, FranklinCovey Education High School Practice Leader Gary McGuey and a panel of teenage guests have tackled how to identify your own biases – after all, if you have a brain you have bias – and how to be open enough to be willing to overcome them.

In this third installment, the answer to true growth was revealed – courage.

In order to confront bias and experience genuine growth, you have to have the courage to be uncomfortable. No one likes to look in the mirror and see things they wish they could change, but the irony is that those things can’t be changed unless you’re brave enough to take them on.

Some would argue that confronting bias just leads to more conflict. While that misconception can appear true, especially in the early stages of such a confrontation, it’s certainly not true over the long run.

“If you are confronting bias with respect to the people you’re talking to, with tact, with the correct information and with different viewpoints, it can be effective,” one panelist said. “It can create a good response. It can create a safe space for everyone to feel like they’re represented [and that] their viewpoint is being heard.”

Watch the full episode for more thoughts on how to meet this final battle with unconscious bias head on.

As we discussed in the first episode of Realiteen Talks’ series on unconscious bias, every human being on the planet experiences it – and coming to terms with that fact is key to identifying your own unconscious biases.

Now, though, more questions remain. Once you’ve identified an unconscious bias in yourself or others, how can you work through it and begin to cultivate connections with genuine openness?

That was the subject of this episode, where host and FranklinCovey High School Practice Leader Gary McGuey was once again joined by a panel of teenage guests ready to deliver their firsthand insight.

It all begins, one panelist said, with a commitment to exploring outside your comfort zone. The process, by its very nature, will therefore be uncomfortable, but it’s that discomfort that lets you know you’re being exposed to things that will help you grow.

“Explore maybe those things you don’t really see as big biases,” she said. “Just exploring outside of yourself [is key].”

It’s also critical to work alongside one another to grow together, as unconscious biases are created and reinforced by your own ways of thinking. Without new information and an openness to others’ opinions, particularly those that contradict your own, you can only change your own thinking to a certain extent.

Not every bias is an obvious one. In fact, all of us have inherent, unconscious biases that affect the way we view and interact with others.

These biases, such as the “horn/halo effect,” where a person’s entire character is fleshed out in our minds as either good or “bad” based on a singular event, are difficult to identify. However, that identification has to take place for true conversations about implicit bias and the growth they can engender to occur.

On this episode of FranklinCovey Education’s Realiteen Talks, the first in a three-part series on unconscious bias, host and High School Practice Leader Gary McGuey was joined by a panel of teenage guests to discuss how we can go about identifying the unconscious biases in our lives.

The word “bias” can come across as inherently negative, but that’s not always the case. As one panelist said, a bias doesn’t have to be destructive to be a bias. In fact, they can have positive outcomes, as well.

Biases can also be viewed as “shortcuts” that make our brain connect things that aren’t necessarily related. For example, a person wearing athletic gear supporting a particular team could be seen as inhabiting traits someone has come to associate with that group of fans when, in reality, they are their own, complex person.

To begin identifying your own biases, you have to first accept that you have biases in the first place. From there, you need to actively consider how your past experiences, preconceived notions and more are affecting the way you act in unrelated situations, then work to ensure you aren’t living in an “echo chamber” that doesn’t challenge your biases.

It may feel impossible to not compare yourself, particularly regarding body image, to others, from celebrities touted in the media to people who are a part of your everyday life.

However, these comparisons can have a negative effect on your self-esteem, placing unrealistic and damaging expectations on you that can affect your self-worth.

On this episode of FranklinCovey Education’s Realiteen Talks, host and High School Practice Leader Gary McGuey was joined by a panel of teenagers to explore how to break the cycle of unhealthy comparisons and learn to love yourself for who you are.

Comparisons can also be drawn between your current self and the person you want to become, such as when you’ve set a goal to lose weight, be more fit or something else entirely. While pushing yourself and setting goals can help you progress, that growth can only occur with a healthy attitude toward your journey.

The panelists offered some tips for managing comparisons, body image and self-esteem.

Recognizing your uniqueness and the beauty of being a singular individual, though difficult, can help put you in a better headspace, as can remembering that everyone has a unique journey that no one else can truly see and working to set realistic, achievable standards for yourself that make you happy.

College isn’t the right post-high school path for everyone, but it’s a part of many teenagers’ lives. In turn, it’s a part of many a stressful night.

However, there are strategies for approaching college preparation without those stress-inducing moments of panic. There’s a beneficial method for everyone – it’s all about finding it.

Often, it can seem like life is happening to you – and that can lead to a perceived lack of control. Challenges and obstacles come one after another, leading to even more chaos, and it’s enough to overwhelm just about anyone.

But what if something as simple as your mindset could change that pattern?

On this episode of FranklinCovey Education’s Realiteen Talks, hosted by High School Practice Leader Gary McGuey, a panel of teenage guest weighed in on the topic of mindset – and how the right attitude and approach could change your eventual outcomes.

“Whenever I think of the power of mindset, I really just think about your mentality or the way you approach different situations,” one panelist said. “Whether that be approaching academic, athletics or other relationships. … [It’s] also your mindset of positive thoughts versus negative thoughts.”

The mind is a powerful and influential thing, the panelists said. In fact, it can be one of largest factors, if not the biggest one, in determining success or failure in a given situation. Without a positive mindset, it’s hard to remain motivated in the face of adversity.

Many outside factors can influence your mindset, from the way you were raised to past experiences or the particular environment you find yourself in. However, at the end of the day, it’s up to you to stay on top of your mental state and find the best way for you to remain strong and committed to a positive, powerful mindset.

We’ve all been stressed out. Whether you’re a teenager with a big project due, a big game tonight or a big college application or an adult worrying over work, bills and other stressors, stress is a natural human emotion and an unavoidable part of life.

However, that doesn’t mean you can allow it to dictate its own terms and control your life.

On this episode of FranklinCovey Education’s Realiteen Talks, host and High School Practice Leader Gary McGuey was joined by a pair of teenagers intimately familiar with stress – particularly in a year that’s been more difficult than just about any that’s come before it.

McGuey and the two panelists explored how they recognize stress, keep it at bay, and use it to fuel a more productive approach to the challenges and opportunities in their lives.

“I feel like there’s also a good side to stress, where we feel motivated by it,” one panelist said. “Things like, perhaps, classes – when we want to do well in a class and we know that, if we do well, it will be good for our futures. …

“There’s definitely a point where we have to figure out, ‘OK, where is this tipping point?’”

To keep stress from becoming a “dark cloud,” it’s important to work to understand your own unique signals of being overly stressed and to pay close attention to when stress in one particular area bleeds into other, unrelated aspects of your life.