Appreciating the Bumps in April

April 13, 2026

You’ve made it! Spring break is almost here (or maybe you’re in the post-vacation haze of answering all those messages and getting re-started). The weather is changing, emotions (for students and grown ups) are all over the place, summer is just around the corner, and so are conflicts of all shapes and sizes

With testing and final report cards and end-of-the-year traditions come quick tempers, high emotions, knee-jerk reactions, and high stakes. (And we haven’t even mentioned helping students work through anxieties about transitioning to a new grade or a new school! Yikes!) Times like these are a great opportunity to dial up your Character Strength of Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence, and to find new ways to experience Perspective and Gratitude even in moments that are filled with conflict.

There are many moments of conflict (both interpersonal and internal) that you bump up against each day—not only your own, but also situations with and among students. The next time you find yourself in a conflict zone, even if it’s not escalated, we hope you’ll think about strength bumps and boosts, because the reality is that even in a hard situation, we can identify a strength or two.

Strength Bumps

When Nyla and Zayden start elevating their voices at recess, walking toward each other and looking ready to fight, we might identify their strengths of Bravery or Fairness. Who knows? Maybe Nyla is defending a friend that Zayden was bullying, and Zayden is walking toward Nyla to try to explain what really happened. Nyla’s Bravery is going to bump up against Zayden’s Fairness, because she is ready to run in and take care of a problem without asking questions, while Zayden wants to make sure everyone understands what went on in his conversation with Nyla’s friend.

Strength Bumps can help us process conflict with colleagues, too. Picture this: at the too-early-o’clock staff meeting on the first day back from break, the principal is full of Zest, ready to start new initiatives and incentives with April testing procedures. Meanwhile, your Prudence is on display when you ask for more information about logistics and how this implementation will realistically work. All of a sudden, the meeting has devolved into a frustrating pros and cons comment fest. Zest and Prudence don’t always play nicely.

When we can identify Character Strengths even in the midst of conflict, we can shift into a growth mindset, use our strength of Perspective and bring in our strength of Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence as we notice the great strengths that are inherent in each of us. Once we are focused on the strengths present instead of the problem, we can have clearer heads to go about finding a solution.

Strength Boosts

If Nyla is willing to dial up her strength of Judgment and listen to Zayden’s story, Nyla might find out that her Bravery can be used in a new way—to go back and talk to her friend about why they felt Zayden was bullying them, when he thought he was just giving honest feedback on the science project. Now, Bravery and Fairness are teaming up, each boosting the other to create a new solution to the problem that didn’t even seem possible a few minutes ago.

And if your principal is willing to listen and respond to your inquiries with Humility, there could be greater understanding and buy-in from the whole staff for a new initiative…or maybe even a way to collaborate and find a third way that didn’t seem possible before. It’s not always the principal’s idea or nothing. Zest and Prudence can work together to bring new options to light and have everyone leaving the first staff meeting after break relieved to know that their colleagues care and want a good outcome for staff and students.

Give it a try!

When you find yourself bumping into a conflict zone today, take a moment to see if you can identify the Character Strengths at play…and use a growth mindset to flip the script and find a way for those two strengths to stop bumping and start boosting.

Summer break is just around the corner, and we know that you’ve got this!