Friday Musings 12-20-13 "I Resolve..."

What Do You "Resolve" to Do this Year?

I think resolutions are worth exploring in our work.
Isn't a New Year's resolution to change a bit similar to teaching and expecting someone to change their behavior after attending our classes? Maybe we want them to "keep their children out of the middle of parent's fighting," or  "create savings to handle a financial emergency," or "set aside for retirement." What theory of change is reflected and used in your curriculum to "set the stage" for behavior change? Often we focus on the content, but forget the incremental steps for change.

Reverse Psychology as a Way to Meet Resolutions?

From Psychology Today, "Forcing ourselves to do something we don't want to do is unlikely to be effective, and it may even backfire. According to reactance theory, when we feel pressured to behave in a certain way or adopt a certain attitude, we may be more likely to adopt or strengthen the opposite behavior or attitude as a way of asserting our freedom. This theory helps to explain how reverse psychology works and why forbidden fruit is so tempting."

Another Perspective of the Psychology of Self-Control

In Making Habits, Breaking Habits: Why We Do Things, Why We Don’t, and How to Make Any Change Stick (public library), psychologist Jeremy Dean illuminates an important c “Everyone’s self-control is a limited resource; it’s like muscle strength: the more we use it, the less remains in the tank, until we replenish it with rest.” 

May Chuck Norris Put a Smile On Your Face During this Busy Holiday Season!!

"What better way to kick off your festive season than with a seasonal greeting from action movie legend Chuck Norris? The martial arts whiz has channelled   the spirit of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s recent Volvo ad in his Christmas message on YouTube. But instead of doing the splits between two trucks, he takes things a step further – quoting lines from Hamlet before pulling a similar stunt between two planes in mid-air."

Happy Holidays.
Trish