Intrapersonal Persuasion Project
"You can out-distance that which is running after you,
but not what is running inside you." Rwandan Proverb
Persuading someone else to do anything is hard, persuading yourself to do something you don't want to do is nearly impossible.
The experience of college is inextricably linked to delayed or deferred gratification. Successful students tend to delay or defer other adventures in order to survive this intensive experience. College is stressful because we generally have less time for work, family and relationships while we are in school. As a result, we end up using maladaptive coping behaviors that tend to diminish our success but make us feel better in the short run. We avoid, procrastinate, binge and generally operate in crisis mode. This diminishes our enjoyment of the experience and tends to lead to College burn-out.
During our class you have the opportunity to target an area where you have been unable to motivate yourself. You'll try different methods to find the keys to your motivation. Best of all, by the end of our class, you will have some knowledge of your own motivators in order to aid your success in the future.
but not what is running inside you." Rwandan Proverb
Persuading someone else to do anything is hard, persuading yourself to do something you don't want to do is nearly impossible.
The experience of college is inextricably linked to delayed or deferred gratification. Successful students tend to delay or defer other adventures in order to survive this intensive experience. College is stressful because we generally have less time for work, family and relationships while we are in school. As a result, we end up using maladaptive coping behaviors that tend to diminish our success but make us feel better in the short run. We avoid, procrastinate, binge and generally operate in crisis mode. This diminishes our enjoyment of the experience and tends to lead to College burn-out.
During our class you have the opportunity to target an area where you have been unable to motivate yourself. You'll try different methods to find the keys to your motivation. Best of all, by the end of our class, you will have some knowledge of your own motivators in order to aid your success in the future.
Use the Behavior Wizard to find ways to begin to change the behavior that is undermining your success or happiness.
Intrapersonal Motivation Project Report
Think about all the ways you tried to persuade yourself to change the behavior you identified at the beginning of our class. Please answer the following questions, using examples and explanations of strategies where appropriate:
- What behavior did you end up focusing on?
- How successful were you in persuading yourself to change this behavior?
- What strategies that you tried were the least helpful in changing the behavior?
- What strategies that you tried were the most helpful in changing the behavior?
- What have you learned about the ways you are motivated?
Some additional resources for this project:
Discussion on coping mechanisms:
http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/coping/coping.htm
Discussion on Conditioning:
http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/conditioning/conditioning.htm
The "Recreate Your Life" tutorial helps you talk to yourself about your motivations and what stops you from meeting your goals:
http://recreateyourlife.com/free/index-pavlina.php
Shawn Threadgill talks about defensive routines that stop us here: http://shawnthreadgill.wordpress.com/2006/08/05/defensive-routines/
Threadgill goes on to explain some thinking habits that we can work to build in order to shut down the defensive routines: http://shawnthreadgill.wordpress.com/2006/08/05/mindful-vs-mindless-thinking/
More tips for self development: http://changingminds.org/techniques/self-development/self-development.htm
http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/coping/coping.htm
Discussion on Conditioning:
http://changingminds.org/explanations/behaviors/conditioning/conditioning.htm
The "Recreate Your Life" tutorial helps you talk to yourself about your motivations and what stops you from meeting your goals:
http://recreateyourlife.com/free/index-pavlina.php
- When you fill out the name and email address on the form be aware that you don't have to put in a real email address for the form to process. All you need to do is put in a word, an @ symbol, another word and ".com" and the form will work...also, you won't get any spam!
- Next choose one of the three limiting beliefs that are listed in the drop down menu and click "submit"
- Go through the process. Some parts may seem silly to you but do the whole thing anyway.
Shawn Threadgill talks about defensive routines that stop us here: http://shawnthreadgill.wordpress.com/2006/08/05/defensive-routines/
Threadgill goes on to explain some thinking habits that we can work to build in order to shut down the defensive routines: http://shawnthreadgill.wordpress.com/2006/08/05/mindful-vs-mindless-thinking/
More tips for self development: http://changingminds.org/techniques/self-development/self-development.htm