Building Resilience: Avoiding Common Thinking Errors

The way we think about things is a strong influence over our emotions.  Consider the common thinking errors described below. 

1.  All are none thinking.  Are you seeing the problem in black and white terms?  (Example: My chair wants revisions to my dissertation, I'm a terrible writer). 

2.  Are you looking at it in a too narrow way, for example focusing on only the negative comments made by your committee and ignoring other important aspects? 

3.  Are you jumping to conclusions, assuming you know?  Do you have all the facts?  Do you have any facts? 

4.  Are you exaggerating or minimizing the real picture?  How does it compare to others?  Have you checked?  Are you keeping things in perspective, taking a balanced view? 

5.  Are your emotions/ fears holding sway over your reasoning?  Are you reacting emotionally? What are the facts?  Is the language you are using mostly emotional rather than factual? 

6.  Are you boxing yourself into a corner, where you see only one option?  (Example: if my chair does not email me than I'm certainly not going to write to her). 

7.  Are you labeling people or things in more extreme terms than they deserve or stereotyping them? (Examples: I'm a disaster.  They are lazy.). 

8.  Are you blaming yourself for things that are outside your control?  (Example: I should have known better than to pick this committee). 

Recognizing the thinking errors is the first step to avoiding them.  Over time it is possible to learn helpful alternative thoughts that avoid these errors and let you stay on a more positive and realistic track. 

Today's mini-Montana photo break is from near Glacier National Park, near the Canadian border. Next time, we'll consider building resilience through using reflection. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Send me an email with your ideas. leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu 

 

 

Building Resilience: Re-Framing Problems

Re-Framing is a cognitive technique that you can learn so you can begin to see the possibilities in situations that previously had been seen only as problems.  Below are examples of problems, and how they can be we reframed into more creative options and opportunities.  It is important to note that you need to work out a new perspective that is realistic, believable, and helpful for you.  Others can suggest positive perspectives, but these will not make any difference unless they are relevant and meaningful to you. 

Problem	How could it be reframed?
My chair wants to resign from my committee	What opportunities might be there?  Could I find someone more interested in my topic?  How can I make the experience better in the future?
I am getting a U this quarter	What challenges does this present that I could rise to?  How can I learn from this?  What should I do differently?  How can I show my true strengths?
I hate to write	How can I get pleasure or satisfaction out of it?  Could I streamline or systematize the process?  Could I learn to like it?  Can I set myself challenges to meet?
A mistake you made	What can I learn from this?  What led up to it?  How can I avoid repeating it?

It can be hard work to find the alternative thoughts that work for you, but it is well worth the effort as the results can be life changing. 

Today's mini-Montana photo break is of a recent snow in Bozeman (yes, the color is what it looked like– there is not a blue filter). Next time, we'll consider building resilience further by avoiding common thinking errors. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Send me an email with your ideas. leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu

 

Building Resilience: Increasing Optimism

The main quality possessed by resilient people is an optimistic outlook.  Optimists tend to see their problems as short lived, changeable, and specific to circumstances.  By contrast, disposition or habitual pessimists see their problems as permanent, persistent, and pervasive.  Pessimists tend to blame themselves for setbacks and failures, where optimists tend to look elsewhere for the reasons or causes.  Some people seem to be born with the gift of optimism but extensive research studies have shown that optimism like helplessness can be learned. 

The first step in increasing optimism is to begin disputing pessimistic assumptions.  The steps to doing this are:

Describe a recent disappointment or event as specifically as possible.  Describe how it made you feel about yourself and your role in the event.  Now answer the following questions

• What are alternative ways of viewing the event, especially those that are changeable, specific to circumstances, and not personal to you?
• What is the worst-case scenario?  How bad is it really?
• What are the consequences of holding on to this negative belief about you? 
• How do you feel about it now?

Here is an example:

Setback: Chair wants another revision

Emotional response: this kind of thing always happens to me.  I must be a terrible writer.

Evidence: remember the times when your writing was accepted.  What is the evidence that this always happens to you?  Think of your successes and when things were going well.  What is different now?

Alternative viewpoints: I can get some writing help from the writing center or from my friend who was an English major.  Can I see this as an opportunity?  Perhaps I need to rethink how I am approaching my writing.

Consequences (of holding onto the pessimistic thoughts): become passive and negative.  Increase the likelihood that I will be unable to write.  Feel frustrated.

Feel now (consequences of changing thinking): less helpless, more ready to take charge and manage this.

 

Today's mini-Montana photo break is of snowstorm in the Spanish Peak Mountains south of Bozeman MT. Next time, we'll consider building resilience further by looking at re-framing problems. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Send me an email with your ideas. leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu

Building Resilience: Positive Mindset

 

Today begins your 2-week break; I thought I would give you a mini Montana vacation again during this time.  Today's photo is from my back yard of Mandy enjoying the sunset. 

Let's consider how you can build resilience through a positive mindset. You can learn to see and interpret the world positively; however, I am not saying that if you want something enough and really believe in yourself you can make anything happen. This is simplistic thinking, and there are other important elements to consider, such as talent, opportunity, encouragement, focus, hard work, resilience, and luck. The challenge is in finding the skills and techniques that help you maintain a balance between the extremes of negative thinking and naïve positive thinking. 

People who habitually see "problems as threats" undermine their resilience, in part because their bodies are continuously experiencing adrenaline and cortisol associated with stress and negative emotions. This results in their bodies being in constant alert, ready to deal with perceived and actual threats.  

In contrast, an achievable challenge is seen as a potential source of satisfaction. Broadly speaking, one can look at the world in two ways: as a threat or as a challenge. Persistent negative thinking often results in a pattern of negative consequences that can be self-fulfilling, and as a result people become trapped by their automatic thoughts in response to a situation, thoughts that make them feel worse and less able to cope. The first step in correcting negative thinking is to recognize automatic negative thoughts and their possible consequences. Here's a brief list of common automatic negative thoughts, and likely consequences, together with alternative, more positive ways of thinking about the same situation.  

Automatic reaction	Consequence	Alternative
I will never get done	Takes longer to complete	I will get done if I take it step by step, so I will only focus on my next step
There is no point in trying	Won't even try to do something about it	There is always a way
My chair hates me	Does not interact with chair	Let's see if I can understand my chair's point of view.  If that doesn't work out I will try to find another chair.

 Next time, we'll consider this further by looking at increasing optimism. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Send me an email with your ideas. leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu

Luck and the dissertation

In honor of Friday the 13^th, let's consider luck and your dissertation.  The Oxford Online Dictionary defines "luck" as "success or failure apparently brought by chance rather than through one's own actions." How does this relate to your dissertation?  In my opinion, very little of your dissertation work relates to luck; rather it is predominantly related to your own actions and work. 

Let's consider just a couple of possible lucky aspects of dissertation work.  First, there is your dissertation chair.  Often you don't know this faculty member until you're already in your dissertation class, so how you two relate may be just luck.  There are of course, some ways to aid this relationship, for example, frequent meetings or phone calls will help clarify expectations.  If you find that, you are incompatible with your chair you may want to consider searching for a new one. 

Second, your choice of dissertation topic has a component of luck involved.  You may pick something that is difficult to research, has little literature support, or be something that causes you emotional pain or with which you become bored.  For these reasons, it is important to listen to your committee and be open to changes if needed. 

Third, your URR is assigned by the research center; you have no control over this so it really is luck as to who is assigned.  Remember, they're there to help you; try to remain professional in your interactions.  If you experience a great deal of problems with this person, consider requesting a conference call between you, your chair, and your URR. 

While there is an element of luck during the process, most of your progress is really up to you. Keep writing! I'm attaching a photo of Mandy and Murphy wishing you luck in your writing! 

Next time, I will start your break with a return to the topic of resiliency and discuss developing a positive mindset. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Send me an email with your ideas. leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu

What is Resilience?

A general definition of resilience (Cooper, Flint-Taylor, & Pearn, 2013) is "being able to bounce back from setbacks and to keep going in the face of tough demands and difficult circumstances, including the enduring strength that builds from coping well with challenging or stressful events" (p. 15). That definitely sounds like something that is needed for writing a dissertation!  

There are a number of characteristics associated with resilience found in the literature, including the capacity to accept and confront reality, ability to find meaning in life, ability to improvise (Coutu, 2003), hardiness, commitment, control, and challenge (Maddi & Khoshada, 2005). Military based studies have indicated that resilience is an ability to bond with a group with a common mission, having a high value placed on altruism (unselfish concern for others), and the capacity to tolerate high levels of fear and still perform effectively (Charney, 2004). Other positive factors include optimism and conscientiousness. Factors not related to resilience are chronic anger and hostility, neuroticism, negative affect, and having a socially dominant style (Smith, 2006). 

I hope by now that you are convinced that resilience is a strong asset in completing a dissertation. Starting next week, I will discuss some ways to build resilience and apply it to the dissertation process. 

Next time, we will look at luck and the dissertation in honor of Friday the 13th. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Send me an email with your ideas. leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu 

Charney, D. S. (2004). Psychobiological mechanisms of resilience and vulnerability: Implications for successful adaptation to extreme stress. Focus, 2, 368-391. 

Cooper, C., Flint-Taylor, J., & Pearn, M. (2013). Building resilience for success: A resource for managers and organizations. NY: Palgrave. 

Coutu, D. L. (2003). How resistance works.  In Harvard Business Review on building personal and organizational resilience.  Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. 

Maddi, S. R. & Khoshada, D. M. (2005). Resilience at work: How to succeed no matter what life throws at you. MJF Books. 

Smith, T. W. (2006). Personality as risk and resilience in physical health. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 15(5), 227-231.

Writing issues: References

We recently examined citations; let's now take a look at references. First a few reminders: Everything I am talking about today is in the APA Manual- see chapter 7. All references cited in text must appear in the reference section of the paper. All references listed must have a citation in the text. An easy way to check this is to print out your reference list and cross off each one as you read the paper (this is what I will do as your reader).

Journals (periodicals)

Include the digital object identifier (DOI) in the reference if one is assigned.  

If no DOI is assigned and you retrieved the article online, include the page URL for the journal, newsletter, or magazine in the reference (no retrieval data is needed). Use this format: Retrieved from http:// www.xxxxxxx 

Here is an example of an article with a DOI

Lamb, J. K. (2013). Pencil panic. Health Psychology, 23, 225-227. doi: 10.1037/0278-6133.24.2.224 

Tricky aspect: If an article has more than 7 authors, list the first 6 and last one.

Smyth, J. R., Karl, J. T., Stuart, F. W., Loring, B. R., Miller, W. R., Richards, Y. C. … Bosko, P. (2012). An examination of pencil addicts. Pencil Discovery, 4, 112-116. doi: 10.1037/0278-6133.22.2.224 

Books

For an entire book, you would use:

James, K. L. (2012). Pencils and psychology. NY: Sage.   (Note- only first word of title is capitalized) 

For a chapter in a book:

Lassie, D. G. & Jones, C. T. (2012). My fear of pencils. In K. L. James (Ed.), Pencils and psychology (pp. 20-46). NY: Sage 

Check your APA Manual for specifics of different types of references, they have many examples. 

A lesson in Word formatting. You do not need to press the enter key and indent the second line of each references. A better way, which maintains the spacing even with changes in the paper, is to use "hanging indent." I will explain how to do this using Word 2010, if you have a different version look up "hanging indents" in your help menu. 

Highlight the text you want to apply this to, go to Home/ Paragraph/ Special/ Hanging indent. Magically, they will be correctly formatted. 

Next time, I will begin a series on building resilience. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Send me an email with your ideas. leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu