Friday, August 31, 2018

WHAT EVER HAPPENED...? "Fortune Cookies"





I know this may sound silly, but I actually take to heart some of those words printed on tiny slips of paper that you get in a fortune cookie after a delicious meal at an Asian restaurant. I take some of them home with me and post them on various walls in my home, so I can read them again and again. Here are some of my favorites, with the punctuation as it was [along with an occasional comment from me] that have actually helped me think better:

·       An exciting journey awaits you with your first step in a new direction [Teaching is over – brain injury advocacy has begun.]
·       Don’t be afraid to take that big step
·       People are just as happy as they make up their minds to be
·       Yesterday was a dare to struggle. Today is a dare to win
·       Your talents will be recognized and suitably rewarded
·       Complaints are like bee stings but compliments are like butterflies
·       You can’t stop the waves but you can learn to surf
·       You will be called to fill a position of high honor and responsibility
·       Don’t be afraid of fear
·       Security is not in having things; it’s in handling things [Handle things better, Janet.]
·       The most difficult thing to be is what other people want you to be
·       Happiness depends upon ourselves
·       Better face danger than always be in fear
·       Your love of life can carry you through any circumstance
·       The most beautiful views have the hardest climbs
·       When life hands you lemons, exchange it for cookies [Chocolate chips with nuts are my preference.]
·       You can’t start a new chapter if you’re stuck at the table of contents
·       You will be the sign someone was waiting for [I hope this book helps families dealing with brain injury. Then all this work was worth it!]
·       You show your true face to people that really matter
·       Moments are best when you live in them
·       Laugh often, laugh hard, eat and repeat [Why I so often enjoy the restaurant I got this at.]
·       Do not give up – the beginning is always the hardest
·       You have the ability to touch the lives of many people
·       A person is not wise simply because one talks a lot [I need to talk less.]
·       Honesty will reward you well
·       Settle a dispute you’ve been having – be the bigger person and let it go
·       You will be well rewarded for your hard work very soon
·       If we do not change our direction, we are likely to end up where we are headed
·       Don’t let anyone tell you how to walk in your own shoes [Unless you have been through brain injury, please don’t think that you know what it is like.]
·       Enjoy yourself while you can
·       Be braver today than you were yesterday
·       Adversity is the first path to truth
·       Patience is something you should never leave home without
·       Your life does not get better by chance – it gets better by change
·       Common sense will get you further than GPS [And it is quieter.]
·       Make your words count – don’t count your words
·       Being wiser sometimes means being quieter [Amen!]
·       You can’t erase your past, but you can write your future
·       Don’t be grumpy – be grateful
·       Quirkiness counts for something – embrace your uniqueness
·       Don’t hand out advice like candy [Stop correcting everyone, Janet.]
·       Don’t be a worry wart because who wants a wart?
·       Who you are and who you can be is a work in progress [A sign I made for one of my classrooms told my students that.]
·       The closest distance between two people is a good laugh
·       The sooner you accept it, the sooner you’ll get over it
·       The simplification of life is one of the steps to inner peace
·       The issue isn’t what you are saying; mostly, it’s the way [Yup!]
·       Look around; happiness is trying to catch you
·       Expect much of yourself and little of others
·       Q. Why do some people have headaches? A. They never used it before. [Or – in my case – they have an undiagnosed brain tumor.]
·       Music is the soul of language
·       If you want to win anything – a race, yourself, your life – you have to go a little berserk. [Sometimes I go more than a little.]
·       It is good to let a little sunshine out as well as in
·       Listen to yourself more often
·       Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do
·       The issue isn’t what you’re saying; mostly, it’s the way
·       Self-confidence is the first requisite to great undertakings
·       Something spectacular is coming your way. [Perhaps it is that my book helps somebody else.]
·       Plan to be spontaneous tomorrow. [A real struggle for me.]
·       Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall
·       You will be graced by the presence of a loved one soon. [Really?]
·       Forgive the action, forget the intent
·       Smile! A smile will make you young forever
·       You have a strong and sensitive personal nature. [I sure do!]
·       Nothing is a waste of time if you learn something from it
·       You feel restless – change is just around the corner
·       You are not a person who can be ignored. [That’s for sure!]
·       To have joy, one must share it
·       To build a better world, start in your community
·       School is a building which has four walls with tomorrow inside
·       Fear drives you and makes you better
·       Stand tall! Don’t look down upon yourself
·       Our first love, and last love is…self-love
·       A great man never ignores the simplicity of a child. [I never ignore children, just some adults.]
·       The hours that make us happy make us wise
·       Stuff happens. It is your response that counts
·       Learn to listen, not hear
·       A simple kindness today will soon bring you unexpected rewards
·       Pick a path with heart
·       Don’t spend your time stringing and tuning your instrument. Start making music now! [Do you like that one, Maggie?]
·       May your faith always exceed your fears – no price is too great to go through life afraid. [!]
·       Romance comes to life this year in a very unusual sort of way. [Nope!]
·       Welcome each day as a fresh new beginning
·       One must know that there is a path at the end of the road
·       A family reunion in the coming months will be a tremendous success! [I pray this one’s true.]

[I’d like to give a big round of applause to the Mid-Hudson Buffet in Kingston, NY, that not only was a great field trip for my students, back in the day when we celebrated Chinese New Year, but also my favorite all-you-can-eat place nowadays. Their food and fortune cookies cheer me up!]






For the coming year, I [Douglas Winslow Cooper] will be
excerpting, weekly, material from this almost-final version of the fine book by Janet Johnson Schliff, M.S. Ed., which she wrote over a three-year period with some coaching and editing help from me, through my business, Write Your Book with Me.

Her memoir is now available in paperback and ebook formats from Outskirts Press  and amazon.com


                                              ###


BOOK TALKS AND SIGNINGS

Janet Johnson Schliff was on WKNY  Radio 1490 at 9:10 a.m. on Thursday, March 1, Kingston, NY.

Janet spoke at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 3 at Barnes & Noble in Kingston, NY. I [DWC] attended, along with about 40 other people. Congratulations to Janet on a fine talk!

Janet Johnson Schliff spoke at the Starr Library in Rhinebeck, NY, at 7 p.m. on March 6. 


She spoke at the Golden Notebook Bookstore in Woodstock, NY, at 2 p.m. on March 17. 


She spoke at the Morton Library in Rhinecliff, NY, at 6:30 p.m. on March 28. 


She spoke at RCAL in Kingston, NY, at 4 p.m. on April 3. I was able to attend. They gave her an impromptu book-launch party.

On 4/4/18 Janet spoke at the Parkinson's Support Group at the Starr Library at Rhinebeck at 2:30 p.m.

On 4/27/18 Janet spoke at the Stone Ridge Library at 5:30 p.m.

On 5/4/18 Janet spoke at the Hurley Library at 6 p.m.

On 5/9/18 Janet spoke at the Kingston Library at 6 p.m.

On 5/14/18 Janet spoke at the Staatsburg Library at 7 p.m.

On 5/31/18 Janet spoke at the Clinton Community Library at 6:30 p.m.


On 6/9/18 Janet spoke at the Tannersville Mountain Top Library at noon.

On 6/11/18 Janet spoke at the Gardiner Library at 7 p.m.


On 6/20/18 Janet spoke at the Marbletown Community Center at 6 p.m.


On 7/13/18 Janet spoke at the Esopus Library at 7 p.m.

On 7/20/18 Janet spoke at the Pine Plains Library at 6 p.m.

On 7/23/18 Janet spoke at the Ulster Library at 5:30 p.m.


On 8/11/18 Janet spoke at the Northern Dutchess Bible Church in Red Hook at 1:00 p.m.

On 9/06/18 Janet will be at the Inquiring Minds Bookstore in New Paltz at 7 p.m.

On 9/15/18 Janet will be at the Adriance Library in Poughkeepsie (93 Market St.) at 2:30 p.m.

On 9/22/18 Janet will again be at the Tannersville Mountain Top Library, at noon.

More signings will be coming up. A fine feature about Janet by John DeSantos [845 LIFE] appeared in the Middletown Times Herald-Record on Monday, March 12, as part of Brain Injury Awareness Month. An article about her book was just published in the May 2018 Living Rhinebeck Magazine. An article about her book appeared in the May 14 Daily Freeman of Kingston, NY. and another in the Family Life section of the Poughkeepsie Journal on June 8th. The Millerton News published an article on Thursday, August 2, about her talk at the Pine Plains Library. 


Sunday, August 26, 2018

"Benefits of Writing" by Peterson and Mar

The Benefits of Writing Jordan B Peterson and Raymond Mar

[See their web site at http://SelfAuthoring.com .

Jordan B. Peterson et al. have a program for sale that involves numerous timed writing exercises.

If you are interested in writing a book, such as a memoir, see my own site,
Write Your Book With Me]


 Abstract

Careful writing about traumatic or uncertain events, past, present or future, appears to produce a variety of benefits, physiological and psychological. Written accounts of trauma positively influence health. Recent investigations have shown that the explicit written description of an ideal future produces similar results. A large body of research conducted in the industrial and business domains also demonstrates that future authoring or goal-setting results in improved productivity and performance.

Writing and Health

A fascinating body of research, pioneered by James W. Pennebaker in 1986,1 has linked written narrative to enhanced mental and physical health. Studies of this effect typically employ written output, although variations such as verbal expression do exist. Participants are asked to describe a traumatic personal event in writing (or, in the control condition, to write about a trivial topic), during 15 to 30 minute sessions. These sessions range in frequency, from a single instance to multiple sittings, spread out over a number of weeks. During each session, individuals are instructed to write continually for the allotted time, without regard for grammar or spelling. In conjunction with this manipulation, a number of health-related variables are assessed, beginning during the writing period, and continuing for several weeks afterwards. Individuals assigned to write about a stressful occurrence in their own life typically experience improvements in general physical health, compared to those who write about trivial events. These improvements include fewer consultations with physicians,2 greater long-term psychological health3 and improved immune function. 4

Other benefits include faster re-employment for recently dismissed professionals, 5 and higher grade-point averages for students. 6 Kitty Klein and Adriel Boals recently demonstrated, as well, significant increases in working memory among participants in two well-controlled studies, attributable to a decrease in anxiety and depression-related intrusive thoughts. 7 These results appear robust, and have been demonstrated in over two-dozen studies, using a number of populations around the world.8 The health benefits of trauma narration have been replicated using a very different sort of content. Laura King 9 explored the potential ramifications of writing about life goals and ideals, as opposed to past 6 traumatic experiences. After reading a set of general instructions,1 a group of participants engaged in a writing task, using methods similar to those described previously. Individuals in the control condition were asked to write about their plans for the day. Three weeks later, those who wrote about their best possible selves scored significantly higher on measures of psychological well-being (which included such concepts as personal happiness and life satisfaction). Health records were also obtained and analysed for all participants. Although the two groups did not differ in average healthcare use prior to the experiment, people who wrote about their ideal future visited medical professionals less often than those in the control condition in the five months following the study. Pennebaker demonstrated that such positive consequences appears related to the development of a coherent narrative (rather than as a consequence of reduction of repression or inhibition or emotional catharsis). 10 11 Harber and Pennebaker12 suggested, as well, that careful writing may help in the production of organized, structured memories, and in the analysis of cause/effect relationships in the past and their application to the present and future.

Written Visions of the Future and Health

The formation and pursuit of goals can be a valuable tool in coping with loss or trauma. The ability to “get on with life” following a traumatic incident appears closely allied with recovery. Failure to do so appears associated with depression, motivated by the apparent hopelessness of all activity. A number of researchers have found support for the psychological benefits of forming plans following a traumatic loss. Stein, Folkman, Trabasso and Richards, 13 who studied a population of caregivers who had lost their partners to AIDS, found that well-explicated goals were related to better well-being at the time of bereavement, and better recovery in the following year. 14 Elovainio and Kivimäki,15 who examined a population of Finnish nurses, found that the degree to which goals were clearly stated and well-comprehended by staff moderated the amount of strain experienced individually. This applied to goals associated with each job or work unit, and to the more general goals of the entire organization. 1 Think about your life in the future. Imagine that everything has gone as well as it possibly could. You have worked hard and succeeded at accomplishing all of your life goals. Think of this as the realization of all of your life dreams. Now, write about what you have imagined. 7

Outcome-oriented thinking and behaviour is clearly useful in times of emotional upset. It also appears to aid day-to-day well-being. Researchers interested in human emotion have found that the pursuit of goals, as well as their attainment, are associated with happiness, by adults and children.16 As psychologists have become increasingly well-informed about the biochemical nature of emotional responses, it has become obvious that much of the positive emotion that human beings feel is a consequence of the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine, in response to evidence that satisfactory progress is being made towards desired goals.17 This means that it is difficult for people to experience hope and interest and engagement in the absence of well-specified goals. Self-defined, intrinsically important goals also seem more effective than externally defined goals, which are often motivated by sources of negative emotion, such as pressure from relatives or guilt. Kennon M. Sheldon and Linda Houser-Marko18 asked first-year students to describe eight future goals, and to rate their reasons for pursuing them, demonstrating that attainment of internally-motivated goals was much more likely than attainment of those fuelled by external sources, 19 and that the advantages to intrinsic motivation tended to become self-reinforcing and to last. The most stunning outcome of this extended study, however, was related to academic performance. Scores for the American College Test were compared with each student’s final grade-point average. Individuals in the process of pursuing goals for intrinsic, personal reasons had grade point averages higher than those predicted by their American College Test scores. Remarkably, however, the majority of their goals were not at all course- or grade-related. In the words of the authors: “This finding suggests that those people who can identify sets of goals that well represent their implicit interests and values are indeed able to function more efficiently, flexibly, and integratively across all areas of their lives.” 20 Similar results obtained by Morisano, Hirsh, Peterson, Shore and Pihl were obtained at McGill University, and provide part of the scientific groundwork for the programs available at www.selfauthoring.com.

Written Goals and a Productive Life

Decades of empirical research has supported the proposition that setting goals and pursuing them can lead to significant improvements in task performance. 21 The majority of this work has been explored in a business context. Locke and Latham laid the base for the initial theoretical work on the benefits of goalsetting.22 The model they constructed collaboratively has four major tenets:
• Goals that are specific and difficult lead to better performance than vague exhortations to “do your best” (and, of course, than no specified goals whatsoever).  8
• The relationship between goal difficulty and performance is linear and positive.
• Other factors such as competition, provision of feedback, and participation in decision-making do not affect performance beyond their function in establishing and adjusting the commitment to specific and difficult goals.
• Direction, effort and persistence are three primary motivational mediators of the goal-setting/performance relationship.
Task strategy constitutes a fourth, cognitive mediator. Ability, commitment, feedback, task complexity, and situational constraints are all possible moderators of the goal-setting/performance relationship. Locke and Latham erected their theory on a foundation of important empirical work, conducted in realworld workplaces and the laboratory.23 Latham and Kinne 24 found, for example, that logging crews assigned a specific and difficult goal were significantly more productive (and had better job attendance) than a similar crew who were merely urged to do their best. Such improvement remained even when workers were paid by the hour, and not on a piecework basis.25 These findings also held true in the case of more abstract occupations, such as research and development 26 and managerial planning.27 Laboratory research has replicated these findings in such basic domains as memory,28 mathematical ability,29 and reaction time.30 Further investigation revealed that participation in goal-setting clearly bolsters understanding of strategy.31 Pham and Taylor have begun to decompose the process of goal attainment (through proximal goals), and to study its causal structure.32 University students were asked to imagine either the goal of doing well on an upcoming midterm, or to focus on imagining the details of the process required to attain a good mark. Following this mental simulation, participants wrote down the contents of their imaginings. Students who engaged in process-simulation performed significantly better on the test than those who merely imagined the positive outcome. This improvement appeared to be a consequence of study-plan formation and execution on the part of the successful group, as well as a decrease in exam-related anxiety. Additional basic research has helped establish that fantasizing about a desired future (compared to a less valuable present) helps tag desired future states with positive affect, mediated as they are by expectations of success.33 The importance of nearer or proximal goals has also been investigated. Such goals appear particularly important in uncertain circumstances, where many variables must be considered, and where longer-term goals have to be constantly evaluated, because of rapidly changing circumstances. Success at near or proximal goals also seems capable of enhancing distant or long-term goal commitment. 34 9

Conclusions

Writing about uncertainty, past, present, and future, has multiple benefits. Such benefits do not appear bound by conventional categorical domains, as they encompass psychological well-being, physical health, cognitive ability and task performance. Furthermore, the process by which such goal-setting exerts its effects appears broadly generalized. Establishing difficult, specific goals can facilitate performance in an unrelated domain (such as academic achievement). Likewise, comprehension of larger organizational goals (relatively removed from individual task aims) reduces the personal strain suffered by workers. It appears possible that writing, which is a formalized form of thinking, helps people derive information from their experiences that helps them guide their perceptions, actions, thoughts and emotions in the present. Drawing specific, causal conclusions about life’s important events may also help reduce the burden of uncertainty and threat that may remain active, emotionally, even years after a traumatic event occurred. Clarifying purpose and meaning into the future helps improve positive emotion, which is associated with movement towards important goals, and reduces threat, which is associated with uncertainty and doubt, and which may be experienced as hopelessness, despair, and lack of meaning.

 10 References

1. Pennebaker, J. W., & Beall, S. K. (1986). Confronting a traumatic event: Toward an understanding of inhibition and disease. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, Vol. 95 (3), 274-281. 2. Cameron, L. D. & Nicholls, G. (1998). Expression of stressful experiences through writing: Effects of a self-regulation manipulation for pessimists and optimists. Health Psychology, Vol. 17 (1), 84-92; Greenberg, M. A., Wortman, C. B., & Stone, A. A. (1996). Emotional expression and physical health: Revising traumatic memories or fostering self-regulation? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 71 (3), 588-602; Pennebaker, J. W., Colder, M. & Sharp, L. K. (1990). Accelerating the healing process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 58 (3), 528-537; Richards, J. M., Beal, W. E., Seagal, J. D., & Pennebaker, J. W. (2000). Effects of disclosure of traumatic events on illness behavior among psychiatric prison inmates. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, Vol. 109 (1), 156-160; Pennebaker, J. W. & Francis, M. E. (1996). Cognitive, emotional and language processes in disclosure. Cognition and Emotion, Vol. 10 (6), 601-626; Pennebaker, J. W., & Beall, S. K. (1986). Confronting a traumatic event: Toward an understanding of inhibition and disease. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, Vol. 95 (3), 274-281; Pennebaker, J. W., Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K., & Glaser, R. (1988). Disclosure of trauma and immune function: Health implications for psychotherapy. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Vol. 56 (2), 239-245. 3. See Smyth, J. M. (1998). Written emotional expression: Effect sizes, outcome types, and moderating variables. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Vol. 66 (1), 174-184 for a review of this effect. 4. Esterling, B. A., Antoni, M. H., Fletcher, M. A., Margulies, S., & Schneiderman, N. (1994). Emotional disclosure through writing or speaking modulates latent Epstein-Barr virus antibody titers. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Vol. 62 (1), 130- 140; Pennebaker, J. W., Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K., & Glaser, R. (1988). Disclosure of trauma and immune function: Health implications for psychotherapy. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Vol. 56 (2), 239-245; Petrie, K. J., Booth, R. J., & Pennebaker, J. W. (1998). The immunological effects of thought suppression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 75 (5), 1264-1272; Petrie, K. J., Booth, R. J., Pennebaker, J. W., Davison, K. P., & Thomas, M. G. (1995). Disclosure of trauma and immune response to a Hepatitis B vaccination program. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Vol. 63 (5), 787-792. 5. See Smyth, J. M. (1998). Written emotional expression: Effect sizes, outcome types, and moderating variables. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Vol. 66 (1), 174-184 for a review of these effects. 6 Morisano, D., Hirsh, J. B., Peterson, J. B., Shore, B., & Pihl, R. O. (2010). Personal goal setting, reflection, and elaboration improves academic performance in university students. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95, 255-264. 7 Klein, K. & Boals, A. (2001). Expressive writing can increase working memory capacity. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 130, 520-533. 8. Pennebaker, J. W., & Seagal, J. D. (1999). Forming a story: The health benefits of narrative. Journal of Clinical Psychology, Vol. 55 (10), 1243-1254. See Smyth, J. M. (1998). Written emotional expression: Effect sizes, outcome types, and moderating variables. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Vol. 66 (1), 174-184 for a review and research synthesis examining effect size and moderating factors. Also, Pennebaker, J. W. & Graybeal, A. (2001). Patterns of natural language use: Disclosure, personality, and social integration. Current Direction in Psychological Science, Vol. 10 (3), 90-93 for a current review of theoretical explanations and directions for further research. 9. King, L. A. (2001). The health benefits of writing about life goals. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Vol. 27 (7), 798- 807. 10 Baikie, K. A. & Wilhelm, K. Emotional and physical health benefits of expressive writing. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 11, 338-346. 11 Pennebaker, J. W. (1997) Writing about emotional experiences as a therapeutic process. Psychological Science, 8, 162–166. 12 Harber, K. D., & Pennebaker, J. W. (1992) Overcoming traumatic memories. In The Handbook of Emotion and Memory: Research and Theory (ed. S.-Ã…. Christianson), pp. 359–387. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 13. Stein, N., Folkman, S., Trabasso, T., & Richards, T. A. (1997). Appraisal and goal processes as predictors of psychological well-being in bereaved caregivers. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 72 (4), 872-884. 14. See also Stein, N. L., Sheldrick, R. A., & Broaders, S. C. (1999). Predicting psychological well-being from beliefs and goal- 11 appraisal processes during the experience of emotional events. In Goldman, S., Van den Broek, P. L., & Graesser, A. (Eds.), Essays in Honor of Tom Trabasso. Mahweh, NJ: LEA for more on the relationship between depression and goal-formation. 15. Elovainio, M., & Kivimäki, M. (1996). Occupational stresses, goal clarity, control, and strain among nurses in the Finnish health care system. Research in Nursing and Health, Vol. 19, 517-524. 16. Stein, N. L., Sheldrick, R. A., & Broaders, S. C. (1999). Predicting psychological well-being from beliefs and goal-appraisal processes during the experience of emotional events. In Goldman, S., Van den Broek, P. L., & Graesser, A. (Eds.), Essays in Honor of Tom Trabasso. Mahweh, NJ: LEA. 17. Gray, J. (1982). The neuropsychology of anxiety. New York: Cambridge University Press.; Panksepp, J. (1998). Affective neuroscience. New York: Oxford University Press. 18. Sheldon, K. M., & Houser-Marko, L. (2001). Self-concordance, goal attainment, and the pursuit of happiness: Can there be an upward spiral? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 80 (1), 152-165. 19. Sheldon, K. M., & Elliot, A. J. (1999). Goal striving, need-satisfaction, and longitudinal well-being: The self-concordance model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 76, 482-497. 20. Ibid., pg. 163. Deci, E., & Fujita, F. (1995). A motivational approach to self: Integration in personality. In R. Dienstbier (Ed.), Nebraska Symposium on Motivation: Vol. 38. Perspectives on motivation (pp. 237-288). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. 21. For example, Locke, E. A., Shaw, K. N., Saari, L. M., & Latham, G. P. (1981). Goal setting and task performance: 1969–1980. Psychological Bulletin, Vol. 90 (1), 125-152, Latham, G. P., & Locke, E. A. (1991). Self-regulation through goal setting. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Vol. 50, 212-247, and Latham, G. P. (2001). The reciprocal effects of science and practice, insights from the practice and science of goal setting. Canadian Psychology, Vol. 42 (1), 1-11. 22. Locke, E. A. (1964). The relationship of intentions to motivation and affect. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY; Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (1990). A theory of goal setting and task performance. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice–Hall. 23. Latham, G. P., & Locke, E. A. (1991). Self-regulation through goal setting. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Vol. 50, 212-247. 24. Latham, G. P., & Kinne, S. B. (1974). Improving job performance through training in goal setting. Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 59, 187-191. 25. Latham, G. P., & Balders, J. J. (1975). The “practical significance” of Locke’s theory of goal setting. Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 60, 122-124. 26. Latham, G. P., Mitchell, T. R., & Dossett, D. L. (1978). The importance of participative goal setting and anticipated rewards on goal difficulty and job performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 63, 163-171. 27. Latham, G. P., & Saari, L. M. (1979). The effects of holding goal difficulty constant on assigned and participatively set goals. Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 22, 163-168; Latham, G. P., & Marshall, H. A. (1982). The effects of self set, participatively set, and assigned goals on the performance of government employees. Personnel Psychology, Vol. 35, 399-404. 28. West, R. L., Welch, D. C., & Thorn, R. M. (2001). Effects of goal-setting and feedback on memory performance and beliefs among older and younger adults. Psychology and Aging, Vol. 16 (2), 240-250. 29. Locke, E. A., & Bryan, J. F. (1969). Knowledge of score and goal level as determinants of work rate. Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 53, 59-65; Locke, E. A., Cartledge, N., & Knerr, C. S. (1970). Studies of the relationship between satisfaction, goal setting, and performance. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, Vol. 5, 135-158. 30. Locke, E. A., Cartledge, N., & Knerr, C. S. (1970). Studies of the relationship between satisfaction, goal setting, and performance. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, Vol. 5, 135-158. 31. Latham, G. P., & Saari, L. M. (1979). The importance of supportive relationships in goal setting. Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 64, 151-156. 32. Pham, L. B., & Taylor, S. E. (1999). 33. Oettingen, G., Pak, H., & Schnetter, K. (2001). Self-regulation of goal setting: Turning free fantasies about the future into binding goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 80 (5), 736-753. 34. Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social-cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall; Bandura, A., & Schunk, D. H. (1981). Cultivating competence, self-efficacy, and intrinsic interest through proximal selfmotivation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 41, 586-598.

###

Saturday, August 25, 2018

REVIEW of ROBODOCS




RoboDocs 
What your future robot-doctor may lack in warmth and bedside manner, it is likely to make up for in knowledge and accuracy, and you are likely to become as accustomed to it as you now are with the many other high-tech innovations of the 21st century.

Dr. T. "Gus" Gustafson has written a fine medical novel based in the near-future, a novel that chronicles the lives of  Hal Phillips, high school genius, Eagle Scout, MD, and his beloved eventual wife, Sarah, as they try to make medical history by establishing a successful rural American medical practice largely based on robotics and Artificial Intelligence.

This engaging novel has the feel of a memoir. Its readers are carried along with the personal stories while being introduced to the training of doctors in the present era and a decade or two to come. The detailed exposition shows the author's deep familiarity with his medical profession, and Dr. Gustafson is candid about its strengths and weaknesses, but he ends up being quite optimistic about its future.

I found his perspective convincing and share his hopes for the increased use of sophisticated technology by all those in the medical profession, while they maintain the ethos of caring and carefulness.

We needn't fear the medical technology of the future. We should embrace it, though some of the robodocs may be a bit too rigid to hug.









Friday, August 24, 2018

WHAT EVER HAPPENED...? Psychological "Triggers"





     There are SO many things that take place each day that trigger me. This could actually be the largest chapter in this book. But – to save time (and to keep the chapters as brief as possible since that’s how I now read best, another symptom of brain injury), I’ll share only some of my “favorites.” The following list is what has upset me the most when others have dealt with me post-brain injury.

     Some folks I write about here are total strangers, but the sadder part is that many of these examples are by people who should know better, since they know I have permanent brain damage.

     The first example I’m presenting happened Christmastime 2015. The person who triggers me practically every time he speaks to me will remain nameless, but my editor’s name for him is “Trigger.” Suffice it to say, that in his position, he should know better. I think he actually thinks he’s being funny when he teases me. But what I think is that he should respond more appropriately because of being informed by a letter from my doctor about how to handle me best.

     He thinks it’s funny to tell me to go write something down in my notebook, though it’s been explained that my notetaking is the way I process information. Others who overhear him teasing me tell me it is the devil who’s playing with my brain (i.e., letting this person “get” to me). Whether it is the devil or not, any person in a leadership position should never purposefully make someone feel awkward. I will take notes forever so I can remember the day’s events. It’s not a joking matter.

          In the book Where is the Mango Princess? A Journey Back from Brain Injury, by Cathy Crimmins, such note-taking is titled a “compensatory strategy” which, for her husband after his brain injury, was an appointment book and “to do” lists. All of these I use diligently to make sense of my life. [I’ve listed MANY helpful quotes from this book in my recommended readings chapter at the end of my book; please check them out; her book is excellent.]

     Another trigger for me is when Trigger teases me about other things. Once when he was trying to line up a table in the middle of a large room, instead of just asking me to help him, he said “Oh – you’re the perfect person for this job because you like everything perfectly even!” Now – some people would be able to react on an even keel to that sentence. I, on the other hand, am way-too-sensitive since my brain injury, and what I actually hear is him pointing out how annoying my personality is….

     Once when I was looking for someone at this location, the same leader said, “He is hiding from you” (and then he giggled). Again – that irritated me, because I interpreted that to mean that other person wanted to get away from me. Remember, this leader was filled in on how to speak carefully to me. He’s book-smart, but he lacks the skills to take care of others who need his help the most.

I’ve lost sleep over the decision to include these examples here for others to read, because some folks in my life who have listened to me report my feelings after these episodes will know who I am referring to here (though I never stated his name or job title). That may not sit well with them, but I obviously decided that was okay because the reason I’m writing this book is to help others take better care of the brain-injured.

So, please, stop teasing, kidding, giggling, etc., at someone who has a hard time accepting those behaviors. Show compassion, love, and warmth. That’s what God has instructed us all to do. Remember a brain injury is not always easily recognizable.

As one of my doctors stated, “It’s a shame that you go to that place for support and this is what you get.”

     Another public place where I am often triggered is restaurants. For some unexplainable reason, I have EXCELLENT hearing nowadays. Unfortunately, that means I overhear things I truly wish I had not.

     One thing that far too many people do that really grosses me out is when we’re all seated near one another eating our various menu selections at a restaurant, diner, or even fast-food place, certain families find it acceptable to discuss disgusting subjects such as “Aunt Mary’s surgery” with all the blood, guts, and gory details, as I’m trying to enjoy my forkful. I would “love” to join in their conversation and tell them they’re not in their own kitchen or dining room, so could they please stop discussing bodily functions while the rest of us are trying to enjoy our meal. But, I don’t say anything, and then I just get angrier and angrier. I’ve stormed off to the restroom many times so I don’t create a scene for all of the people there – many of whom are oblivious to what’s going on. I just wish others would think of others instead of just themselves…. [Ironically – as I was writing about this trigger, a group of my own friends did this about someone’s hospital stay. I rudely interrupted my friend who was speaking and asked her to stop. When I explained why, another friend at our table said no one could hear us. I vehemently disagreed. Please stop talking about medical issues when people are eating!]

     Another conversation I overheard at a restaurant was about a suicide. This family had gone out to eat to discuss what had recently taken place in their family. Of course, this conversation shouldn’t have been listened to by anyone else, so I asked the hostess if Aiden and I could move to another table in the back so that they would have their privacy.

     None of my doctors have been able to explain, to my understanding, why my hearing is so pronounced since the surgery. All I do know is that I’ve definitely heard things that others would wish I hadn’t. And then, there are folks who say mean things about me since my brain surgery who don’t care if I hear it or not.  Once, I heard a lawyer call me a “wacko” at someone else’s court appearance. This tortured me for days and days! This superb hearing has only been the case since my brain surgery. (My editor and I discussed the possibility that it is not hearing, but attention, which has changed.)

     To digress for a moment, one time my excellent hearing actually helped a feuding couple. I was out celebrating a friend’s birthday at a very noisy restaurant. A few booths away from our large table, a couple was arguing about menu selections at Panera Bread (where she wanted to go for lunch the next day). I heard her stating what she wanted to order at Panera Bread the following day, and I heard his emphatic retorts about how wrong she was, and that that place did not serve that particular item. I knew she was correct, because I had eaten there earlier that same day.

     Instead of minding my own business, I left my table, walked a few tables away to this couple’s booth and said that I couldn’t help but overhear their conversation about Panera Bread’s menu. I told the man his wife was correct, and she smiled at me and said, “Thank you very much.”

     After the husband stopped staring at me (probably because who does that: walk up to strangers and interrupt their discussion?), the two of them stopped fighting, giggled at my bizarre behavior, and as I watched them for the rest of their time there, they enjoyed talking. So – sometimes my good hearing is helpful.

     But, now let’s get back to what triggers me….

Back to that place where I’m supposed to go to feel better, I actually get teased by others, too, though I’ve been frequently verbal about my brain injury and my inability to deal well with teasing. These are just some of the sentences that others there have said to me [I’ve explained what some of these were in reference to. Some do not need an explanation. I’m sure you can figure out why they bothered me]:

·       “Aren’t you embarrassed by how many Mickey Mouses you own?”
·       “You should use your brain.”
·       “You have too much stuff.”
·       “Why do you carry all those bags?”
·       “Where’s your baggage?” [She’s mocking me for often bringing bags of stuff for kids there. The same person told me to go back to my car to get my bags when she saw me empty-handed. I told her they were inside already. She giggled at her teasing. I fumed, since in those bags I carry toys for little ones.]
·       “Let’s have Janet be our union organizer.” [When some of us were told that some volunteers are actually paid for what they do. This woman who said that thinks she’s being funny, but I don’t. I’m no one’s boss and teasing me about that hurts. Remember – I used to have one to six teacher assistants and/or aides in my classrooms, so I USED to be in charge. Now all I get to do is volunteer. I do miss the responsibility of leadership. I love being with the children.  Children are my favorite people. Some of the adults, though, really get under my skin….]
In other settings where I think I should be loved unconditionally, or, at the very least, be understood, I still have to make my way through hurtful comments. Here’s a small sample of some of those:

·       “Let me see if you have a screw loose.”
·       “You’re so very busy that you can’t pick up the phone?”
·       “You put baked goods in your Mickey Mouse container to make it look like you baked?” [No – I go to bake sales, wait on lines, spend my money and then bring the goodies to this meeting for us all to enjoy. I’m very candid that I don’t bake. Why can’t you just be grateful?]
·       “Sarcasm isn’t necessary.” [This was her response when I was asking a texted question when I didn’t understand her words. This should have been my final text, since I threw my cell phone, broke it one more time, and then the doctors told me no more texting after I fixed my cell phone].
·       “You should be happy to be alive. Why do you get so upset over the littlest thing?” [Would you ask someone in a wheelchair a question like that? We all have some different burdens to carry.]
·       “You don’t know how to use your own camera?” [I have a hard time remembering instructions.]
·       “I thought you were on a diet.” [I was buying a cupcake, and a woman on the line overheard the person in my life who said that to me, and this stranger retorted, “How rude!” Thank you, lady-who-likes-cupcakes!]
·       “Not all of us celebrate birthdays.” [I wished “Susan” a happy birthday, since the next day it was Susan’s and no one in Susan’s family mentioned it, and so someone else from that family had to point their non-celebrating of birthdays out to me. Ironically, the next day, the person who was quoted here, “Sally,” asked her relatives for a purse for her birthday. So much for Sally’s “theory” that they don’t celebrate birthdays, huh?]
·       “You don’t sound brain-injured.” [Said by someone reluctant to accommodate my needs.]
·       “You wear baggy pants.”
·       “That’s ridiculous.” [I was scared to pick up a dead mouse on the floor of the church I visited for a workshop.]
·       “I wish I had meds to help me like that.” [I don’t appreciate someone laughing off my need for a controlled substance. I’m not proud when I have to take these meds to help me stay calm. I know tons of people who do calm themselves without needing help from a pill. God and I talk about this every time I go to swallow one. I pray for the day that I will have “thicker skin” and don’t get so hurt by the thoughtlessness of others….]
·       “Your Mickey Mouse clothes are strange.”
·       “You dominated the last meeting.” [The saddest part about this sentence is that it was stated at a support group. I didn’t remember talking too much at our last meeting, but, in her opinion, I did. I was mortified when it was pointed out this way. For the rest of this meeting, I only spoke when spoken to. I took a break from that group, so I could re-group.]
·       “The last time I saw you, we talked about that. Why don’t you remember?” [Because I have memory problems! Why don’t YOU remember that?!]
·       “I’m just kidding with you.” [Usually – that’s a masked expression for teasing.]
·       “You are too young to wear a bib.” [I have bibs at my house, had one at Aiden’s house, and in our cars. In restaurants, I use a napkin tucked into my shirt. All of this is because half of my upper lip has no sensation in it whatsoever since the brain surgery. I dribble food and drinks each time I eat, so I use the bibs now because I always got stains on my clothes. When I’m spoken to this way, I’d love to ask that person if they’ve ever had anesthesia do damage to their lip! I assume they say it because some elderly people use bibs???]
·       “You’re over-reactive.” [Yes – I am, but since you’ve been told that by my doctor and me several times, you really don’t need to point it out one more time. I got it!]
·       “You’re here for the food? I thought you were dieting.” [By the way – staring at desserts doesn’t make you a cheater on your diet.]
·       “Aren’t you almost done with that book?” [Said to me teasingly only eight months after I began writing. Have you ever written a book? It takes a lot of time!]
·       “Your dog is a real pain.” [No – you are. My dog is my lifeline!]
·       “I don’t know if you are capable of learning.”

I’ve heard of the following words being insensitively said to other brain-injured people’s families. I believe these are very rude:
·       “Your daughter can’t think.” [Yes, she can!]

·       “Your husband is I.P.” [“I.P.” stood for “incapacitated person,” which is not true!]

And here are some more things that also bother me:
·       Various songs on the radio. [They bring me back to a place and time that wasn’t good. For example – there is a group called “One Direction” that my niece G. loved. Any time their song, “The Story of My Life,” comes on, I weep. It’s a beautiful song that reminds me of what I don’t have – a relationship with either of my nieces….]
·       Running over an animal when driving, a bird flying into the windshield when someone else is driving, stepping on a worm…. [I am hyper-sensitive around all living creatures now. I’m not saying I didn’t care about these situations before, but nowadays, I cry out loud if I run over a squirrel or a bird hit Aiden’s windshield when he drove, or I step on a worm while I’m walking my dog, Happy. All of these examples are natural parts of life, but since my brain was injured, these situations take on a whole new category of things that are “odd” about me.]
·       The behavior of others gets under my skin way too easily. I wish there were a “pill” to grow thicker skin. But, in the meantime, I have to learn to ignore: the folks stealing sugar packets galore (bag loads) from my coffee stop; some workers at grocery store registers who talk so fast about my bill and then get annoyed with me when I can’t answer them right away; people who enjoy playing board games, invite me to join in, and then get annoyed with me when their chosen game triggers my emotions (since some board games use vocabulary that unsettles me too easily, but I try to play along because I want to be around others); the rude, fresh words of others way too often; people who allow their cell phones’ ring tones to disturb others nearby anywhere out in public; staff at some doctors’ offices who clearly could not care less about the feelings of their patients and are just there for a paycheck….
Once, a woman who turned her cell phone on more than once in a movie theater was asked (politely) by Aiden to please turn it off when she did it the second time (he ignored it the first time). She did, but then used it one more time anyway. After the movie ended, I heard her call Aiden an “idiot” when she was telling her movie companion that she only had it on for a few seconds (no –it was on longer than that.)

I flipped out! I can’t stand people who break the rules and then blame the person who called them on it. She kept saying to me, “I’ll pray for you,” sarcastically, as I told her off.

No honey, I’ll pray for you that you learn how to behave better.

I had heard of adult bullies before, but this incident reminds me of name-callers on the playground years ago. She was confronted and then turned on the person who did nothing wrong. Sad.

How about when you go to the movies you “leave the world behind” and turn off your cells, so we can all enjoy our few hours away from it all?

At another time, on Christmas Day of 2016, I went to church very early to set up a table with crayons and coloring sheets for the little ones so they would have something to do during the service since their class was cancelled due to the holiday.

After I did that, I was about to set up the sometimes-weekly donation I bring of goodies to eat after church. Because it was Christmas Day, I brought a bit more for the folks to munch on after the service (peppermint Oreos, mini candy canes, and bake sale cookies.)

As I was about to unload it all, I noticed the coffee wasn’t being set up as it usually is. So, I asked a greeter if we were having our Community Fellowship Hour (as it was written in the bulletin).

Her response was with an unfriendly tone of voice: “No! It’s Christmas.”

I said, “I know, and that’s why I really thought we’d have it. That’s why I am different than others,” something I’d rather not have others point out.

She then said a sentence that rocked me to the core, to the point that I had to take meds before church even began. Her words made me feel really lonely. “You’re single. These families here have to hurry out of here to celebrate with their families.”

That was an upsetting thing to point out. I KNOW I’m not married. I KNOW I don’t have children or grandchildren. I KNOW my family lives in Florida and they probably won’t be calling me today like they haven’t for other Christmases. I DON’T need it pointed out just because I asked a simple coffee question.

Words can really hurt, can’t they?

Friends at church came to my aid. One offered to drive me home. Others sat with me and let me vent so I could focus on the music and sermon.

 [By the way, people DID linger the usual amount of time after that Christmas morning service, 20-25 minutes, and ALL the cookies and candy canes were eaten except one!]

This list could go on and on for a very long time. I’m quite sure that I trigger others, as well. What one doctor has told me to do (which I’m still working on) is: when I’m triggered, either leave the situation or shut up. I actually have a sign on the back of my front door that reads, “Shut up!” I look at it each time I exit. I hope someday reading it actually works for me….

And some people can be kinder towards me. A woman at my condo said, “You get a free pass for not getting everything right.” Amen!






For the coming year, I [Douglas Winslow Cooper] will be
excerpting, weekly, material from this almost-final version of the fine book by Janet Johnson Schliff, M.S. Ed., which she wrote over a three-year period with some coaching and editing help from me, through my business, Write Your Book with Me.

Her memoir is now available in paperback and ebook formats from Outskirts Press  and amazon.com


                                              ###


BOOK TALKS AND SIGNINGS

Janet Johnson Schliff was on WKNY  Radio 1490 at 9:10 a.m. on Thursday, March 1, Kingston, NY.

Janet spoke at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 3 at Barnes & Noble in Kingston, NY. I [DWC] attended, along with about 40 other people. Congratulations to Janet on a fine talk!

Janet Johnson Schliff spoke at the Starr Library in Rhinebeck, NY, at 7 p.m. on March 6. 


She spoke at the Golden Notebook Bookstore in Woodstock, NY, at 2 p.m. on March 17. 


She spoke at the Morton Library in Rhinecliff, NY, at 6:30 p.m. on March 28. 


She spoke at RCAL in Kingston, NY, at 4 p.m. on April 3. I was able to attend. They gave her an impromptu book-launch party.

On 4/4/18 Janet spoke at the Parkinson's Support Group at the Starr Library at Rhinebeck at 2:30 p.m.

On 4/27/18 Janet spoke at the Stone Ridge Library at 5:30 p.m.

On 5/4/18 Janet spoke at the Hurley Library at 6 p.m.

On 5/9/18 Janet spoke at the Kingston Library at 6 p.m.

On 5/14/18 Janet spoke at the Staatsburg Library at 7 p.m.

On 5/31/18 Janet spoke at the Clinton Community Library at 6:30 p.m.


On 6/9/18 Janet spoke at the Tannersville Mountain Top Library at noon.

On 6/11/18 Janet spoke at the Gardiner Library at 7 p.m.


On 6/20/18 Janet spoke at the Marbletown Community Center at 6 p.m.


On 7/13/18 Janet spoke at the Esopus Library at 7 p.m.

On 7/20/18 Janet spoke at the Pine Plains Library at 6 p.m.

On 7/23/18 Janet spoke at the Ulster Library at 5:30 p.m.


On 8/11/18 Janet spoke at the Northern Dutchess Bible Church in Red Hook at 1:00 p.m.

On 9/06/18 Janet will be at the Inquiring Minds Bookstore in New Paltz at 7 p.m.

On 9/15/18 Janet will be at the Adriance Library in Poughkeepsie (93 Market St.) at 2:30 p.m.

On 9/22/18 Janet will again be at the Tannersville Mountain Top Library, at noon.

More signings will be coming up. A fine feature about Janet by John DeSantos [845 LIFE] appeared in the Middletown Times Herald-Record on Monday, March 12, as part of Brain Injury Awareness Month. An article about her book was just published in the May 2018 Living Rhinebeck Magazine. An article about her book appeared in the May 14 Daily Freeman of Kingston, NY. and another in the Family Life section of the Poughkeepsie Journal on June 8th. The Millerton News published an article on Thursday, August 2, about her talk at the Pine Plains Library.