The Choice is Yours

1. The Choice is Yours Chapter 2

2. Have you ever had the question… • Why am I the way I am? • The answer may be in the issues between determinism vs. free will • Determinism – we are governed by outside forces • Free will we are a result of the choices we make

3. Determinism • Everything that occurs in nature has a cause • Behaviors may be the product of a causal relationship, and therefore, determined • The belief in cause and effect relationships • According to determinism, all human actions are caused by something, even if we are oblivious to these causative factors

4. Free Will • Humans can and do typically ignore determining factors (such as genetics or environmental influences) and freely choose how and when to act.

5. Determinism vs. Free Will • Theories of personality on the determinism side • Biological (Genetic Determinism) • Freudian (Psychic Determinism) • Behavioral (Environmental Determinism) • Theories of personality on the free will side • Cognitive Behavioral • Humanism • Existentialism

6. Proactivity • Think of the word, responsibility when you look at proactivity • The most important paradigm guiding the behavior of effective individuals • As human beings, we are responsible for our lives • Best said in the poem, Invictus

7. Invictus Out of the night that covers me Black as the Pit from pole to pole I thank whatever gods maybe For my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody but unbowed. Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the horror of the shade And yet the menace of the years Finds and shall find me unafraid. It matters not how strait the gate How charged with punishment the scroll I am the Master of my fate I am the Captain of my soul. -- William Earnest Henley

8. Locus of Control • External locus of controls • See themselves as victims, buffered and abused by eternal events over which they have no control • Passive in that “things are done to me” • Internal locus of controls • See themselves as responsible for their ultimate outcomes in their lives • They espouse to Invictus philosophy • Do the Student Locus of Control Inventory on page 26

9. Three ways to increase proactivity • Focusing on Your thoughts (negative vs positive) • More than 80% of the things we worry about never happen • Focusing on Your Language • Using “I” statements instead of “The devil made me do it” • Focusing on Your Actions • Making promises and keeping them • Setting small goals and working to achieve them.

10. Irrational Self-talk • Catastrophizing • Automatic thoughts (by Ellis) or Self-talk • Self-talk is circular, beginning with events in the environment. • Environmental events to sensory input perceptions to interpretations, cognitions or self talk to the emotional-physical systems

11. Cognitive Restructuring • Get irrational beliefs such as everyone has to like me and change that to a more realistic belief, “it’s okay.” • Challenge irrational beliefs by asking: • Is there any reason to think that this belief is true? • Is there evidence that this belief might not be true? • If I reject this belief, what is the worst that could happen to me • If I reject this belief, what good things might happen as a result? Exercise on page 31

12. Correlation vs Causation • Just because two things occur together, that alone does not offer proof that one has caused the other • Spurious correlation – perceiving a correlation or relationship between things that really does not exist.

13. Optimism • Do scale on page 35 • How to become an optimist • Look for evidence • Generate other alternatives • Realistically assess the implications • Evaluate usefulness • Face the problem squarely • Develop a plan • Accept the reality of the situation • Learn to grow from adversity

14. Assignment • Exercises on page 41 • Answer short answer questions • Choose one essay on page 42