Three Forces at Work

For three years Jonathan had put off learning this new sport out of a fear of looking awkward and falling. When he mentioned this desire to his support team one of the members offered to give him a lesson. Together he and this friend went to a large parking lot and spent the afternoon helping him learn how to brake and turn corners. Jonathan was surprised at how quickly he picked up the sport. Afterward, not only did he feel like a million bucks, he was thrilled to be invited on a trip to rollerblade in Central Park with a singles group he had recently joined. Jonathan had the time of his life! Is there a physical challenge you're ready to take? Face a Professional Fear But the research clearly suggests that they had played an integral role. Although their conscious, cognitive system produced the belief that they were merely helping their pupil control his or her muscles, their unconscious, experiential system was likely guiding their pupil's finger toward each letter to spell out meaningful words, phrases, and ideas. Although it initially seemed to provide severely autistic children with a method for communicating with others, facilitated communication was eventually discredited after it was discovered that the adult facilitators were unconsciously shaping the messages that the children typed out. Dual Process Theories The ideas discussed so far--that thinking is governed by two systems of thought--lie behind several theories you'll encounter in this textarticle. These theories are often referred to as dual process theories because they posit two ways of processing information, as outlined in FIGURE 3. They have been developed to explain wide-ranging phenomena, from the attitudes we hold to the inferences we make about why other people act the way they do. Dual process theories Theories that are used to explain a wide range of phenomena by positing two ways of processing information. Are We of Two Minds? The way you begin the motion is by getting started but, most importantly, by completing what you've started. In addition to closing an open loop, completing a task will boost your self-esteem which, in turn, will give you even more motivation to keep moving forward.

In this section, you'll learn how to generate the habit of completing tasks. You'll also learn it can help enhance your self-esteem and boost your motivation, so you can keep moving toward your goals. Complete tasks 100% How often do you start a task and leave it half-finished? If you're like most people, fairly often. Now, do you realize the signal you send to your brain by doing so? You tell it that it's okay not to finish what you start. As you do this repeatedly, you build the habit of quitting. For three years Andrea, a massage therapist, had talked about raising her fees. Compared to her colleagues, Andrea's work was seriously undervalued, and yet she was too afraid to risk losing her existing clients. But the cost of inflation had made it difficult for her to make ends meet, and she finally had to face her fear head on. I suggested that Andrea conduct some research to determine the going rates for massage services. When she reported her findings I challenged her to increase her fees over and above the highest price she had uncovered in her research. Andrea took the challenge and created a letter to send to her clients. Not only did Andrea keep all of her clients, with her courage muscles strengthened she was pleasantly surprised by her new ability to suddenly face other fears that had been tormenting her for years. How will you expand your professional comfort zone? Face a Financial Fear William finally got up enough courage to face the fact that he was seriously in debt. According to dual process theories, thinking is governed by two systems of thought, each of which recruits multiple interrelated brain reactions. The first callout points toward the front of the brain and reads, Cognitive system: Slow;

Infrequent; Uses rule based logic; The second callout points toward the center of brain and reads Experimental System: Fast; Uses implicit associations; Subconscious. To appreciate the gist of these theories, let's analyze what you are doing right now. You made a conscious intention to read your social psych textarticle, and you're following through with it, pushing distracting thoughts about other matters out of your mind. You are able to consciously think about the concepts and ideas you're reading about, and perhaps you are going further to elaborate on that information--that is, think it over, critique it, and compare it with your prior knowledge and experience. This lack of discipline comes with a hefty price: failing to design the life you want. Your ability to finish what you start is one of the most important factors in determining how happy and successful you will eventually become. As we've seen before, unfinished business creates unnecessary clutter that ends up destroying your focus and killing your momentum. Your thoughts will end up all over the place, you will feel overwhelmed and will be unable to progress. In addition, leaving tasks incomplete dramatically decreases your productivity, because you will need to return to the same task until it is completed. Remember, people who maintain a high level of motivation are people who finish what they start. They complete what they begin and feel good as a result. And even though they may be working only on a few projects, in the long term they accomplish far more than most people ever do. If you find yourself not finishing what you start, it might be time to work on solving this issue. Your future self will thank you for that. For months he had been spending money on everything from new clothes to gifts for his friends. When the damage was assessed William was shocked to find that he was more than thirty-five thousand dollars in debt.

He contacted a credit-counseling agency and put a new debt elimination plan in place. Although William learned that it would take him quite a long time to pay back the money, he felt relieved and determined to stay on a smart financial path. What financial fear will you face? Go back and review each category and list the assignments you've chosen here: I will fulfill the following secret dream_____ To stand out from the crowd I will_____ I will tell the truth by_____ I will take a bold step by_____ In each case, you are using the cognitive system to consciously direct your attention, guide your behavior, and make deliberate decisions. At the same time that your cognitive system is busy with rational thinking, your experiential system operates in the background, controlling your more automatic thoughts and behaviors. You might read a sentence about a lazy black dog yawning and lying down and find yourself yawning involuntarily, even though you don't feel the slightest bit tired. Or your favorite song might come on and, before you are consciously aware of it, you find yourself in a better mood. It is because these two systems can operate independently of each other that you can focus on the textarticle while unconsciously responding to other stimuli around you. The two systems have different ways of organizing information. The cognitive system uses a system of rules to fit ideas into logical patterns. Much as your intuitive understanding of English grammar tells you that something is wrong with the statement Store Jane to the goes, your cognitive system uses a type of grammar to detect when ideas fit and don't fit. In this way, it can think critically, plan behavior, and make deliberate decisions. By contrast, the experiential system is guided by automatic or implicit associations among stimuli, concepts, and behaviors that have been learned from experience. Exercise: finish what you start Write a list of your incomplete projects.

How does the list make you feel? Now, remember a time you completed an important project. How did it make you feel? And what happened afterward? Did you feel more motivated? More confident? Destroy Shiny Object Syndrome I believe the inability to stay focused on one course of action for long enough is the prime reason most people fail to achieve their goals. To face a physical fear I will_____ To face a professional fear I will_____ To face a financial fear I will_____ Now you're ready to get to work! Be sure to use your support team. As you embark on building your courage muscles, I'd like to share some advice from my on-line community to make your process easier: Take action quickly. Don't let your anxiety build over time. For example, if you decide to make a long overdue doctor's appointment get in as soon as you can, even if it means putting yourself on a cancellation list. Celebrate your mistakes. Because the experiential system stores a large collection of well-learned associations, it can be used to make rapid, good enough judgments and decisions at times when using the cognitive system's logical style would be too slow and effortful (Epstein, 1990). These mental shortcuts, or rules of thumb, are called heuristics.