-----Original Message-----
From: owner-epl259au05rick@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu
[mailto:owner-epl259au05rick@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu]On Behalf Of Rick
Mosholder
Sent: Monday, October 10, 2005 11:18 AM
To: epl259au05rick@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu
Subject: 259D - week 4a


Hello everyone,

For many of you, Modules 3 through 5 will be the most important parts of the
class. Successful completion will require you to reflect on your own
confidence and think about how you interpret, and therefore control, what
happens in your life. This is stuff we all should know about if we're going
to have the best chance to be happy and successful. There's a lot of work
involved, but lots of good stuff can come from it.

Module 3 is about Overcoming Procrastination.

Almost all of us procrastinate. For some of us this "habit of mind"
seriously gets in the way of what we hope to accomplish. Changing your
procrastination habit can be accomplished through a three-step process:
1)Realize you procrastinate; 2) Realize there is enough time; and
3)Understand the thinking process behind these behaviors and develop
concrete ways to overcome them

The first step requires you to understand the difference between your
rationalizations and the real reasons for procrastinating. Rationalizations
enable you to say to yourself "It's not my fault". Whenever you find
yourself thinking that ask: "Whose fault is it"? Most often you will find
that you have a lot more control over the process and outcome than you'll
initially admit to yourself.

The Real Reasons for procrastinating on your schoolwork generally can be
grouped into three areas: 1) Lack of self-confidence; 2) Low frustration
tolerance (laziness); 3) Hostility. Your book can help you figure out how
each might apply to you. The main point of Module 3 is to differentiate your
rationalizations from your real reasons and to monitor your thoughts.

Certain of the Strategies for Achievement are particularly good for
procrastination "busting". These include: 1) Use Feedback to Fight Back
(Keep track of your time); 2) Search the Environment (Ask others how they
use their time); 3) Take Reasonable Risk (Set goals and break big tasks into
Bite Size Pieces); 4) Take Responsibility (Think Positive and Plan)

Module 4:

Module 4 is about Self Efficacy Theory. Using this theory as a framework,
researchers have shown that those who believe in their capacity to
accomplish a goal are more likely to be motivated, i.e. undertake the
necessary steps, to accomplish that goal. Its also about what's called the
Self-System in psychology: our thoughts, behaviors, and the environment
mutually affect each other. What these two theories tell us is that
confidence is a function of what we think of ourselves.

If you are self-confident, you are much more likely to be successful. People
with confidence exhibit more effort and more persistence in the face of
adversity. The opposite of self-confidence is learned helplessness. Success
leads to self-confidence. Lack of success leads to learned helplessness.
Everyone can use a little confidence boost on occasion. Nothing creates a
feeling that something can be done like actually doing it. JUST DO IT!
Correctly.

Changing Your Thinking:

If you want to be more successful, you may need to change your thinking. A
great place to start is by focusing on getting the most out of now. People
who live in the past and future often fill their heads with negative
thoughts. Keep Track of those negative thoughts.

Techniques to Build Self-Confidence:

Write a Positive Self-Talk script to counteract negative thoughts. Block
fear producers from your awareness (think of something else)and use
relaxation techniques to regulate your emotional control and reduce your
drive to avoid things you find scary or dull.

Other people can give you clues about how to be successful: pick successful
people who are similar to you and model your behavior after theirs. Choose
Reasonable Risks, i.e. tasks that are of moderate difficulty compared to
your abilities. Set goals to accomplish these tasks and plan to attack them
in Bite Size Pieces.

Grading:

Whenever I take off points in the Module assignments, I'll leave an
annotation so you can see why. Just click on the assignment to see the
annotation. For multiple-choice answers, your answer is marked with an
asterisk, and the correct answer is in italics.

You can now see your grades for Modules 1 and 2, Portfolios 1 and 2, and
Discussion 1 in Gradebook. Total points possible with these assignments is
148 out of 1042 for the entire class. Credit for assignments does not appear
prior to the assignment closing date.

Rick