Week 2

Journal Entry 2

Heyo! Me again. 

  Just thought I'd give you some definitions before I begin.

  Permanence: the quality or state of being permanent

  Pervasive: existing in all parts of something; spreading to all parts of something

  Personal: belonging or relating to a particular person

Okay, now we can get started with item #1: reviewing my test scores! Doesn't that sound like fun? I hope you enjoy it. I know I will! :)

   The Locus of Control

The Locus of Control score shows you where you believe control of your circumstances, outcomes, future, etc. is located. Internally(you) or externally(outside forces)?

  

  I scored a 5 out of 13, which pretty much says that I mostly believe that I decide my own fate.

An internal Locus sounds like me, believing that I'm in control of my own actions, and therefore, my future(to an extent). Of course, God holds the plan for my life, but it's up to me to follow His directions or not.

  The Learned Optimism Test

 The Learned Optimism Test is a bit more complicated.

It grades you by bad and good scores in 3 areas: permanence, pervasiveness, and personalization.

In case the definitions weren't enough, I'll give you a little background on what these mean.

  Permanence relates to the belief that any good or bad thing is permanent, fixed, and unchangeable.

  Pervasiveness means that you think that your faults are fatal(or that your good points are all-redeeming), bleeding through into every aspect of your life.

  Personalization is the idea that things are caused by you, causing you to blame or congratulate yourself for the outcome of any situation concerning you.

 Also(as a side category) is the Stuff of Hope, which is the quality of finding specific and temporary causes for misfortune, which minimizes their impact on your self-worth.

  Got all that? Good.

  Now, on to the scores!.
  My Permanence was low all around, with good only slightly above bad, proving what I expected to hear: that I believe all failure(and victory) is temporary.
  Pervasiveness was in the average for good and low for bad, which tells me that a good victory will propel me forward a bit, and a failure will only slightly discourage me.

  Personalization was high for both good and bad, which i interpret to mean that I always take a circumstance personally, blaming or congratulating myself more than most people would. Possibly, this relates to my internal locus of control?

  Hope was actually slightly above average, which surprised me for sure.

  All in all, I got an average score.

  Not what I wanted to hear, but it sounds a lot like the truth. I was actually kind of hoping to be labeled as more of an optimist, but it is what it is.

  Now, on to the journal prompt! 

  In this activity you will practice the language of personal responsibility. By learning to translate

Victim statements into Creator statements, you will master the language of successful people. 

  Draw a line down the middle of a journal page. On the left side of the line, copy the 10 Victim statements found on this page and the next page.

  On the right side of the line, translate the Victim statements into the words of a Creator.

  

  Since I can't find a way to put lines down the middle of a page on a blog post, I've used a slightly different format. I've put the victim statements in italic, with the creator statements written directly underneath, underlined.

  Here goes!

• 1. If they'd do something about the parking on campus, I wouldn't be late so often.
• I've been having trouble getting to class on time. I'll have to get a parking space early in the day or take alternate transportation. 
•  2. I'm failing my online class because the site is impossible to navigate.
• I don't know how to navigate this site. I'll have to ask for help from someone who does, or take the classes in person.
• 3. I'm too shy to ask questions in class even when I'm confused.
• My shyness is a bit of an issue in this class, but I'd rather make myself look stupid by asking an obvious question than be stupid by never finding out the answer.
• 4. She's a lousy instructor. That's why I failed the first test.
• I'm having problems with trying to learn from this instructor, but there's always another way to learn something.
• 5. I hate group projects because people are lazy and I always end up doing all of the work.
• I have problems working with others in these group projects. If I can lay out their responsibilities for them, maybe it'll motivate us all to do our jobs.
• 6. I wish I could write better, but I just can't.
• I'm going to have to be a better writer to pass this class. I've got to improve sometime, why not today?
• 7. My friend got me so angry that I can't even study for the exam!
• I'm frustrated right now, but I'm at college to learn. If my priorities are in order, I can focus on what matters.
• 8. I'll try to do my best this semester.
• It's not enough to "try to" do my best, I have to DO MY BEST.
• 9. The financial aid form is too complicated to fill out.
• The money for college is right in front of me! It's tough to get to, but there has to be a way. 
• 10. I work nights so I didn't have time to do the assignment.
• I missed an assignment due to poor time management. In the future, I'll have to make the time I need to succeed at college.

  Write what you have learned or relearned about how you use language: is it your habit to speak as a Victim or as a Creator? Do you find yourself more inclined to blame yourself, blame others, or seek solutions?

  Remember to DIVE DEEP!

  I'm starting to think that blaming comes easy for me, whether it's blaming myself or others. I'm starting to  learn that blaming anyone(myself, even) gets me nowhere. What really matters is seeking solutions for my problems. Now that I've discovered my frequent Victim mindset, I can go about correcting it.

  Whoa, there's some deep stuff there.

  Not to mention quite a bit of typing and bulleted lists.

  Okay, that's about it for this week! Before I go, here's a reminder to myself: 

The key to a creator mindset is ownership, and a plan.