2 | 1 Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Strategies for Creating Success in College and in Life On Course Chapter 2 ACCEPTING PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY

2 | 2 Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. A CCEPTING P ERSONAL R ESPONSIBILITY Do you accept personal responsibility for creating the life you want? Are you a successful student?  Have you adopted a creator mindset by believing that your choices create the outcomes and experiences of your life?  Have you mastered creator language, accepting personal responsibility for the results?  Do you make wise decisions, consciously designing the future you want?

2 | 3 Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. C RITICAL T HINKING : F OCUS Q UESTIONS A DOPTING A C REATOR M INDSET What is self-responsibility? Why is it the key to creating the life you want?

2 | 4 Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. T HE V ICTIM M INDSET A Victim Mindset causes people to believe that what happens to them is out of their control, that their outcomes and experiences are determined by such things as luck and other people. Read the following statements and decide if they represent someone with a Victim Mindset.  I could never go to college. I don’t even know the first thing about getting started.  I wish the college wasn’t so far from my house. I can’t go to school until I get a car.  I have never filled out a college application, but I can go to the school and ask for help. Yes No

2 | 5 Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. T HE C REATOR M INDSET A Creator Mindset causes people to believe they control their own destiny by the wisdom of their choices (even though this belief is not always true). Read the following statements and decide if they represent someone with a Creator Mindset.  I have never been good in math, so I know I wouldn’t be able to pass the college entrance exam.  My best friend's party is this weekend. I think I will do my homework on Friday instead of on Sunday.  I used all my money paying rent and can’t afford to buy my textbooks. I may have to drop out of college. No Yes No

2 | 6 Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. R OSA P ARKS In 1955, Rosa Parks, an African American woman, was ordered by a bus driver to give up her seat to a white passenger. Parks refused and was arrested. A few days later, African Americans began a boycott of Montgomery buses that ended when the laws requiring segregation on public buses was lifted.  Break into small groups and discuss how this story relates to having a Creator Mindset. Be prepared to give a brief summary of your group’s discussion. Remember to Dive Deep in your thinking.

2 | 7 Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. A CTIVITY : R ESPONSIBILITY AND C ULTURE Imagine an imaginary line from one side of the room to the other. This line represents a continuum of beliefs about personal responsibility. One end represents the belief that you determine your own destiny (internal locus of control). The other end represents the belief that fate or other people determine your destiny (external locus of control).  Choose a place to stand on the line that best represents your beliefs.  Talk with the people standing next to you on the “line” and find out if there are similarities between you with regard to culture (e.g., ethnicity, race, religion).  What did you discover?

2 | 8 Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. R ESPONSIBILITY AND C HOICE Q UOTATION “When you make the shift to being the predominate creative force in your life, you move from reacting and responding to the external circumstances of your life to creating directly the life you truly want.” ~Robert L. Fritz  Write about a time when you either did or did not act as if you are the “predominate creative force in your own life.”  How did this choice affect your life?

2 | 9 Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

2 | 10 Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. S ELF T ALK : T HE I NNER C RITIC The Inner Critic is the internal voice that judges us as inadequate, blames us for whatever is wrong in life, and can find fault with anything about us. Watch the video in the link below and count how many times the character makes an Inner Critic statement.  HRs/1 HRs/1 Did you count 15 Inner Critic statements? If not, go back and listen again

2 | 11 Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. S ELF T ALK : T HE I NNER D EFENDER The Inner Defender judges, blames, complains, accuses, criticizes and condemns others.  Write about a time that either you or someone else made Inner Defender statements.  Break into groups of 3-4 and discuss your examples.  Also discuss: What lessons can you learn from these examples that can help you be a success in college?

2 | 12 Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. S ELF T ALK Divide into 2 groups and discuss how the Inner Critic and Inner Defender are similar and different? Be prepared to share your findings with the class.

2 | 13 Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. S ELF T ALK : I NNER G UIDE The Inner Guide seeks to make the best of any situation and knows that judgments do not improve difficult situations.  Give an example of when you faced a difficult situation and your Inner Guide helped you to make a wise choice.  What was the outcome or experience of your choice?

2 | 14 Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. T HE L ANGUAGE OF R ESPONSIBILITY Look over the qualities of Victim and Creator language in the chart below. What are some benefits of using Creator language? Victim LanguageCreator Language Focuses on weaknessesFocuses on how to improve Makes excusesSeeks solutions ComplainsTurns complaints into requests Compares oneself unfavorably to others Seeks help from those more skilled BlamesAccepts responsibility Sees problems as permanentTreats problems as temporary Repeats ineffective behaviorsDoes something new TriesDoes Predicts defeat and give upThinks positively and looks for a better choice

2 | 15 Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. T HE L ANGUAGE OF R ESPONSIBILITY Change the following Victim language to Creator language Our classroom is so cold, I can’t even concentrate. I don’t want to be distracted by being cold, so I’ll bring an extra sweater to wear during class. My roommate bothers me every night and I can’t study. I know my roommate is going to want to talk when I get home, so I’ll study in the library before I leave campus. The gym is always so crowded that I can’t work out. The gym has been really crowded the last few times I went, so I am going to go at a different time and see if there are fewer people there then. No matter how hard I study, I’m just no good in chemistry. I find chemistry to be challenging, so I’ll go to the chem lab and find out if there’s a tutor who will help me.

2 | 16 Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. C RITICAL T HINKING : F OCUS Q UESTIONS M AKING W ISE D ECISIONS How can you improve the quality of the decisions you make? How can you take full responsibility for the outcomes and experiences in your life?

2 | 17 Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. T HE W ISE C HOICE P ROCESS The Wise Choice Process is a 6 step decision making model that empowers you take full responsibility for creating the life you want.  Step 1: What is my present situation?  Step 2: How would I like my situation to be?  Step 3: What are my possible choices?  Step 4: What is the likely outcome of each possible choice?  Step 5: Which choice(s) will I commit to doing?  Step 6: When and how will I evaluate my plan?

2 | 18 Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. T HE W ISE C HOICE P ROCESS Think of a problem or challenging situation you are now facing, and write out the first three steps of the Wise Choice Process. Join a partner and exchange papers. Read your partner’s paper and add as many choices as you can think of for Step 3. Exchange papers and continue working through The Wise Choice Process.  Did your classmate come up with good choices that you hadn’t thought of?

2 | 19 Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. P ERSONAL R ESPONSIBILITY AT W ORK If you took responsibility for choosing your ideal career, how could you get more information about possible career choices? Which of the following would be your first choice for getting information to help you decide on a career? Why?  Seek part-time employment doing an entry-level position in a particular career field.  Talk to others presently in a career field.  Research careers online.  Take a career interest inventory.

2 | 20 Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. C RITICAL T HINKING : F OCUS Q UESTION C HANGE YOUR I NNER C ONVERSATION How can you raise your self-esteem by changing your self-talk?

2 | 21 Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. THE CURSE OF STINKIN’ THINKIN’ A + B = C (Activating event + Beliefs = Consequences) Activating Event BeliefConsequence Which “internal voice” does this sound like? Instructor didn’t show up for a meeting. “Instructor thinks I am dumb. I’ll never finish college. I’m a failure.” Got depressed and wasted the evening. Which “internal voice” does this sound like? Instructor didn’t show up for a meeting. “Instructor wont help me. Instructor doesn’t care.” Got angry and spent the night complaining to friends.

2 | 22 Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. STINKIN’ THINKIN’ & STEREOTYPE THREAT Using A+B=C when faced with Stereotype Threat Activating Event BeliefConsequence Female student taking a math test. Women are not good in math.What do you think the consequence would be in this scenario? Female student gets anxious, distracted and forgets everything she studied.

2 | 23 Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. D ISPUTING I RRATIONAL B ELIEFS Become familiar with your inner voice  Dispute irrational beliefs dealing with the stereotype threat that “women are bad in math.” Offer evidence that your judgments are wrong Offer a positive explanation of the problem Question the importance of the problem Offer a plan to improve the situation I did pretty well in high school math and many women have great jobs using math skills everyday. When I excel in math, I’ll have fewer women to compete against for jobs. I don’t have to be the smartest woman in the class, I just have to continue to learn more everyday. What would be a good plan to improve the situation? I’ll study every night, do all homework, ask questions in class, go to tutoring, and see the instructor during office hours.

2 | 24 Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Q UICK R EVIEW The Wise Choice Process has six steps. List as many of them as you can. What is my present situation? How would I like my situation to be? What are my possible choices? What is the likely outcome of each possible choice? Which choice will I commit to doing? When and how will I evaluate my plan?

2 | 25 Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Q UICK R EVIEW Identify each of the following as Inner Critic, Inner Defender or Inner Guide statements I am failing English because the teacher doesn’t know how to explain things clearly. My car has a flat tire. I’ll ask John if he can give me a ride to school tomorrow while the tire is being fixed. I’m too clumsy and slow to be on the soccer team at school; they would laugh at me if I showed up to practice. I know I won’t get the job I interviewed for; I have never been good at answering questions on the spot. My math book is horrible, so there’s no way anyone can pass that course. I know I have a habit of procrastinating, so I’m going straight home today and pay all my bills so I don’t incur late charges. I know I stutter a lot when I get nervous, so I am going to practice my speech at least one hour every day. My friend said he would buy my textbooks for class, but he didn’t. Now I’m going to fail and it’s all his fault. Inner Defender Inner Guide Inner Critic Inner Critic Inner Defender Inner Guide Inner Guide Inner Defender

2 | 26 Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Q UICK R EVIEW Identify each of the following as a Victim Mindset or as a Creator Mindset.  I’ll never pass math. It’s just too hard.  My study group is a waste of time.  I have a meeting with my teacher to discuss how to improve my grades in English.  My coworkers like to gossip a lot; I need to stay to myself so I can get my work done.  My roommates yell a lot when the football game is on so I can never concentrate on my studies. Victim Creator

2 | 27 Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. People respond differently to certain situations. Identify each part of the “A + B = C formula” Q UICK R EVIEW Activating Event Consequence Belief  My instructor didn’t show up for a scheduled meeting.  I’m not sure what went wrong. Sometimes things just don’t turn out the way they were planned.  I need to reschedule with my instructor. Then, I am going to use this time to study for my history class and get ahead in my biology class.

2 | 28 Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. End Chapter Two