Habits of the Mind 2
(Monday)
Context:
To help us clearly see how habits can form patterns, we’ll do an exercise using your daily schedule to demonstrate.
What it is: We’ll start by creating a behavior map. Download a blank behavior map here.
Follow the directions below, or download the instructions and worksheet here.
1) Add four or five places or people you visit during the course of the week. These might include school, the gym, friend’s houses, or your place of work.
2) Draw a line from your house, to and back from each place, for every time you visited that week. It should look like the example below.
Questions
Ask one of your friends or family members (or if you' are in school, classmates) to complete a behavior map as well.
Ask one of your friends or family members (or if you' are in school, classmates) to make inferences about you based on your behavior map. Do the same with their map.
Write down your answers and observations in your journal.
What do you learn about a person’s behavior map.
Looking at the example behavior map above, what can you deduce about Taylor?
1). Based on frequency, who might be her best friend? Tasha or Taryn?
2) Does Taylor work full or part time?
3) Does Taylor care about fitness? How do you know?
Behavior Map of the Mind
In a similar way to the behavior map, we can establish a habit of ‘visiting’ a place or emotion every time we are faced with a specific situation.
Reacting to Situations and People.
When you are faced with specific tasks, what is the habit of your mind? What do you think? How do you feel? Download this example pdf.
• Now let’s do something similar with people. Download this example pdf to see how you may have a pattern or habit of emotional reaction to specific people.
• Finally download the blank Behavior Map and create your own list of people, places, or tasks and possible emotional responses and reactions.
What did you learn about yourself? Do you have a behavioral habit or pattern of becoming angry, scared, or frustrated when faced with specific tasks, situations or people?
The reason why it is so important to identify and map the habits of your mind is so you can decide if your reactions are valid. Or if you are reacting emotionally in a specific way because of something you experienced in the past.
Is it time to move on? To change the way you negatively react to specific people, places, or tasks?
Being able to identify the habits of your mind allows you to become the master of your thoughts and actions.
You choose how to feel and react, rather than reacting without knowing why; out of habit. You are in control. This is a major first step towards the invaluable skill of self-discipline.
Making adjustments to eliminate negative habits of the mind can have a positive shift in your self-esteem and self-confidence. This can in turn have a tremendous impact on your self-discipline.
“There is a direct relationship between self-discipline and self-esteem. The more you practice self-mastery and self-control the more you like and value yourself. The more you discipline yourself the greater is your sense of self-respect and personal pride.” - Neil Schwartz
Metacognitive Goals
Now that you’ve had practice using a behavior map, see if you can map how you feel and react to tasks, places, and people in your life.
This week, try to identify any negative habits, or reactions, that you may need to change.
1) Identify them.
2) Understand them. Why do you react this way? Was there a situation or person when you were younger who made you feel or react this way?
3) Evaluate them. Do you need to always react that way? If not, start to consciously establish a new habit of the mind.
4) Shift them. If your reactions or habits are no longer valid, shift or eliminate them.
Thought of the day.
"If you fail to control your thought, your thought will never fail to control you! Master the art of controlling your thought better and your thought will control you better."
- Ernest Yeboah