John --
It seems to me that when our beliefs/buttons get pushed -- eg going to a
funeral we believe is a sad event therefore we cry -- we will react
according to those beliefs. Victor Frankl's book Man's Search for Meaning
describes a very different way of dealing with situations. In fact, there
are many sources talking about choosing reactions from a place other than
beliefs eg Covey and Argyris. It seems to be our challenge to take a step
further in our development by getting beyond Pavlov's dog cycle of
stimulus-response.
How effective am I at doing this? Sometimes very, sometimes not at all.
But I know when I get into stimulus-response I am into victim mentality
(however acceptable -- eg the funeral example is pretty safe) and cannot
be as effective or creative in the situation. In addition, there is
nothing WRONG with being moved by something. It's all a question of
effectiveness and desire. If it is not critical for me to be a certain
way then I can react and even revel in the reaction. However, if my
reaction is inappropriate and diminshes my effectiveness then that is one
button I would like to clear out. Does this answer your question?
Sherri
sherri@maloufinc.com Tel:603-672-0355
LMA, Inc Fax:603-673-7120
--sherri@maloufinc.com (Sherri Malouf)
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>