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Welcome to Reality Check:
articles and observations inspired by the work of Dr. William GlasserCategories
Category Archives: Choosing Behaviour
Reality Check: Time to Double Down?
Not so long ago, in a place not so far away, a government with the very best intentions wanted to encourage kids to eat in a healthy way. A commendable goal. The question: how might one do this? A program … Continue reading
Posted in Choosing Behaviour
Tagged "should", making choices, self-evaluation
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Reality Check: Habit-Forming
It’s commonly said that it takes 21 days to form a new habit. It’s tempting to believe that if you rigidly adhere to a new behaviour for a set number of days, then it magically becomes engrained in you. You … Continue reading
Posted in Making a Change
Tagged choosing influences, examining wants, happiness, need satisfaction
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Reality Check: The Worry-Weed Patch
Even if you’ve never gardened, you’ve probably noticed that a patch of bare ground doesn’t stay bare for long. Nature doesn’t like empty space. What fills that space? Weeds, of course. Lambs-quarters take up residence in the garden; plantain plants … Continue reading
Posted in Choosing Behaviour
Tagged anxiety, total behaviour, worry
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Reality Check: Scorekeeping and Self-Evaluation
Scorekeeping. We’re all familiar with it. Whether your experience is on the soccer field or at the card table, you know that keeping score can add value to the game. If it didn’t, we wouldn’t keep doing it, right? Fundamentally, … Continue reading
Posted in Choosing Behaviour
Tagged choosing actions, comparing with others, self-evaluation
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Reality Check: Information in Action
Recently, I came across a near-magical convergence of two of my interests (that’s quality assurance and choice theory, of course.) The weekly quote on my favourite quality assurance website was a choice theory quote from Dr. Wm. Glasser! Glasser said, … Continue reading
Posted in Choosing Behaviour
Tagged "should", frustration, offering information
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Reality Check: The Angry Stance
Do you have an automatic mode? That is, do you wake up feeling pretty much the same every day? Is your first reaction to a situation more or less the same, despite whether the situation is positive or negative? Some … Continue reading
Posted in Choosing Behaviour
Tagged "should", criticism, dissatisfaction, perception
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Reality Check: Smart Praise
I have previously suggested that supportive behaviours, such as encouraging and offering recognition, are helpful for building strong relationships. How about praise? Is it an effective way to recognize and encourage? When little Joey started elementary school, he’d already had … Continue reading
Posted in Helping Others
Tagged learning, offering information
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Reality Check: To Choose or Not to Choose?
In recent public service ads, a teenager says something like, “My parents didn’t tell me that driving while high was a bad idea, so it must be ok.” One logical response is, “If your parents didn’t tell you it’s a … Continue reading
Posted in Choosing Behaviour
Tagged "should", guilt, making choices, offering information
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Reality Check: When Positive Thinking Meets External Control
Last post, I suggested that positive thinking can be helpful, but with a caveat—to be effective, it needs to be paired with positive action. So, if positive thinking is good, then shouldn’t everybody get on board? You know, “Turn that … Continue reading
Posted in Helping Others
Tagged "should", choosing thoughts, offering information
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