AFTB Level 2

The first level focused quite a bit on the military, its workings, and how to move around and get things done within it. The second level is dealing a lot with the self, including such topics today as communication, understanding and working with different personality types, time management, and acknowledging change.

It's interesting that now that we're getting into very personal topics that some of us are having a hard time listening to and really getting involved in them. While the topic of acknowledging change wasn't a difficult one for me to hear and understand, it is a topic that can be very emotional for me. We talked about some of the changes we've experienced and the basic barriers and secrets to success that we can identify and work with when change is actually occurring. The teacher passed out pennies to everyone and we all had to talk about a change that happened in the year that the pennies were minted. I got 2006. I only listed four things (the birth of our third child, Man joining the military, and two moves) but it was enough to give a very basic idea of what sort of year that was.

The lady who sat next to me (not you, M) said that the class on understanding and dealing with different personality types was a very difficult class for her. Yet another young mom had a hard time dealing with the communication class. It was really neat to watch a smallish group of people share really deep and special parts of who they are to contribute to these great classes.

Here are a few points that really struck me:

It was nice to go over Covey's Time Quadrant thing again. I know I've gone over it with Man a couple of times, but it's nice to remember it again after a few years.

Regarding change, A said that we could either be change masters, or change victims. It's largely determined by your willingness to obtain information and check the attitude. The four phases of change: Denial, Resistance, Exploration, and Commitment. The exploration and commitment phases are very familiar to me from couple's problem solving classes. I think it's interesting that the teacher really emphasized how important it is to celebrate successfully getting through a change, and to identify and acknowledge what things got you through it with joy. I was pleased to note to self that over the last year I have acquired great abilities to change more easily and with more joy.

Barriers to change:
-Uncertainty
-Threats of the unknown
-Feelings of loss
-Mistrust of new ideas
-Fear of failure.

Secrets of dealing successfully with change:
- Commit to success.
- View change as an opportunity
- Network, seek help from family, friends, and coworkers, and offer help to others.
- Recognize and focus on situations that you can influence and control, and let go of those you can't.
- Optimistic
- Challenge and resist pessimistic thoughts and actions that may limit your ability to succeed.

Steps to successful change:
- Recognize the need for change
- Determine goals of the change or a vision of what the change will be
- Develop a plan to implement the change
- Seek support, knowledge, or resources to improve the situation
- Follow through with the implementation of the change plan
- Evaluate the plan for future use

(these steps are also part of the basic problem solving formula)

And something I thought was odd -- a definition of "self" I havn't come across before.
Self -- from the belief of how much impact, control, or effect one has on a situation, people, and events. Based on whether one can or cannot impact, change or act on what exists.

I'm going to have to think about that.

Successful people:
1. Understand themselves and how their behavior affects others
2. Understand their reactions to other people
3. Know how to maximize what they do well
4. Have a positive attitude about themselves, which causes them to have confidence
5. Know how to adapt their behavior to meet the needs of other people.

I know that's a lot of just plain ol' course material but this self improvement stuff just fascinates me (like that stinking military alphabet). It's mostly here for my benefit and to put on paper some of the things I've been learning. A lot of this stuff is available from the school of hard knocks but it's nice to have it all clearly stated and presented in an academic setting.