Week 2: Modification

Event: Finding Parking at the UH Parking Structure

Day 1, Monday, November 5, 2001

Motivational Statement: "It could be worse"

Feeling, thinking sensations, appearance, acts Once again, there was no parking at UH, and the "Lot Full" sign was once again illuminated.  I felt like screaming!!! (feeling)  I couldn't believe people still go to school at mid semester. (thinking) I thought that by now, people would stop coming to school.  I was so frustrated!!  I started to drive faster to get to an open stall before anyone stole it. (sensations)
Bridge (Determination-Red, Resistance-Blue) Determination-Red--I started to think of other scenarios--what if I didn't have a pass, and had to find parking on the unsafe street?
Self-regulatory sentence "It could be worse"  
Modified thinking, feeling, sensations, appearance, acts After  I realized that other people needed to park for school too, I became grateful for the parking I had...some others don't have the luxury of a parking pass.   I realized how stupid I was, and started to slow down and became more patient while looking for a stall.
Global Rating Scale Stress: 4                                                                Successful coping: 10

Satisfaction with self: 9                                      Hope for future: 10

Effectiveness/productivity: 9                           Negativity or selfishness of others: 4

 

 

 

Event: Dealing with my House Guest

Day 2, Tuesday, November 6, 2001

Motivational Statement: "It could be worse"

Feeling, thinking sensations, appearance, acts I came home late again, and my house guest was upset again. (feeling)  I couldn't understand why she treated me like a child. (thinking)  I was upset she still saw me this way.  I told myself I'll always be a child in her eyes.  I stormed off because I was too upset to talk. (sensations)
Bridge (Determination-Red, Resistance-Blue) Determination-Red--What if no one cared about me?--Other people don't have people around them who care where they are or what time they come home.  It made me grateful to have someone who cared.
Self-regulatory sentence "It could be worse"  
Modified thinking, feeling, sensations, appearance, acts After I thought about it, I knew that I should be grateful that someone does care about me and she's only scolding me because she cares.  I apologized and told her I should have been  more considerate of her feelings.  I told her that I would call to tell her I was going to be late.  I felt better after we came to an understanding.
Global Rating Scale Stress: 3                                                                Successful coping: 9

Satisfaction with self: 8                                      Hope for future: 9

Effectiveness/productivity: 8                          Negativity or selfishness of others: 3

 

 

 

Event: Driving

Day 3, Wednesday, November 7, 2001

Motivational Statement: "It could be worse"

Feeling, thinking sensations, appearance, acts A car was pulling out of a drive way and an old man didn't see me approaching him, so I had to slam on my brakes to stop myself from running into him. (sensations)  I got so mad (feeling)-I said to myself, "Old people shouldn't be driving!" (thinking)  I honked my horn as he drove away. (sensations)
Bridge (Determination-Red, Resistance-Blue) Determination-Red--I told myself, I could have hit him, and we both could have been hurt.  
Self-regulatory sentence "It could be worse" 
Modified thinking, feeling, sensations, appearance, acts After reassessing the situation, I realized that not all old people are bad drivers, and maybe he just didn't see me.  I felt really bad terrorizing an old man like that.  Now that I think about it, at that age, I too would want to feel that independence that all drivers feel.
Global Rating Scale Stress: 4                                                                Successful coping: 9

Satisfaction with self: 7                                      Hope for future: 9

Effectiveness/productivity: 8                          Negativity or selfishness of others: 3

 

 

 

Event: Fight with Boyfriend

Day 4, Thursday, November 8, 2001

Motivational Statement: "It could be worse"

Feeling, thinking sensations, appearance, acts We seem to fight about the same things over and over again. (thinking)  I always feel that he never has the time for me and he gives his friends a higher priority than me. (feeling)  I always get upset because he never agrees with me on this issue.  I always feel like giving up when I talk to him about this. (sensations)
Bridge (Determination-Red, Resistance-Blue) Resistance-Blue--He could be a loner and not have any friends.  I need to stop being so pessimistic about him not having time for me...I would rather he have friends than none at all.
Self-regulatory sentence "It could be worse"  
Modified thinking, feeling, sensations, appearance, acts I realized that it is not the end of the world if he puts his friends first.  I want to make new friends, and establish new connections.  When I knew he understood this, we came to a compromise and set up a schedule of when we would call each other.  By doing this, I knew he loved me and cared enough to set time aside just for us.  This made me feel way better about our relationship.
Global Rating Scale Stress: 3                                                                Successful coping: 9

Satisfaction with self: 9                                      Hope for future: 10

Effectiveness/productivity: 9                          Negativity or selfishness of others: 3

 

 

 

Event: Dealing with Grumpy Co-Worker

Day 5, Friday, November 9, 2001

Motivational Statement: "It could be worse"

Feeling, thinking sensations, appearance, acts I don't know what it is about this girl, but she's constantly grumpy.  Does she want to make everyone miserable too? (feeling & thinking)  Obviously it works, because she affects the entire mood of the staff.  I feel like shaking some happiness into her system!! (sensations)
Bridge (Determination-Red, Resistance-Blue) Determination-Red--She could not come into work, making more work for us.
Self-regulatory sentence "It could be worse"  
Modified thinking, feeling, sensations, appearance, acts I thought about this, and came to the conclusion that maybe that's part of her personality and I shouldn't let it bother me.  I told myself that if the opportunity presents itself, then I'll try to cheer her up, if not, I'll just ignore her.
Global Rating Scale Stress: 3                                                                Successful coping: 8

Satisfaction with self: 7                                      Hope for future: 8

Effectiveness/productivity: 7                          Negativity or selfishness of others: 4

 

 

 

Event: Conversation with my Mom

Day 6, Saturday, November 10, 2001

Motivational Statement: "It could be worse"

Feeling, thinking sensations, appearance, acts I swear, my mom thinks that I'm super woman.  She thinks that I can be in 20 places at once!! (thinking)  It's so frustrating that she can't understand the concept of time, and traffic (feeling).  I wish she took these variables into consideration when she asks me to do things for her.
Bridge (Determination-Red, Resistance-Blue) Determination-Red--I could have no mother to bug me.  I tried to think what would happen if she stopped calling, and I realized that I would be sad.
Self-regulatory sentence "It could be worse"  
Modified thinking, feeling, sensations, appearance, acts I came to the realization that some people have no mothers at all.  When she did call again, I apologized for being selfish and told her what time traffic occurs, and that she needs to take that into consideration when she asks me to do things for her.  I felt better about myself and the whole situation after that.
Global Rating Scale Stress: 3                                                                Successful coping: 10

Satisfaction with self: 8                                      Hope for future: 10

Effectiveness/productivity: 8                          Negativity or selfishness of others: 3

 

 

 

Event: Morning Wake-up Call

Day 7, Sunday, November 11, 2001

Motivational Statement: "It could be worse"

Feeling, thinking, sensations, appearance, acts As usual, my 7:00am wake-up call came again.  I don't know why I still get  upset (feeling) about it, but it's aggravating (sensations) to know that my family will continue to give me these wake-up calls no matter what I say (thinking).
Bridge (Determination-Red, Resistance-Blue) Determination-Red--I thought, if they stopped calling, I would be worried sick!  I'm glad I have someone in my family to keep me updated.
Self-regulatory sentence "It could be worse"  
Modified thinking, feeling, sensations, appearance, acts After I thought about it, I know that I would be sad if they didn't call me in the morning--I would be lonely.  Now I'm actually grateful that they call--they keep me up to date with my family happenings.
Global Rating Scale Stress: 3                                                                Successful coping: 9

Satisfaction with self: 8                                      Hope for future: 9

Effectiveness/productivity: 8                          Negativity or selfishness of others: 3