Change Requires Effort

Let me star by stating this; change that requires no effort is just a temporary fix.  Back in Puerto Rico, when working as a graphic designer for advertising, a model we knew came in one day asking for photos for an ad. This kid was in his prime condition and spent quite some amount of considerable time training to be fit. He was putting a lot of hard work to stay in shape. He was dedicated. The photos he was requesting were for an ad where he was the “after” for a miracle product that will make you ripped without the need for workings or diets. “Yeah, Pepe!”  We see it in commercials presenting and trying to sell products that “change lives” and you have to do barely nothing to achieve results. I bet many of us wished it was that easy.

I am naturally slim and just in recent years discovered the experience of gaining weight. I am also fairly active, too. Many people think I have nothing to complain about but with my height and body frame, 140 lbs feel uncomfortable when for the longest time I was just 115-120 lbs. At my age, it is also harder to stay in shape. I don’t diet. I don’t eat excessively, but I like sweets, a lot! I wish I could wake up one morning with the perfect body and stay fit by just eating all my favorite junk, watching TV, and taking a magic pill that would do the work for me. That would be fantastic!

Changes in character, habits, behaviors, and lifestyle also require effort, willingness, modifications, and boundaries.  One simple piece of advice: don’t buy the cake and it won’t be available in your fridge at midnight when you crave it. Changes also require time away from people and places that may hinder your progress towards your goals, and being in places where you feel encouraged and comfortable to engage in a process that will help you achieve. Real friends will support us and help us, and seek to ensure our wellbeing. If that is not the case, we need to consider our “friends” and who we are acquainted with. The Apostle Paul wisely makes us aware of this truth:

Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
1 Corinthians 15:33

It is also important to be wise on establishing goals for ourselves. There is a main goal and we need to identify it. It gives a sense of destination and keeps our focus. Within that journey, we have to set milestones and short-term goals, because each time we reach one, we become more motivated to continue. We also have to make sure to celebrate each small victory and be thankful. Avoid shortcuts. Let’s not be discouraged by our shortcomings, failures, and when we missed the mark. Keep trying. Let’s make the adjustments necessary to accomplish the goals. We must remember that there is no magic pill. Change requires the effort.

The Journey From Critical Thinking to Creative Thinking

There are multiple levels of thinking according to Dr. Benjamin Bloom who created what we know in education as Bloom’s Taxonomy. This taxonomy reflects how thinking progresses as functions become more challenging and demanding. The taxonomy starts with getting and remembering information. That’s considered in the taxonomy as the lowest level of thinking. The taxonomy continues with understanding the information, and moves into applying the information. This is lower level thinking: recall of information, understanding, and application.

Higher order thinking starts with analyzing information. Analysis allows individuals to look at the information from different perspectives, weighting the value of the information as well as the sources, and determine reliability. This is what we know as Critical Thinking (I will go back to it in a moment). The taxonomy continues with evaluating information, providing a basis for how information is valuable and applicable to different situations, and how different variables will change applicability and outcomes. From there the taxonomy moves to creativity. (No surprise there!) Great minds like Albert Einstein and Leonardo Da’Vinci were known for utilizing information in new ways according to specific needs. Higher order thinking comprises analysis, evaluation, and creativity.

Looking around how people treat information, we can be honest and (without need to offend or get offended by it) interpret that many are dealing with lower order thinking skills. We can see how critical thinking is hard to achieve. However, to travel the journey from critical thinking to creative thinking is even more challenging. Sometimes we conform to discuss information and argue about what we think is right from our own perspective without taking in consideration other points of view, and even if we do, and grow our knowledge, we just leave it like that. We do nothing with this new found conglomerate of knowledge and the new sense of comprehension that comes with the discussion. We stop at critical thinking. Those who achieve this level of thinking are considered smart. However, those who reach the creative level are considered genius!

Allow me to suggest a vehicle that may serve us to get there: Inquiry! Inquiry is the art of asking purposeful, direct, and useful questions with the intention to find possible solutions to complex issues. The more and better questions we ask, the better prepare we can be to consider a vast number of variables and possibilities, effects and challenges, for the promotion of new and creative ways to approach different issues. Our questions allow us to build a bridge between the current scenario and a preferred scenario. It requires some creativity just to develop an idea of how things would look like, or what we would like to see if the problem we are analyzing was solved. Nevertheless, to imagine functional and effective solutions require a higher level of creativity.

The thing with information and knowledge is this: knowledge that produces no change is just information. When all a question is requiring is information, we can all take a break from sending smiley faces to our friends, and we can Google it! It is very probable that thousands of people already asked that same question. If we can remember it, and understand it, and use it, we covered the lowest hierarchy of thinking. It is often that simple. The higher order thinking requires a little more effort, but the rewards are of immeasurable value.

Healthy Metacognitive Assessment

Do you practice quiet time and solitude? Do you take time each day to conduct a healthy metacognitive assessment? Do you know yourself? What do you see about yourself? How do you see yourself? What is going well? What needs improvement or change? Do you live consciously aware of what happens inside and around you through the day? Do you live peacefully alert? What is metacognition?

Metacognition is the practice of awareness, understanding, and evaluation of one’s thought process. If you ask me, this definition is limited if solely considering thinking process. I want to challenge the definition to extend it to an evaluation and consciousness of our emotions , our spiritual condition, and our bodies. We are not just a computer hard drive. We are a very complex arrange of connecting consciousness. I call it “the table”.

Imagine a table with four legs: cognitive (the mind and thoughts), affective (emotions), spiritual, and physical domains. Each leg has a function in the human experience, but they are intertwined in such a way that it seems hard to separate. I say that every abstract function has a physical manifestation. We can’t define sadness, which is abstract, unless manifested physically. Thinking happens in the brain. If any of the four domains is lacking, the table will wobble. If weight is applied through the circumstances of life, an unstable table will tip and possibly fall.

A daily healthy metacognitive assessment that looks at all four domains is a discipline that when practiced, provides for a balance and joyful life. The consideration of the self is a challenging endeavor and we often run away from it. Through it we see our flaws and imperfections, but we also see our skills and talents, the good and the bad, the honorable and the shameful. It is good to keep inventory of both sides wisely and humbly, because failure and success can be equally dangerous if not assessed with care. The apostle Paul gave a wise word of advise: “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgement” (Romans 12:3), and “If you think you stand firm, be careful that you don’t fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12).

It is also important to apply sober judgement when addressing our shortcomings. We don’t want to be hard on ourselves outside the proper measure. We can use our weaknesses and imperfections to understand where we need more attention and help. We have issues, but we are not that issue. Recognizing the issues is an important step towards change. Sometimes we need a friendly hand to help us and support us through the change and we don’t want to waste their time if we really don’t want to change. When we do, a wise voice and sound advice, a word of correction, a listening ear, a word of encouragement, are always good.

Take time each day to have a talk with yourself in a healthy metacognitive evaluation. Seek help when you can’t go alone. Don’t be overconfident. Don’t put yourself down. Live peacefully without being careless. Keep the table stable.

Almost a Year Since Last Time

It has been almost a year since last time I posted in this blog. My apologies if you were following faithfully. I made a plan to post weekly, so stay tuned for what is coming. Let me tell you a little of what is going on.

What are you up to now?

I just completed my second year teaching at Quinnipiac University. Teaching the First Year Seminar on Inquiry Based Learning (FYS-IBL) is a great experience and an exuberant blessing. Always something new to learn. Also, I always get the chance to meet new people; not only students, but also colleagues and staff. Can’t wait to meet my new students in the fall. In addition to FYS-IBL, I was granted the blessing and privilege to teach a capstone project course of a class I designed myself: Health Benefits of the Creative Process.

In this course,  Health Benefits of the Creative Process (QU420), adapted to Physical Therapy students, we get to explore how creativity is linked to health in the cognitive, affective, spiritual, and physical realms of the personal factors, and what applications are possible to improve and accelerate healing and wellbeing in physical therapy patients. It is my personal, and research supported understanding that the human experience is not limited to the physical or measurable aspects of life. However, I do believe that the physical manifestations serve as picture of the abstract world we can’t see.

Take Creativity for example: we can’t see creativity since it is an abstract idea, a concept, in a realm beyond the tangible. Nevertheless, we see the manifestations of creativity in everything tangible surrounding us. Creativity is not only manifested in “things”, but also in us. It is a great interest of mine to discover in an experiential fashion what research has been investigating related to the effects and benefits of creativity in our bodies, minds, spirits, and emotions. I have the privilege to explore in this new adventure with Physical Therapy students in the Fall of 2017. I am very excited and in expectation of what ideas for implementation in therapy the students will come up with.

What about your art?

Although I have not been “producing” a lot of art pieces as usual, I am sculpting regularly and building a collection for the near future, and the book that will come with it. I post constantly on Instagram if you want to take a look. The sculpting and painting parties are still alive and well, and always fun. It is a great experience to watch people experiment and discover themselves. I am also waiting for responses to apply the transformational learning experience of art in clinical and non-clinical settings for trauma treatment. It is not Art Therapy. It is Transformational Learning Experience.

Anything else?

In addition to the teaching, the art, some public speaking opportunities, workshops, and everyday life, my wife and I are still working towards our vision to establish a safe house with a multidisciplinary, holistic, and transformational approach to trauma treatment for sex trafficking survivors. Sounds like a lot, because it is a lot. Please, keep this effort in your prayers. Lastly (for now), I want to give you a heads up for a presentation I’m giving at Quinnipiac University in October 2017. I received the blessing of being one of the speakers for Latin X Heritage Month this year. I will be updating on this an other events as the time approaches.

I’m really excited about coming back to write in this blog again. I hope you enjoy the experience as well.