Self-Control and Self Attitude - Coursework Example

Major Self Control Project Student’s Name: Institution: Date: Major Self Control Project Introduction The benefits of drinking adequate amounts of water are unknown to many people in the world. Nevertheless, health practitioners encourage individuals to drink eight ounce glasses of water or approximately two liters of water every day. Water is important for the human body since the human body is made up of about 60% water. Therefore, water is essential for normal bodily functions involving blood circulation, digestion of food, and in the excretion process. However, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the claim that water gives healthy, radiant, and a youthful complexion. The problem is that I have a habit of always forgetting to drink water even though I do understand that water is important for the body. Interestingly, I have had an acne problem for a long time and I had not found a permanent solution. Through consultation, I have had a wide array of opinions regarding the best cure. However, my own brother insisted that I increase my intake of water. Remarkably, he drinks a lot of water on a daily basis and has a very smooth skin texture. The objective of this study was to increase and monitor my daily intake of water from one disposable bottle to four bottles of water per day; and to observe any notable changes in my skin texture among other relevant outcomes which took place. Method Prior to the study, I drank a bottle of water a day simply because I forgot to drink more or preferred tastier drinks like soda or fruit juice. Sugary beverages are not good for my health because they might contribute to chronic diseases such as diabetes. Moreover, they may also lead to obesity of taken in large quantities. Therefore, increasing my intake of water was not just about remembering to drink water; it was a behavior modification plan. Increasing my intake of water was not meant to last just for the length of the proposed study. Being part of the study, I had to set a reasonable time limit in which I would be able to increase my intake of water as well as notice any changes in my body. Four weeks was an ideal time period because I would not have to put unnecessary pressure on my body and to make it manageable within the tight time schedule I have. With the specific goal being to increase the amount water I take in a day, the process of changing from the current low level of water intake to a level of four bottles per day needed commitment. The first method of changing the behavior was setting up many bottles in the house which with my name on them, as a reminder that I am the one supposed to take that water. The bottles were to be placed strategically at all corners of the house and they were meant to entice me to take the water in them. In the first week, the bottles were placed on the shelves near my bed and another one next to my back pack. Whenever I woke up in the morning and saw the bottles, I would fill them with water and drink. The first bottle was to be taken immediately after waking up while the other bottle was to be taken immediately after breakfast. A bottle of water was the first thing to order whenever I got to a restaurant. To avoid the temptation of asking for iced tea or a soft drink like soda, I would give water the first priority and keep my mind focused on the goals that I have. The office dispenser was also to be full every time and there was a note on my desk saying “Water Is necessary” which would remind me to take water. Next to my telephone which I use for many times in a day, I had a note which was written “Thank you for taking more water today.” I would also avoid watching commercials which are related to soft drinks and avoid restaurants where water is rarely taken. I would also record every bottle of water I took so as to keep records and to remain motivated. Later in the day, I would treat myself with my best TV show as a motivation or a positive reinforcement for the first one week, and then my brother would treat me for a meal in a restaurant. If I succeeded to take water for two weeks without a challenge of relapse, I would treat myself with a soft drink. Results Week one For the first one week, my target was to take a minimum of two bottles of water every day. I therefore put a disposable bottle of water in my back pack every morning and another one on my desk at the office. It was easy to meet the targets for the first half of the day. However, water did not feel satisfactory enough and I had to take fruits as a complement. On the second day, the situation was worse and I had to get a soft drink. I had a busy day and I somehow got convinced that I need an energy drink. In the evening, I failed to watch my favorite TV show and instead went to my study room and read an article on the need to have a healthy body and how water makes it possible. I had downloaded and printed the article one day before. The next two days were easy until that Friday when I joined a friend for a cup of coffee in the evening at a local restaurant. Through peer pressure, I ordered iced tea to avoid disappointing my friend. On that evening, I missed my favorite program and instead went to the gym. Week two The target for week two was to take two and a half bottles of water every day. More challenges came with the increased amount of water and therefore I had to increase the incentives. On connection to this, I agreed with my supporter that I was to choose the pace I would take my dinner. He was also to assist me in keeping the records by confirming the number of bottles I drank daily and entering the figures in his book for later comparison. We set the target to be at my favorite restaurant and therefore I became more motivated. By the third day, I had not been tempted to take any soft drink. I decided to increase the time for my favorite TV show from 30 minutes to 45 minutes. I also took a photo of the bottles I had cleared and compared with the records I had kept in my notebook to determine if they were in agreement. The week ended without any lapse and on that weekend, we had one of the best meals in town. Even at the meal, none of us had taken any soft drink as we both had a bottle of water with us. Week three Having become used to taking more water and having a glass each hour, the body was getting used. Sometimes I could take it even before the hourly alarm reminded me and I easily met my three bottles target. Fortunately, a colleague of mine whom I shared my office had noticed the new trend and had joined. Although he had not set any alarms, my trend had encouraged him to increase his intake. By the fourth day of week three, we had an evening dinner with the rest of the colleagues. To my surprise, I was more willing to take water even under the pressure from peers, unlike in week one. By the end of the dinner, I was convinced I had changed the behavior. Changing the way I think about taking water and remaining healthy had assisted me to change the behavior. Reading articles and discussing the merits of taking water had assisted more than the clinical methods, just as per the cognitive behavioral change theories (Fava et al., 2014). To my surprise, the acne on my face had reduced and my face had become smoother. Week four In this week, my method changed since the intake was higher. I decided to divide my day into sections. The first section was between morning and 10 a.m. The other one was from 10 a.m. to lunch, then the afternoon, and after work. I was to take a bottle in each section and any remaining amount would have to be cleared first in the next session. To keep the pace, I changed my hourly alarms to half hour settings and followed it strictly. By the sixth day, the skin on my face had visible improvements and I could associate the changes to the increased intake. Although I had to use the washrooms for numerous times, the changes were encouraging. Intake Records Table one: Intake records Week Number of bottles Comment Week one 13 Lapse led to the one bottle short of target. Week two 18 No lapse. All advice and alarms were followed Week three 21 All alarms followed, change observed Week four 28 Better changes observed and acne reduced significantly. Total 80 Target met with one lapse Figure1: Percentage of lapse temptation Figure 2: Minutes of TV watching per day (The other three weeks had 30 minutes of TV watching everyday). Date Min. of TV watching Nov. 7 30 Nov. 8 0 Nov. 9 30 Nov. 10 30 Nov. 11 0 Nov. 12 30 Nov. 13 30 Figure 3: A graph showing minutes of watching TV on various dates. Column1 Column2 Column3 Date Number of glasses taken daily Weekly total Nov. 7 4 8 2 9 4 10 4 11 2 12 4 13 4 24.0 14 5 15 5 16 5 17 5 18 5 19 5 20 5 35.0 21 6 22 6 23 6 24 6 25 6 26 6 27 6 42.0 28 8 29 8 30 8 1 8 2 8 3 8 4 8 56.0 Figure 4: A graph dhowing number of glasses taken daily and weekly average Discussion Challenges of changing the behavior Changing behavior will take steps and they have to be aimed at achieving certain specific goals. According to Martin & Pear (2015) the behavior change or modification in adults can be done in steps. The first step I used was punishments whereby every lapse led to the loss of a chance to watch my favorite TV show. The other one was the positive reinforcement from my supporter and brother who assisted me to keep records, counted my bottles and kept my documents. The other one was meditation which I did mostly after confirming my performance every evening. A research done on youths in Thai shows that meditation is one of the ways that people can change their behavior as it helps people to reflect on what they want and the benefits they will get from it (Wongtongkam et al., 2014). Meditating on the advantages of taking water helped me to remain focused. One challenge I had was the temptation and therefore I also avoided being near soft drinks and watching their commercials. Behavioral change is easier when there are confirmed benefits for the changes. According to research by Ravisankar et al. (2015), there is enough evidence that acne is reduced through intake of water and fruits. Many doctors may suggest several medicinal solutions; however taking water remains an easy and affordable solution which comes with a synergy. Water flushes out the toxins in the body and this way the body is able to make new cells and refresh the circulation of blood. Positive reinforcements are encouraged to make sure the program of change has been followed. Challenges of following the alarms were mainly due to the tight work schedules whereby I could be caught up in a meeting. To make sure the intake was achieved, the postponed session would be combined in the next session. Having a company of the people who do the same thing is also encouraging and there are instances where if one has no company, lapses are more common. For example, my brother offered a lot of support as I followed his steps. Managing change is hard mostly when the attitude is negative. In the process of changing the behavior, I had to fight with the resistance that was building up in the first week. According to Webster (2016) people spend most of their energy in resisting changes. There is a need to have a change resistance program even in behavioral modification. With the change in water intake, the main resistance was from the desire to take a soft drink. Water felt tasteless and never seemed to meet my thirsty needs. To fight the resistance, I used the stickers on the bottles to remind myself that it was my responsibility and commitment to take the water. I also used rewards of watching my favorite TV show as a way of encouraging myself. Extinction method In a change of behavior, one can use fading, extinction, prompting, mapping, and other methods to modify their behavior. In my trial to adapt to the new behavior, I used extinction to induce my system. Research shows that extinction does not involve just a change from the old behavior but it also involves learning a new one (Miltenberger, 2012). The process of learning may take long but there are high chances that the behavior will change completely. Extinction helped me to learn the best ways to increase the water intake via alarms and reminders across the house and in the work place. Attitude change Intake of water or any other behavior has to change from the mind, and the body follows. The change in attitude contributes to, a high level, the success of the changes to be implemented. If the attitude the person has is negative, the success of the change is compromised. The taste of water is not by any chance comparable to soft drinks which have additives and flavors to make them sweeter. However, these additives are harmful to the teeth, causes depression and anxiety, reduces learning ability and memory (Gregoire, 2015). If the attitude towards water and tastes is not changed, there are high chances of lapses. In the first one week, I had a positive change of attitude but after two days the attitude had started fading away. It explains the lapse I had in that week. To avoid more lapses, I meditated that evening to convince myself that taking water was more beneficial than the other drinks. Record keeping The new behavior is not meant to take only a few days and be dropped. Therefore, record keeping was imperative to be used by other people with a similar intention or to be used as evidence of the change. In my record keeping, I had a table which showed all the bottles I had taken every day and every week. In recording weekly bottles, I indicated the amount taken daily, the target, and the comments on whether there were lapses or not. For the first one week, there were more comments to record compared to the rest of the weeks. The notebook was a good guide and support since it had notes on the advantages of taking water. After I realised some change on my face and the reduced acne, the records were different as I gave a confirmation of success. Analysis of the behavior can also be done from the records kept (O’Donohue, 2006). Use of punishments was also useful in that I was able to restrain myself from lapses. Recommendations Use of alarms Time management remains a challenge in most areas. Most of us may plan to do many things but end up failing due to inadequate time available. There are many things to be done in a day and therefore time has to be managed in the most efficient way. In a change management process, most people are easily carried away by the things they love and they fail to meet the demands of the change they are trying to implement. Alarms are effectively useful in change management and they offer one of the best solutions for the participants. Most of the times, alarms are set using mobile phones and are followed as per the schedule. Using alarms in any change management has offered reliable results and are highly recommended. Use of positive reinforcements In managing change, it is difficult to manage it alone. There are many cases where the temptations are strong and carry the day. In the first week when I had a lapse, my friend accompanied me to a restaurant. The friend was not in for the change I was taking and therefore I had a negative reinforcement. When in the company of my brother, lapses had almost zero chances of happening. The positive influence can be used to meet the targets in a behavioral change. The company we keep is therefore part of the change management. For example, when trying to quit smoking, it is advisable to stay away from smokers and to avoid the commercials which advertise the products. Otherwise there are high chances of lapses. Rewards Apart from the positive reinforcements, changes can be implemented through rewards. The rewards are set as per the expectations of the change process and the people undertaking the process should be faithful to it. To honor and increase the effectiveness of the rewards, the participants may be allowed to choose the rewards for themselves. For instance, after I had a successful one week without any lapse, I was allowed to choose the best restaurant that I wanted to have my meals. This way I had more motivation to meet the success as compared to when the motivation was induced from another person. In children, the effects of rewards are more as they prefer gifts. In adults, rewards should be tailored towards a positive direction which will not induce another negative behaviour (Watson and Tharp, 2007). In the dinner, none of us took any soft drink as a sign of commitment. Rewards should also be specific and not left for the person changing to choose. My brother chose the meal and I chose to have a soft drink only if I had two successful weeks. Challenges Experienced In a busy working environment, alarms can be disturbing, mostly when they are loud and only directed to one person. It was a challenge to choose the best way to set the alarm and so I decided to have my phone on the desk all the time, from where it could ring once or vibrate. The other challenge was the frequency of using the washrooms. People may be concerned if a colleague uses the washrooms for more times than they are used to. To have them relaxed, I explained that I had increased my water intake and the system was normal. The third challenge was feeling full even for the meals. Regardless of how important water is, eating is also compulsory and cannot be substituted for water. However, during meals, I could find myself too full to take anything. Most of the times I had to take late meals or reduce the amount. Conclusion Behavioral change can be challenging mostly when there are foods involved or drinks. Attitude change is the first step which can determine the success or failure of the change process. However, in my change from less water drinking behavior to four bottles a day, the main challenge was taste and getting used to taking water every few minutes or hours daily. Reinforcements are useful in helping one to meet their targets. References Fava, G. A., Ruini, C., Rafanelli, C., Finos, L., Conti, S., & Grandi, S. (2014). Six-year outcome of cognitive behavior therapy for prevention of recurrent depression. American Journal of Psychiatry. Gregoire, C. (2015). This is What Sugar Does to Your Brain. The Huffington Post, retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/06/sugar-brain-mental-health_n_6904778.html Martin, G., & Pear, J. J. (2015). Behavior modification: What it is and how to do it. Psychology Press. Miltenberger, R. (2012). Behavior modification, principles and procedures. (5th ed., pp. 87-99). Wadsworth Publishing Company O'Donohue, W.; Ferguson, K. E. (2006). "Evidence-Based Practice in Psychology and Behavior Analysis". The Behavior Analyst Today. 7 (3): 335–52. Ravisankar, P., Koushik, O. S., Himaja, V., Ramesh, J., & Pragna, P. (2015). ACNE-CAUSES AND AMAZING REMEDIAL MEASURES FOR ACNE. Journal of Pharm Research, 5(07). Watson, D. L., & Tharp, R. G. (2007). Self-directed behavior: Self-modification for personal adjustment. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning. Webster, M. (2016). Successful Change Management Kotter’s 8-Step Change Model. Leadership thoughts, retrieved from http://www.leadershipthoughts.com/kotters-8-step-change-model/ Wongtongkam, N., Ward, P. R., Day, A., & Winefield, A. H. (2014). A trial of mindfulness meditation to reduce anger and violence in Thai youth. International journal of mental health and addiction, 12(2), 169-180. Read More

In the first week, the bottles were placed on the shelves near my bed and another one next to my back pack. Whenever I woke up in the morning and saw the bottles, I would fill them with water and drink. The first bottle was to be taken immediately after waking up while the other bottle was to be taken immediately after breakfast. A bottle of water was the first thing to order whenever I got to a restaurant. To avoid the temptation of asking for iced tea or a soft drink like soda, I would give water the first priority and keep my mind focused on the goals that I have.

The office dispenser was also to be full every time and there was a note on my desk saying “Water Is necessary” which would remind me to take water. Next to my telephone which I use for many times in a day, I had a note which was written “Thank you for taking more water today.” I would also avoid watching commercials which are related to soft drinks and avoid restaurants where water is rarely taken. I would also record every bottle of water I took so as to keep records and to remain motivated.

Later in the day, I would treat myself with my best TV show as a motivation or a positive reinforcement for the first one week, and then my brother would treat me for a meal in a restaurant. If I succeeded to take water for two weeks without a challenge of relapse, I would treat myself with a soft drink. Results Week one For the first one week, my target was to take a minimum of two bottles of water every day. I therefore put a disposable bottle of water in my back pack every morning and another one on my desk at the office.

It was easy to meet the targets for the first half of the day. However, water did not feel satisfactory enough and I had to take fruits as a complement. On the second day, the situation was worse and I had to get a soft drink. I had a busy day and I somehow got convinced that I need an energy drink. In the evening, I failed to watch my favorite TV show and instead went to my study room and read an article on the need to have a healthy body and how water makes it possible. I had downloaded and printed the article one day before.

The next two days were easy until that Friday when I joined a friend for a cup of coffee in the evening at a local restaurant. Through peer pressure, I ordered iced tea to avoid disappointing my friend. On that evening, I missed my favorite program and instead went to the gym. Week two The target for week two was to take two and a half bottles of water every day. More challenges came with the increased amount of water and therefore I had to increase the incentives. On connection to this, I agreed with my supporter that I was to choose the pace I would take my dinner.

He was also to assist me in keeping the records by confirming the number of bottles I drank daily and entering the figures in his book for later comparison. We set the target to be at my favorite restaurant and therefore I became more motivated. By the third day, I had not been tempted to take any soft drink. I decided to increase the time for my favorite TV show from 30 minutes to 45 minutes. I also took a photo of the bottles I had cleared and compared with the records I had kept in my notebook to determine if they were in agreement.

The week ended without any lapse and on that weekend, we had one of the best meals in town. Even at the meal, none of us had taken any soft drink as we both had a bottle of water with us. Week three Having become used to taking more water and having a glass each hour, the body was getting used. Sometimes I could take it even before the hourly alarm reminded me and I easily met my three bottles target. Fortunately, a colleague of mine whom I shared my office had noticed the new trend and had joined.

Although he had not set any alarms, my trend had encouraged him to increase his intake. By the fourth day of week three, we had an evening dinner with the rest of the colleagues. To my surprise, I was more willing to take water even under the pressure from peers, unlike in week one.

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