Goals and Decision Making

“May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears” ~ Nelson Mandela

I am sharing Mr. Henderson and Mrs. Rentschler’s recent “thought of the day” because the statement articulates a theme that I have noticed throughout this pandemic.  When I watch the news and read articles related to the pandemic, I wonder if many of our choices are coming from a place of anxiety and fear now instead of a focus on our hopes and goals.  I chose the word “goal” to reinforce the control that we have over our decision making at this time.  A goal is defined as “the object of a person's ambition or effort; an aim or desired result.”  In times of anxiety and stress, our goals and decision making can often come from a place of fear.  We saw this early on when people started buying cleaning supplies, hand sanitizers, and toilet paper in mass quantities.  I don’t know about many of you but I have yet to need any of these things beyond what I already had in my house.  This fear based buying led to shortages and higher prices for supplies that are in critical need by the health care industry.  There is research to support how anxiety affects the neurological workings of decision making.  The following information, obtained from Psychology Today, indicates that"There is growing evidence that the cognitive process of decision-making depends on proper functioning of specific neurons within sub regions of the prefrontal cortex (PFC). The prefrontal cortex--which is housed in the frontal lobes of the cerebrum--is the newest part of the human brain in terms of our evolution. The PFC plays a pivotal role in executive functions that include: long-term planning, understanding rules, calculating the consequences of risk and reward, regulating emotions, problem solving, and decision-making. Anxiety, in both animals and humans, appears to disrupt brain neurons in the PFC that are critical for making smart decisions."If we are aware that anxiety leads to a disruption in our brain’s ability to make decisions, we can use deep breathing and other relaxation strategies to calm the anxious response of our body. We can also “think about our thinking” and switch to focusing on our goals when presented with an anxious event. Families right now are worried about how distance learning is working for their children and if their child is going to fall behind or miss critical learning. If we are clear in what our goals are in learning for the pandemic, our actions will follow.  In helping my own children manage their anxiety about online learning, I shared with them the goals of their district to lessen their anxiety.  They are 3 very simple, direct goals: 1) maintain connections with students and families, 2) provide basic, minimal instruction, and 3) minimize stress.  When my children are struggling with their work, I remind them that the goal is for them to do the best that they can. It helps to reduce their stress and shift their focus to the goal of getting the basic instruction that they need at this time.  They are more “available” to learn when they are less stressed and able to focus on simple goals.  I will leave you with this additional quote by a neurologist named Viktor Frankl which highlights our control and our need to set goals that will drive our actions.  “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” The stimulus now is anxiety and fear and our decision making should be related to our goals and values, not just a reaction to the fear.  In between is our response – remember that you do have control over your responses and this awareness will help you to reach the outcome you are striving for.

My Reflections:

2 Challenges

• Everything we read and see reinforces anxiety about the current situation (should I wipe down my groceries, are packages safe, can I order take-out food from restaurants, etc.). It takes a great deal of effort to challenge the frequent messages that are driven by anxiety.    

·     When I talk to other people who are experiencing a great deal of anxiety about current events, it is hard to not become part of that anxious thinking.  I have to work harder to stay focused on my goal of remaining healthy and happy. 

2 Positives

• By setting goals, I have a structure to my day and an outcome to focus on. 
• Reminding myself of my goals when I feel anxious has helped to reduce my overall stress and anxiety. Switching my job to an online format without previous experience in this area has caused stress for me. I seek out webinars and reach out to other school psychologists to work towards my goals of supporting students and families.  

What can I do differently tomorrow to reshape my goals?

• Building goal setting into each of these reflections has helped me shift my thinking from reacting to intentional decision making about what I value.

Your Reflections:

2 Challenges

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2 Positives

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What can you do differently tomorrow to reshape my goals?

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