Tuesday, May 20, 2008

COPING IS A HABIT?

I got an email from my cousin today. He is a retired college professor, a psychologist. He's brilliant. He's charming, too. Being charming runs in the family. Whether or not I got the charming gene is up for debate.

He was telling me about a book he is writing and the following quote is about a mini-version of part of the book: "...a short course on the nature of the mind-brain-body-reality systems and what might be done to help a person improve their habits of coping with the challenges they face."

I have never thought of coping as a habit. I have always thought of coping as something dreaded that you had to do because something unpleasant--or worse--had happened. Coping was something I didn't want to do because I didn't want to be in the situation that made it necessary in the first place. I would rather be like the ostrich with it's head in the sand--even though I know ostrich's don't stick their heads in the sand.

If coping is a habit I should be able to break it down into steps. That would make the nature of the task easier, right? I guess I'll find out as I pursue this mini-course with my brilliant, charming cousin. I'm anxious to learn how to have the habit of coping with my challenges, one of which might be that I didn't get that elusive charming gene.




I hope this mini-course isn't too stressful.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

That is absolutely charming post. I need to take that course so that I can cope with my inability to, what, um, I guess, communicate effectively.

Cindy Price said...

Don't worry Lynne, you definitely have the charming gene!! At least in your writings you do!!

Astromom said...

I think coping is sad when it becomes a habit, it means you are so understress a lot, but maybe that is just life. It seems like there is always something to be coped with.