Archives: Psychology

Yesterday someone asked me, “What are you doing more of lately to be more effective?” … Initially, I wanted to share that I have tried to be more organized and stick to my to-do list or that I have reorganized my filing system.  Still, what I ended up sharing was my desire to get better sleep and prioritize sleep hygiene.  It is so extremely hard to do this when we live in a society in which we may feel pressure to “be a winner”, “get things done” and “there is no time to sleep”.  

Unlike my partner, I am a night owl and love the quietness and solidarity of the night where I can sneak away into my office and have complete uninterrupted time to be super productive.  These evenings often end up creeping into my bedtime and before I know it, its 11:45pm!  The reinforcer is being able to check off my to-do list and the sense of accomplishment.   At the same time, after a productive late night I notice that sometimes I have a hard time falling asleep.  I find myself up worrying about things I may need to go back to and edit (on the work I just completed!) or continuing to add items on to-do list.  Unfortunately, my body also experiences consequences as a result.  As they say, “no pain, no gain”.   After a long night working spree, I find myself showing up the next day feeling less energetic and a need for an extra cup of coffee.  

If you relate, I think it is important to become educated or remind ourselves about what the lack of sleep may be doing to our bodies.  Research shows that related to lack of sleep, our attention can be altered in that there are lapses in which we fail to pay attention (Lim & Dinges, 2010), and we may experience a more difficult time making decisions (Killgore, Balkin, & Wesensten, 2006).  We may also experience delayed cognitive performance and effects on mood (Ferrara & De Gennaro, 2001).  Interestingly, we do see differences when we take a closer look and consider diversity variables such as gender and age.  For example, on average, men appear to sleep less than women and sleep duration appears to decline with age (Jonasdottir, Minor, & Lehmann, 2021).  Regardless of these differences, the literature is strong in the negative outcomes associated with chronic sleep deprivation (Jonasdottir, Minor, & Lehmann, 2021; Pourmotabbed et al., 2020; Short, Booth, Omar,Ostlundh, & Arora, 2020).  

So, now what do we do with all of this? Are there any do-able interventions besides forcing yourself to try to get to bed at an earlier time?  There is hope friends!  A recent meta-analysis found that cognitive behavior therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) has shown positive outcomes in addressing unhelpful and worry thoughts that may be the culprit to keeping some of us up at night.  The study found that CBT-I targets repetitive negative thinking (RNT) which are unhelpful thoughts such as, “this is horrible, I am never going to catch up on work, and now I can’t even fall asleep” (Ballesio et al., 2021).  The study notes that rumination and thoughts about not being able to fall asleep are often associated with insomnia.   

Research related to accessible telephone app interventions of CBT-I is fairly new and growing.  The good news is that there are phone apps within our reach and that they may help us help ourselves!  To learn more about some of them, check out a short story on National Public Radio https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/10/08/654883409/some-apps-may-help-curb-insomnia-others-just-put-you-to-sleep.  The question now is…are we willing to put our work away and instead explore interventions such as CBT-I and prioritize our sleep health? 

References 

Ballesio, A., Bacaro, V., Vacca, M., Chirico, A., Lucidi, F., Riemann, D., … & Lombardo, C.  

(2020). Does cognitive behaviour therapy for insomnia reduce repetitive negative thinking and sleep-related worry beliefs? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 101378. 

Ferrara, M., & De Gennaro, L. (2001). How much sleep do we need?. Sleep medicine  

reviews, 5(2), 155-179. 

Jonasdottir, S. S., Minor, K., & Lehmann, S. (2021). Gender differences in nighttime sleep  

patterns and variability across the adult lifespan: a global-scale wearables study. Sleep, 44(2), zsaa169. 

Killgore, W. D. S., Balkin, T. J., & Wesensten, N. J. (2006). Impaired decision making following  

49 h of sleep deprivation. Journal of Sleep Research, 15, 7–13. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2869.2006 .00487.x  

Lim, J., & Dinges, D. F. (2010). A meta-analysis of the impact of short-term sleep deprivation on  

cognitive variables. Psychological bulletin, 136(3), 375. 

National Public Radio (2018, October 8). Some Apps May Help Curb Insomnia, Others Just Put  

You To Sleep. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/10/08/654883409/some-apps-may-help-curb-insomnia-others-just-put-you-to-sleep.   

Pourmotabbed, A., Boozari, B., Babaei, A., Asbaghi, O., Campbell, M. S., Mohammadi, H., … &  

Moradi, S. (2020). Sleep and frailty risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sleep and Breathing, 1-11. 

Short, M. A., Booth, S. A., Omar, O., Ostlundh, L., & Arora, T. (2020). The relationship  

between sleep duration and mood in adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sleep medicine reviews, 52, 101311.  

Many sexual addicts feel lonely, abandoned, and angry. They desperately long for love, intimacy, affirmation, and nurture. But they notice that their needs aren’t being met. Consequently, in many cases, the behavior of sexual addicts becomes a substitute for true intimacy and love. Emotional discomfort such as helplessness, powerlessness, loneliness, and hopelessness are one of the primary catalysts in bringing about sexual addiction. These feelings may begin in an unhealthy and dysfunctional family with illness and wounds during childhood. The sex addict has difficulties expressing emotions appropriately or solving emotional discomfort in their family of origin. Thus, the addict has immature skills in identifying emotional feelings. The addict yearns to escape the emotional pain they have experienced in the past. A sense of helplessness or powerlessness drives them to have a strong desire to repair these emotional discomforts and becomes an uncontrollable force to the addict. 

Many researchers posit that abusive family backgrounds, including abandonment, abuse, and neglect, can cause children to develop painful emotions and problematic behavioral patterns, leading to sexual addiction. Abandonment is experienced primarily in the family-of-origin when both parents do not fulfill children’s needs. Children learn how to have an intimate relationship with others through parental love and acceptance, such as appropriate physical touching and verbal encouragement. Lack of parental love and nurture obstructs the fulfillment of a child’s natural desires. Children whose emotional needs have not been met feel powerless and insecure in such an environment. The consequences of emotional pain drive them to find other methods of satisfying their desires. 

Abuse is another aspect that can lead to sexual addiction. To be abused by a parent or family member leads to feelings of anxiety, fear, anger, and confusion. Children who are abused question their self-worth and safety. Shame, one of the contributing factors of sexual addiction, can overwhelm an individual and be internalized in one’s heart. The message shame gives abused children is that they are a mistake and worthless. Abused children do not know how to cope with abuse and make an effort to bury horrifying memories. It is very difficult for the abused to confront past pain because it is painful to recollect these emotions. An adult who has been abused during childhood seeks to escape the painful feelings. 

Neglect is also recognized as a root cause of sexual addiction. Neglect indicates a parent’s irresponsibility towards the child’s spiritual, physical, emotional, or sexual development. Spiritual neglect often stems from the absence of parents’ necessary education and information about God and Christian life. Physical neglect is a lack of appropriate physical health care. A child whose emotional needs are not met can create a propensity for emotional numbness. Children need approval, praise, and encouragement. A lack of these experiences causes children to become emotionally numb. Children who are emotionally neglected may desire to please themselves with false intimacy. Sexual neglect comes from the absence of appropriate and healthy sex education in the family. Children who are sexually neglected in the family receive an unhealthy and distorted message from the current culture and mass media. Early sexualization, without proper cognitive ability or development to accept sexual stimuli and feelings, influences children to lose control of future sexual encounters because of their early dealings with the subject. 

How can sex addicts who experienced these wounds as children be treated? Sexual addicts who have experienced abuse or neglect in a relationship can be cured through healthy relationships. Sexual addiction is difficult to treat on its own. Since emotional needs have not been met, it is necessary to understand those feelings and express them appropriately. Since they use sex to deal with their emotional pain, they need to learn more appropriate and healthy ways to deal with more negative emotions. In particular, sex addicts need to accept that God has made them beautiful creatures and value their existence in God’s love in dealing with shame for themselves. Sexual addicts tend to demean themselves and view themselves pessimistically due to the wounds they have received, so they have difficulty finding the value and meaning of their lives. Therefore, sexual addicts should believe that God can use their difficult life experiences meaningfully. It is also essential to accept the loss of sufficient love and care in the lives of sex addicts. Sexual addicts are poor at establishing healthy relationships because they have not experienced caring and nurturing in past relationships. It is important to experience care and acceptance through healthy relationships through sharing their pain in a healthy community. By experiencing acceptance when they show their faults and weaknesses to others, they can be honest in front of others and trust others. The love and acceptance experienced through a positive relationship with God and others play a vital role in recovering sex addicts suffering from inappropriateness and shame. 

Reference 

Carnes, P., & Carnes, P. (2001). Out of the shadows : understanding sexual addiction (3rd ed.). Center City, MN: Hazelden Information & Edu. 

Laaser, M. R. (2004). Healing the wounds of sexual addiction: Zondervan. 

---

Did you enjoy this blog? We think you’ll like the other blogs in this series, too! Be sure you check out what Dr. Lee has to say about the neurological and spiritual perspectives on sexual addiction in his other posts.

---

Growth of the Internet makes it easy for surfers to access hundreds of thousands of pornography web sites, which are now the main source of pornographic materials in the world. As pornography found in the Internet is almost impossible to avoid, problems with pornography among people are rapidly growing and becoming increasingly severe. As a result, the number of people who struggle with sexual addiction is increasing and seek counseling in individual, group, and couple therapy settings. In order to assist a sex addict in his or her recovery, a comprehensive understanding of sexual addiction is essential to a Christian counselor. Sexual addiction can be understood through the following perspectives: biblical, neurological, and psychological. One single perspective does not fully identify complicated issues of sexual addiction. The root of sexual addiction has multiple aspects. Thus, a holistic approach to sexual addiction is necessary for a Christian counselor to help the sex addict recover. First, this blog explores the neurological perspective of sexual addition.  

Sexual addiction from a behavioral psychology viewpoint focuses on objectively observable behavior, learning, and habit information. If a sexual behavior or fantasy provides people with pleasure or relief from pain; then, the body learns how the attachments occur. This behavior then tends to occur more frequently and repeated behaviors become a habit. Repeated experiences of association between sexual behaviors and attachments form a type of learning known as conditioning. The process of learning is so deep and automatic at the physical level, that the conditioning is highly difficult to break and extremely powerful. 

Neurological science also has a similar mechanism to behavioral psychology. The nervous system is an essential part of the human body. Sexual addiction is maintained by mood-altering chemicals which stimulate the body. Sexual addicts become neurochemically tolerant to the chemicals that sex produces, such as adrenaline, serotonin, and dopamine. For sex addicts, sexual behavior or fantasies becomes the primary way sexual addicts condition their brains to meet their neurological needs. Sexual behavior or sexual fantasy creates an altered state. The brain of sexual addicts craves more and desire to achieve this same state because it becomes less sensitive to pleasure that the addiction creates in the brain. A repeated altered state leads to neurological conditioning. Tolerance develops after becoming desensitized to the chemicals that sexual addiction creates in the brain. If sexual addicts’ brains do not generate enough neurochemicals to achieve the same effect, then the sexual addict will pursue neurological balance through sexual activities or fantasies. 

It is very important for a Christian counselor to consider the neurological condition of sexual addicts in order to help them recover because the brain is the largest sexual organ humans have. If a counselor only evaluates sexual addiction from a psychological or spiritual perspective without considering the neurological perspective, treatment for the sex addict will not be effective. For sexual addict’s recovery, new pathways in the brain must be created because the sexual addict has neurologically conditioned the brain with sexual stimuli. The sexual addict must learn how to stop sexual fantasies and have relational sex. The sexual addict’s sexually and neurologically conditioned brain must be changed and reconditioned by a new healthy life pattern.  

Another aspect of the neurological understanding of sexual addiction is that the brain never completely forgets its past learning and conditioning. Even after breaking a sexually addicted habit or reconditioning, the potential for relapse always exists in the sex addict. The new neurological conditioned systems can never obliterate the old systems that have been formed in the brain. As times goes on, addictive behaviors will not be as intense. However, the brain is quick to be reminded of old patterning and conditioning through slight stimulus and momentum because the brain does not forget old patterns. Thus, the recovery of sexual addiction is not a one-time healing but an ongoing process. 

Why is the neurological perspective of sexual addiction is important? 

Sin pollutes not only the individual’s spirit but also his body. It is easy for a Christian to downplay the value of the body. Yet, the effect given to the body also must be considered very important in order to understand sexual addiction because humans consist of both body and spirit or soul. The Bible does not see body and soul as separate from one another. Humans are unified beings. A spiritual nature is not completely independent from the body. In the Old Testament, the most frequent word is basar (“flesh”), which refers to the body as a whole. A human being’s bodily nature indicates not only one’s mortality with physical needs, but it also provides the plane of attack for sin. In the New Testament, the body is not only mortal, but it also serves as the place of proper worship and the temple of the Holy Spirit. A Romans 12:1 says, “I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, [which is] your spiritual service of worship.” A divine soul is not liberated from the body but offers the body in service to God. The Apostle Paul also argues that the inner life is as important as the outer life, and both are related to each other. Thus, sexual addiction rules the body as well as the heart.  

---

Did you enjoy this blog? We think you’ll like the other blogs in this series, too! Be sure you check out what Dr. Lee has to say about the psychological and spiritual perspectives on sexual addiction in his other posts.

---

Reference 

Erickson, M. J. (2013). Christian theology (3rd ed.). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House. 

Struthers, W. M. (2009). Wired for Intimacy: How Pornography Hijacks the Male Brain. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. 

By E. Russ Bermejo, MSW, Lecturer 

Sometimes you read the perfect book at the perfect time. Makato Fujimura’s Art + Faith: The   Theology of Making” (Yale University Press, 2020) was just that read for me.  It was May of this year, and I had just completed my first year of teaching after nearly 25 years of direct practice and consulting in child welfare.  I had more than my fill of teaching social work theory, field seminar, and SPSS. The cumulative effects of Zoom fatigue, undergoing a career change, a global pandemic, political and social unrest had all taken its toll.  My soul needed to be restored. 

Nihonga and Kintsugi 

Fujimura is a Christian artist trained in the Japanese style of painting called nihonga which he calls “slow art” since it involves pigments made of pulverized minerals that are brushed and layered to provide contrasting effects.  Some of Fujumura’s paintings have over 80-100 layers of paint.  It’s beautiful yet painstakingly slow.  Fujimura asserts that nihonga, however, is not about materials and tools, but rather an integrated way of making since it relies on an ecosystem of trained craft folks of multiple generations, from paper makers to brush artisans, built on trust and relationships.  It is impossible to teach nihonga outside of this ecosystem.  Painting is always done with the help of others and in collaboration with others.    

In this context, beauty is only possible through integration; and integration can only come from fragmentation and brokenness.  To illustrate this, Fujimura points to another ancient Japanese art form of kintsugi¹ which involves repairing broken tea ware with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum.  There is no attempt by the artist to hide the damage, but the repair is literally illuminated.  The kintsugi artist is not focused on merely “fixing” broken pieces, but rather treats the fragmentation as part of an object’s history so it can be made even more beautiful than the original.   

Two Paths for the Artist 

Fujimura recalls visiting an exhibit at the Washington National Gallery several years ago featuring the self-portraits of two celebrated artists – Picasso and Rembrandt.  Picasso was undoubtedly one of the greatest artists of the 20th century, though as Fujimura and others observe, he was full of ego. The self-portraits of Picasso as he nears the end of his life reveals something interesting about his approach to art.  Fujimura observes “At the end of his life, Picasso disappears, there is nothing left.”   

Rembrandt, on the other hand, at the end of his life, had lost everything.  He was bankrupt with no home or possessions, he no longer had any family, and was left with diminishing eyesight.  But Rembrandt’s last of his dozens of self-portraits is his greatest masterpiece. Fujimura reflects “It literally glows, with inner light, peace and joy.”   

Fujimura’s comparison of Picasso and Rembrandt reveal two distinct paths for the artist: one path pursues ego, self-expression, fame, and fortune.  Fujimura contends that this path typifies modern art expression which requires artists to uphold and protect a strong ego.    

The other path, however, involves losing the self and the world to gain the soul. The Japanese aesthetic and philosophy of kintsugi carries a meaning of compassionate sensitivity by leading people to look outward rather than inward.  The artist honors brokenness by illuminating it to make something new again.   

Which path will I choose?   

Fragmentation and Siloed Systems 

Pulverized minerals made into beautiful pigments brushed in contrasting layers; broken shards adjoined with gold refracting to illuminate beautiful imperfection.  Fujimura spoke to me deeply through his reflections on these ancient art forms, showing me a path forward.  He became a Christian in the most unlikeliest of places – while studying art – in Japan, where between less than 1.5% of the population profess to be Christian.  Fujimura’s capacity to see beauty in brokenness helped him find personal healing and inspiration as an artist after September 11, 2001 living only three blocks from the World Trade Center.  Through his unique perspectives of finding faith through art, Fujimura provided illumination of what I was feeling within myself and the world around me.   

As a social worker and consultant in public child welfare for the last two dozen years, I witnessed first-hand brokenness and fragmentation at every level: traumatic stress of children who endured maltreatment and family separation; families affected by an array of issues such as social isolation, unstable housing, mental health, substance use disorders, domestic violence, and lack the support needed to cope with life stressors; and at the systems level, the lack of communication and coordination of agencies who oftentimes serve the same families but have no effective structure for working together towards solutions.   

Clearly, no single agency alone has capacity and resources to solve these issues.  Yet we place blame individual blame on an agency, director, or staff person rather than assume collective responsibility for protecting and serving the most vulnerable and marginalized families in our communities.  Although we have promising collaborative practice models, like Family Drug Courts, Sobriety Treatment and Recovery Teams (START), and  Plans of Safe Care,² which leverage the resources of multiple systems, including child welfare, the courts, mental health, substance use treatment, and primary health care, to do better and be better for families, we have a long way to go to meet the overall need in this country.  But how can we be better?  

To continue: Read Part 2 – We are Both Artist and Masterpiece 

______________________________________________________

¹The Japanese word kin means “gold,” and tsugi means “mend,”

²To learn more about these collaborative solutions, visit National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare at https://ncsacw.samhsa.gov/ and Children and Family Futures at www.cffutures.org

By Erin I. Smith, Ph.D.

Research.  

Now that I’ve said the r-word, I want to acknowledge that you, my reader, may be having a particular physiological and psychological reaction. (Note that sweaty palms and racing hearts could be signs of anxiety or affection; my point here is just to note that you may be having a reaction.) Whatever your reaction is, I invite you to take some deep breaths and read on.  

Research refers to a wide variety of practices aimed to systematically investigate questions in the pursuit of answers and (hopefully) understanding. These practices represent an important way of knowing in the world, an important tool to bring to addressing some of the most pressing questions in our culture. The idea that research is useful in knowing is not new. Many in church history (e.g., Justin Martyr, St. Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, John Wesley) highlighted how the Book of Nature can (and should!) be read alongside the Book of Scripture, as both reveal truth originating in God himself. Thus, for the Christian, reading the Book of Nature, as revealed through emerging research, alongside and through the lens of the Book of Scripture is not just an opportunity for a robust understanding of reality (though this is an important consequence), it affords significant opportunity to leverage ancient Biblical wisdom in the language of modern science for the glory of God’s name in our world.  

For me, this is an essential starting point for any conversation about research, especially research at California Baptist University, a distinctly Christian University committed to the Great Commission. Because I believe that the gospel—the good news of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection—is world changing, I am committed to using all tools provided to me by God to share this news. As the Apostle Paul writes to the Corinthians, “…I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.” (1 Cor. 9:22-23). Although research symbols like the beakers found in a modern chemistry lab would not exist for nearly two millennia after Paul’s letter, I think that today Paul might include speaking the language of science and research in his exhortation if opening the Book of Nature would provide a means to engage and share the Book of Scripture.  

Although I could say more about the importance and rationale of engaging science faithfully as Christians (and I have, in small part, in this publication), I want to move from general statements about “Christians engaging research” to specific statements about the culture of research at California Baptist University. 

For faculty who have been around CBU for a while, it will not be surprising that a culture of research is a consistent priority. To this end, in 2019, the University celebrated and dedicated a momentous achievement: the announcement of a new endowed professorship, the Fletcher Jones Endowed Professor of Research. In October 2021, I had the honor of being appointed into this professorship. However, it’s important to note that what makes this endowed professorship particularly unique is that rather than being a role to support a single person’s research agenda, this role is dedicated to the elevation and support of faculty research across CBU’s many schools and colleges. In other words, I have the distinct privilege of supporting, equipping, and elevating the incredible and diverse research that is ongoing and developing at CBU. This is truly a privilege given what I’ve already said about research: that it can be a God-given tool to address critical issues in our community and world for the glory of God’s name and kingdom.  

I share this with you as a preamble to an invitation for you. In my role, one of my primary goals is to help CBU faculty develop, conduct, and finish research more successfully. This is not just about lines on vitas, nor is this in competition with our steadfast commitment to delivering excellent educational experiences for students. This is about leaning into our God-given calling and unique position at California Baptist University to engage research in a way that enhances our educational mission and speaks God’s truth into complex problems. For me to support you in this journey, I need to hear from you. What kinds of research do you do? What do you feel called to do? What are your barriers to engaging research? What kinds of supports do you need? This is my first invitation to you. I have set up several small group conversations for me to ask these questions so that I might hear from you, the researchers I aim to support, as to how I might best support you. I would love to listen and learn of your experiences, hesitations, victories, and challenges in research, and ideas you might have to help you thrive in this capacity. Please consider signing up here to participate in the spring, 2022 semester. 

A second, but related invitation, is to participate in a faculty learning community I am leading in the spring 2022 semester. Across 6 meetings, we will meet to discuss Robert S. Tyan and Avidan Milevsky’s (2016) text Launching a Successful Research Program at a Teaching University. I am offering this group twice, in hopes that one of the times might work in your schedule. This is a great opportunity for individuals who are looking to get started to wade into the research waters alongside others looking to do the same. This learning community aims to help participants identify common barriers to engaging research at teaching institutions like CBU and equip them with tools and resources to overcome these barriers. I would encourage you to make time for this. You can sign up here.  

If any of this has piqued your interest, I would encourage you to sign up for these opportunities, to follow up with me, and to start a conversation. We are all in different places—and that’s okay! I hope that in the coming months and years, I will have the privilege of meeting you wherever you are to support and extend the research that God has entrusted you with. I look forward to hearing from you. 

Following my freshman year on a Division I collegiate swim team, I decided to transfer to another institution. I transferred, not because I wasn’t swimming well, or because my degree program wasn’t offered, or because I wanted to be closer to home (I was already a short 2-hour drive away); but because, to my detriment, I did not feel like I fit in on the team I was competing for. More than that, I felt like my own personal vision and values didn’t align with the organization’s. In the words of an Industrial-Organizational Psychologist (IOP), how I experienced person-organization fit within the organization culture did not align with what I needed as an individual. In the field of IOP, the term person-organization fit is used to demonstrate a relationship or match between the employee (athlete) and an organization (collegiate athletics team). Specifically, research on person organization fit reveals that when there is a successful match or relationship, the employee is more likely to not only succeed at their job, but to also be retained by the organization (Schmitt et al., 2012). In my own experience, I was able to identify how a lack of alignment with the athletics team I was competing for led to an organization loss: the organization was unable to retain me as a Division I All-American Athlete (Rousseau, 1998).  

During my high school swimming career, I had emerged as the 4th highest ranked athlete in the country and was recruited by top Division I (DI) universities. However, what I discovered is, as a junior in high school, it is very difficult to make a decision that will impact the course of your entire life (shocking, I know, right?). Sometimes the most exciting school, as seen through the eyes of someone in high school, isn’t the best “fit” long-term. To give some perspective on the number of student-athletes struggling to find an organization where they “fit,” in 2020-2021, some 14,766 student-athletes at NCAA DI institutions decided to transfer. In other words, they were not retained and decided to leave their current athletic program. Out of those 14,766 only 1,303 (8%) matriculated (enrolled full-time) at another institution. Another 662 (5%) withdrew completely, and the remaining 12,801 (87%) are still looking for another institution to call home (NCAA, 2021). These 12,801 student-athletes resulted in an approximate $343,322,820 loss in tuition, total, because they couldn’t or didn’t find another institution at which to continue their athletic career. In other words, these student-athlete’s initial decision to transfer because of a mismatch with their organization has significant costs for the institution. While COVID-19 played a tremendous role in the number of student-athlete transfers during the 2021-2022 academic year, the percentage of student-athletes who are deciding to transfer continues to increase. Therefore, it is in the interest of the school to maximize their retention strategies to assist their student-athletes in finding person-organization fit. That is where the science of people at work has meaningful, evidence-based solutions to provide.  

From the perspective of an IO Practitioner, three specific strategies can be drawn from to increase person-organization fit and generate a higher level of retention for athletic organizations. These are: 

1. Employee (Athlete) Engagement. Employee Engagement is known to be increased by employees (athletes) having a positive outlook on the vision of the organization, feeling like they are learning on the job, and feeling like they are involved and belong at the organization (Desai, 2021). However, employee engagement tactics alone do not maintain retention; it must also be facilitated by effortful communication between the athletes and the leader (Ng. et al., 2006). This effort may take the form of conversations around effective communication with teammates or increased transparency during the recruitment/selection process. Success in this area is identified by individual or group flow for student-athletes, which is often indicative of engagement (Turaga, 2018). Flow state is defined as a mental state in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in what they are doing while experiencing intense feelings of involvement and enjoyment. Flow-state can be understood and measured through the student-athletes perception of time passed while performing a challenging task (Im & Varma, 2018). 

2. Mentorship. From a research standpoint, the value of mentorship, as seen by organizations, is undeniable. The presence or lack of mentorship predicts salary, job satisfaction, organization socialization, and retention (Alper, 2017). Not only that, but mentorship indicates a relationship with elite-level success for athletes of all sports (Hoffman et al., 2019). Mentorship not only predicts retention and success for athlete mentees, but it also demonstrates similar relationships for the mentors themselves (Hoffman, 2019). Some going even so far as to say that the mentor/mentee relationships helped them take their athletic careers to the next level (Hoffman et al., 2019). 

3. Gratitude. College students who make an effort to express gratitude throughout their academic careers demonstrate correlations with psychological well-being, decreased burnout, higher organization commitment, retention, and a more profound feeling of personal accomplishment (Mofidi et al., 2014). For athletes specifically, an increase in gratitude is correlated with higher sport satisfaction, lower burnout, and lower psychological stress. Further, gratitude is associated with a higher level of perceived social support as athletes became more receptive to resources offered to them (Gabana et al., 2019). This research implies resources increases organization commitment via athlete buy-in, increasing the number of student-athletes that the organization retains. 

With retention in mind, it is essential to discuss action steps to implement these three strategies in collegiate athletics environments within the United States. First, increasing employee (athlete) engagement can be as simplistic as providing specific, relevant, learning opportunities whether technical or psychologically related (Desai, 2021). Alternatively, collegiate athletics organizations can find employee (athlete) engagement in building necessary connections. Findings from the research predict that opportunities for athletes to connect outside of their sport is not only wanted but increasingly essential to facilitate belonging (Ng. et al., 2006). Second, collegiate athletics organizations can implement mentorship through the creation of a peer mentorship program. Specifically, mentees shouldn’t be partnered with mentors on their sports teams but instead connect with partners on another team. Boundaries like the above increase the amount of psychological safety the athlete can experience should they seek advice on a situation or conflict within their team (Hoffman, 2019). Finally, gratitude training and workshops are excellent ways to help the athlete see value in the organization and increase social connectedness. The provision of materials regarding support services and resources following the gratitude training/workshop increases the athlete’s chance to utilize them. In turn, this increases retention through organization buy-in (Gabana et al., 2019).  

By implementing these three strategies and subsequent action steps, athlete retention and perceived organization fit have the potential to experience a significant increase in collegiate athletics organizations. Utilizing these strategies, collegiate athletics organizations will have influence in lessening the inevitable impact of student-athlete turnover and the retention of elite athletes in all sports. The staggering number of transfers in 2020-2021 are representative of the lack of emphasis on person-organization fit in athletics organizations at a Division I level. Retention strategies discussed within this post are beneficial not only because they assist in the promotion of athlete success and well-being, but also because they also benefit the organization itself. Through the implementation of retention strategies, organizations can retain those student-athletes that otherwise might have transferred while reducing the number of tuition dollars lost every year. While this research has demonstrated potential to make an impact in athletics organizations, it also has potential to make an impact for organizations in a general sense. In other words, because retention of the individual is a valued part of a healthy organization culture, how will you encourage your organization to utilize these retention strategies to increase person-organization fit for their employees? 

References 

Alper, P. (2017). Corporate Mentorship Program. Leadership Excellence, 34(8), 52–54. 

Desai, J. (2021). A study on learning organization with reference to employee engagement, retention and job satisfaction in industries [ProQuest Information & Learning]. In Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering (Vol. 82, Issue 5–B). 

Gabana, N. T., Steinfeldt, J., Wong, Y. J., Svetina, D., & Chung, Y. B. (2019). Attitude of Gratitude: Exploring the Implementation of a Gratitude Intervention with College Athletes. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 31(3), 273–284. 

Hoffmann, M. D. (2019). Considerations for facilitating the development of peer mentoring relationships between athletes. Journal of Sport Psychology in Action, 10(1), 59–72. https://doi-org.libproxy.calbaptist.edu/10.1080/21520704.2018.1509164 

Hoffmann, M., Loughead, T., & Caron, J. (2019). Mentoring identity and the motivation to mentor: A case study of an exemplary peer athlete mentor. The Sport Psychologist, 33(1), 52–63. https://doi-org.libproxy.calbaptist.edu/10.1123/tsp.2018-0020 

Im, S., & Varma, S. (2018). Distorted Time Perception during Flow as Revealed by an Attention-Demanding Cognitive Task. Creativity Research Journal, 30(3), 295–304. 

Mofidi, T., El-Alayli, A., & Brown, A. A. (2014). Trait Gratitude and Grateful Coping as They Relate to College Student Persistence, Success, and Integration in School. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, 16(3), 325–349. https://doi-org.libproxy.calbaptist.edu/10.2190/CS.16.3.b 

Ng, T. W., Butts, M. M., Vandenberg, R. J., Dejoy, D. M., & Wilson, M. G. (2006). Effects of management communication, opportunity for learning, and work schedule flexibility on organizational commitment. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 68(3), 474-489. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2005.10.004 

Rousseau, D. M. (1998). Why workers still identify with organizations. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 19(3), 217-233. 

Schmitt, N. W., Highhouse, S., Weiner, I. B., Klimoski, R. J., Weiner, I., Schmitt, N. W., & Highhouse, S. (2012). Handbook of psychology, industrial and organizational psychology: Industrial and organizational psychology. ProQuest Ebook Central https://ebookcentral.proquest.com 

Turaga, R. (2018). Creating Optimal Experiences with “Flow.” IUP Journal of Soft Skills, 12(1), 38–45. 

A few months back, I decided to do something crazy. No, I didn’t sky dive (I’ve done that already). No, I didn’t wander out of a Beijing airport at 2am, totally jetlagged and confused, hoping I understood what I had been told to do (I’ve done that too). And no, I didn’t have a baby and then fly with said 3-week-old baby and her toddler sister to Oxford for 5 weeks (yep, I’ve done that crazy thing, too). This time I did something truly audacious: I sat down to write a three-part blog series on writing well, with the goal of helping my students (you!) think about research writing not as a chore to be dreaded (avoided, and finally—at the very last minute—begrudgingly completed) but instead as an opportunity to develop the skills required to turn ideas into words that inspire action and world change. Of the things I’ve listed in this paragraph, I’m not sure what the craziest item is. 

What I had originally set out to do in three blog posts is now eight (nine if you count this one). And, if I’m honest, I haven’t even said all the things I wanted to. But I still think that what I’ve done is crazy—and it just might be helpful. So, I wanted to spend a few more sentences outlining what to expect in this blog series. I will end with an invitation for you.  

In the first two blogs, I focus on some topics around orienting yourself to the task of writing. First, I address the question of what scientific writing is (hint: if you are reading this blog on this research website, you are likely have/are going to engage scientific writing at some point in your educational or professional career). Second, I explore two characteristics of effective science writers, characteristics that promote the skill development of writing well. 

In blogs three and four, I zoom in a bit and tackle how scientific papers are organized. Blog three covers the purpose of the different sections of an APA style research paper and blog four tackles how to organize a literature review of research as a stand-alone paper. For all things, including writing, I firmly believe that when we understand the purpose of something, we can engage in a way that increases the likelihood of fulfilling that purpose. In science writing, fulfilling the purpose includes clear and effective communication of discovery (e.g., what things are really like, why the world works the way it does), because discovery is the plotline of science.  

From there, blogs five through eight take a bit of a nosedive into the weeds of writing. I provide 4 examples of tools that I use in my own writing. I take the case example of a paper I recently wrote, a literature review, and I show a few of my steps from start to finish. I tell you about my Dear Mom Draft; I show you how I organize my early literature review search of research articles to deepen my understanding and preparation to start writing; I give you a peek inside my method for editing—especially how I go about deleting sentences that I know need to go but that are hard to let go of; I underscore how the writing process is the thinking process—revision isn’t just for more clarity of phrase, but for clarity of thought.  

Across all these blogs, my goal is to reinforce a basic truth about writing: it is a skill that is developed with practice. I hope that, across these blogs, you’ll be better prepared to engage in the practice of writing well and that you might learn a few tools that are useful in your own skill development.  

There are, of course, many other issues (tools, obstacles, ideas) about writing well that these blogs don’t cover. For example, I didn’t talk at all about reading as a fundamental to good writing (it is!) or specifics of focusing a research question and searching library databases for good sources (key concerns!). Another big one mentioned by a student of mine that I don’t really address is how to maintain motivation to write in the face of waning enthusiasm (and an approaching deadline). Perhaps I’ll take these up in another miniseries which I might call revenge of the writing well blog.  

Between now and the revenge, as these blogs go live over the coming weeks, I want to issue you an invitation. I invite you to engage these blogs as opportunities for your own development. Writing well is not just about the research, it’s about the world change that comes with effective communication and clear thinking. Sure, this might not come out of that paper you are writing for your class, but the skills that you are practicing may just prepare you to be able to do just that. In addition to this long-term invitation, I want to know at the outset: what is it about writing well that you want to learn more about? 

3/7/2022 Update: The University Writing Center, an excellent CBU resource for developing your writing skills, has also contributed their thoughts as a continuation of this blog series. You can (and should) check that blog out here.

Hi, my name is Erin Smith, and I’m a control junkie. For me, time is a puzzle solved with color coded calendars, carefully curated schedules, and heavily researched expectations over future events. I have learned that I can quell a lot of anxiety when I over plan and over prepare for what is to come (and what might be, could be, may eventually be).

This characteristic is helpful….to an extent. But, when I am honest with myself, I know that this kind of control only gets me so far. (It also sometimes reinforces rigidity, which is not psychologically helpful, and sometimes it exacerbates my anxiety. Also not helpful….both topics for a future blog, perhaps.) An honest appraisal of the world, however, indicates that there are so many things, many important things, out of my control. This doesn’t mean that I’m powerless, only that there are limits to what my planning, preparing, and careful execution can produce.

Case in point: A pandemic.

Are there things that I, personally, can do to help mitigate the spread and impact of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19? Absolutely. This is why I wear my mask, social distance, and wash my hands often. Taking control and ownership of these behaviors is important. At the same time, can I, personally, stop the coronavirus? No, not on my own. I think, more to the point, I personally cannot ensure the maintenance of life-giving breath to my body. I contribute to my health—yes!—but I am ultimately not in exclusive control of whether my life will continue.

For a self-confessed control freak, this stark recognition of what is not in my hands is really difficult. It probably shouldn’t be because this truth is not new, it’s just usually unobserved. A paradox of the Christian faith (one that, coincidentally, mirrors my understanding of human agency from a psychological perspective) is that what we do matters—we have control!—but we are not ultimately in control (at least not total control!). My pastor once referred to this tension for our control as “radical responsibility and radical grace”. There is so much nuance here, nuance that I think is important, but instead of focusing there, I want to share what I have been practicing this pandemic to help mitigate the anxiety that bubbles up when I am faced with so much uncertainty. This is not a magic pill, it’s not a substitute for professional mental health care, when needed, nor is it the only thing I do. With all those caveats, one thing that has been really important to me during this season of uncertainty, change, and difficulty is the practice of gratitude.

What is gratitude?

When we are thankful and expressive of appreciation, we are being grateful. Researchers can talk about gratitude as a disposition (relatively stable way of interacting in the world), an emotion (the physiological reaction that prompts an emotional experience of thankfulness), and as a mood (moods are more stable than emotions, but less enduring than dispositions). I think it’s interesting to differentiate these three experiences of gratitude because it means that even if you are not naturally (or “dispositionally”) grateful, you can still develop habits of gratitude that will impact your emotional experiences and longer-lasting mood states.

What does gratitude “do”?

In addition to the straightforward instructions in Scriptures to practice gratitude (e.g., Ps. 106:1; Col. 3:16; Heb. 12:28-29), researchers have noted that grateful people tend to be healthier (physically and mentally), more likely to attain their goals, and more helpful toward others, among other effects¹.

One of the things that gratitude does is that is refocuses yourself off yourself and, it turns out, when we think of ourselves less we tend to be less consumed with anxiety, distress, loneliness, etc. Reflecting on what we have to be grateful for reminds us that beyond the difficulties of the present moment, there is life-giving hope, purpose, relationship, love, and acceptance. 

I want to be clear that gratitude doesn’t make your problems go away. It doesn’t make you ignore the realities that you are facing. (That is delusion, not gratitude.) What gratitude does do is it promotes a form of cognitive reframing that gives you a different vantage point on your situation. During this pandemic I have doubled-down on my efforts to practice and express gratitude. This hasn’t made the pandemic and my associated anxieties magically disappear, but it has helped anchor me in my gratitude to God, to people made in His holy image, and to the beauty in the good creation we inhabit. Gratitude has helped me look at the same world with new eyes. With new compassion. With new energy. By looking for points of thankfulness and seeking ways to express it, I have moved myself from a place of anxiety over the unknowns and the fluctuations closer to a place of peace. Even if nothing goes as planned (I still do like color coded calendars, after all), I have so much to be grateful for, a gratitude that moves me to more fully see my neighbor and love my neighbor in word and in action.

How can you leverage gratitude in your own life?

I want to reiterate that practicing gratitude is a practice. It won’t come naturally to everyone. It’s also not panacea. I really wish I could tell you that for every anxious thought I reflect on one thing to be grateful for and *poof!*: anxiety gone. But that would be a lie. This is an ongoing effort. What I can tell you is that there are lots of good reasons to pursue the practice of gratitude—Biblical and scientific reasons.

Here are two ways you can intentionally practice gratitude. Try it. Tell me how it felt in the comments below.

1. An easy introduction: At the end of every day (for at least two weeks), reflect back on your day and make a physical list of five things you are grateful for. Think of your family, friends, pets, or when you received help (as starters).
2. A slightly more intense practice: Spend 15 minutes writing a letter to someone for whom you are grateful, but have never expressed gratitude to. Don’t worry about your spelling or grammar, instead be as specific and concrete as possible, detailing what this person did, why you are grateful, and the impact this person and their actions had on your life. If you feel so inclined, put the letter in the mail or schedule a zoom call and read it to them directly. Research shows that we tend to underestimate how gratitude will impact a person; if you feel inclined, share your gratitude and you and the recipient of the gratitude will reap positive psychological effects!  If possible, repeat this exercise several times a week.

---

Notes:

1. Check out the work of Dr. Emmons, the preeminent researcher on gratitude: https://emmons.faculty.ucdavis.edu/. You may also find this (someone old, but still relevant) chapter interesting: Emmons, R. A., McCullough, M. E., & Tsang, J.-A. (2003). The assessment of gratitude. In S. J. Lopez & C. R. Snyder (Eds.), Positive psychological assessment: A handbook of models and measures (p. 327–341). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/10612-021 Copy available here: https://sites.hofstra.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/86/2019/11/Gratitude-chapter-for-Pos-Assessment-volume.pdf

2. If you are looking for more of these kinds of activities, check out https://ggia.berkeley.edu/

Although cultural encouragement for fresh starts are often reserved for the new year marked every January, the start of a new academic year is, perhaps, a better time for those of us running on a traditional academic calendar to take advantage of a new “year”. With the new academic year comes a new schedule, perhaps a new living situation, new friends, professors, responsibilities….I’m sure your list goes on. With all this new, there is also an opportunity: an opportunity for growth. Maybe it’s about time for you to really prioritize reading the Bible. Maybe you want to finally run that 5k or eat the vegetables your doctor says you should. Perhaps you just want to have better relationships this year. Luckily for us, psychological science has a lot to say about how to make the most of these kinds of opportunities. Here I want to share just a few of these evidence-based practices for real, lasting change.

1. Set the right kind of goals.

Spoiler alert: The kinds of goals we set are directly related to the outcomes we attain.

There is lots of research parsing this specific statement apart, specifying it, supporting it, and fine-tuning our understanding of it. For example, goals that emphasize growth and progress over perfection and demonstration lead to better outcomes[1]. Pursuing goals that are inherently meaningful to you, that you choose freely, are associated with a host of better outcomes for the goal itself, and for associated well-being. Factors like specificity of the goal and affect, among others, also influence how successful goal pursuit will be.

Much of the research on goal success is organized around what researchers call the “SMART goal framework.” SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Oftentimes, New Years’ Resolutions (or new academic year opportunities!) fail because we never turn our “good ideas” into “actionable ideas.” Take, for example, someone who has the admirable idea of wanting to be a better student this year. As a professor, I say, ‘yes! Pursue that!’, but then I have the SMART goal follow-up: How? What would being a better student look like for you? What kinds of behaviors are associated with the success of that goal? Perhaps it is reading all the assigned work for your social psychology course prior to the lecture date and committing to studying, review, and assignment completion for that class three times a week for 1 hour each session. Those statements are specific (read what has been assigned, study for three 1-hour sessions), measurable (at the end of the week, did you do it? Yes/No), attainable (this will depend a great deal on your own schedule, but I would suggest that if you don’t have three hours a week to devote to studying for a class, you may have too much on your plate[2]), relevant (completing course reading, assignments, and studying is surely part of being a good student), and time-bound (this goal will conclude at the completion of the course, since you don’t need to study for a class that has finished!).

It turns out that when we take the time to translate good ideas into SMART goals, we are much more likely to accomplish them. One potential reason is that SMART goals, when well-constructed, force us to face our reality honestly. For example, for someone with limited physical fitness it wouldn’t be an attainable goal to run a marathon at the end of the month. Sometimes it is hard to know if your goal is indeed structured well in this kind of formula; keep reading (especially tip #4!).

2. Consider Gold, Silver, and Bronze Medal Goals[3]

One problem, especially for perfectionists out there (seriously, go read Carol Dweck’s book, Mindset), is that goals are often framed as a “pass/fail.” You either did it or you didn’t. This, on its own, can actually be de-motivating. Folks who have tried to eat better by restricting all kinds of “bad” foods can experience this; one slip up can often lead to a downward spiral of out-of-control eating of the supposed “off-limits” food. This kind of black-and-white approach to goals is inherently self-defeating.

So, how do you set measurable, specific goals that also have room for grace and failure? One way is to have “tiered” goals: a gold medal, silver medal, and bronze medal goal. You want to start exercising? Maybe your gold medal goal is a SMART goal for exercising 5 times a week for 30 minutes [4]. So what about that week that every class has a paper due, your car breaks down, your best friend has a crisis….what then? Is your goal doomed? Maybe not. What if you can still make it to the gym 3 times that week for 20 minutes? That can be a silver medal goal. Because those days and minutes are better—in terms of moving you toward your ultimate long-term goal of an exercise habit—than nothing. And if you didn’t make three times…what about one day? Or intentionally taking a parking spot that is crazy far away and sprinting to class or chapel a few days a week? Might that count as something, perhaps a bronze medal goal? Having thought through various levels of achievement allows you the flexibility to view “near hits” of a goal not as a miss, but as a different level of achievement. The more successes you have, the more likely you are to continue in your goal pursuit because intention to achieve a goal alone is insufficient to actually achieve that goal.

3. Understand your time.

In order to set effective goals, given the parameters above, you need to have a clear understanding of how much time you have and where it is spent. You can’t honestly assess if it is realistic and attainable to exercise 5 days a week for 30 minutes or take on that part time job for 15 hours a week or spend 45 minutes each morning in Scripture and prayer if you don’t have an accurate handle on your time.

…we also need to be realistic about the time we have and the goals we chose to pursue in that time.

Time management skills are an important predictor for many goals, including academic success. The more we think about time as a resource, the better we can steward it. Just as we wouldn’t build a tower without first counting the cost (Luke 14:28), we also need to be realistic about the time we have and the goals we chose to pursue in that time. I find the visuals here to be helpful: time is fleeting. Understanding and using it appropriately (perhaps a topic for a different blog) is key. By sitting down and being honest with how you currently spend your time and how you can reclaim it in pursuit of your goals, you are (once again) adding to the stack of influences increasing your odds at goal achievement. As you prepare for a new semester, spend some time charting time in class, time at work, time studying/doing coursework, time eating, time exercising, time spent with friends…This kind of reverse engineering is an important reflection of what you are able to pursue, but also how what you pursue reflects about your priorities, as you live them.

4. Seek wisdom

Sometimes it is hard to know if the thinking inside your head makes sense outside your head, or how to make the most of the time you have. (I’m just going out on a limb here, assuming that’s not just me.) Thankfully, we don’t do this life thing alone and, as Christians, we are specifically called not to! As you think about what opportunities the new semester presents to you, what habits might need to change, and how best to change them, don’t have that conversation in a vacuum. Seek counsel. Bounce ideas off trusted friends. Ask a mentor for feedback on your goals. Visit a faculty member you respect during office hours. It might sound scary or a bit vulnerable to do these things but consider Proverbs 4:7: “The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom…”. I love this. You want wisdom? Get it. But how—you can’t use what you don’t have! I believe the Biblical answer lies in community; seek those who have wisdom and in those relationships, get it. What better place to start than questions around how to improve your habits, habits which are the core of your character.

One important caveat: be strategic in your accountability. Turns out that there are some unexpected consequences of sharing your goals, some of which can actually decrease the likelihood of goal achievement. However, when you choose whom to share your goals with carefully, such as sharing with a trusted friend of mentor, the effect of accountability serves to increase the likelihood of goal completion. In many ways, this mirrors what Scripture says about wisdom: you can’t get it from someone who doesn’t have it. To pursue it, you need to first go to the few who have it.

---

Most of these tips fall under a large umbrella called motivational science. This literature has a lot more to say about how to produce lasting change successfully. Check out some of the links above and explore the rabbit-hole of internet knowledge. However, even without traveling that rabbit hole, I hope that you will take some of the cues in these tips and realize that you don’t need to know everything in order to make small changes. (That’s right: you don’t need to be an expert in motivational science to benefit from the knowledge it has produced.) Big changes are, after all, often just a series of routinized small changes.

With that in mind: where can you start fresh this academic year? What habit(s) need revision? Need better study habits? To prioritize your relationship with God? To take your eating or exercise habits more seriously? Or perhaps you need to develop better relational capacities. Whatever the change is, I hope that these tips will provide a starting point for thinking about how to make that change and make it last. I also hope that you will check back to this blog and check out some of the curriculum in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences here at CBU, as both will offer specific tools to help you in this journey.

Where can you start fresh this academic year?

As an added incentive for you to think about these questions, leave a comment below: where are you hoping to start fresh or what evidence-based tip above did you find most helpful? One comment from a current CBU student will be selected at random to win a CSHB power bank….you know, to keep your cell phone charged and ready to check back for more blogs, all semester long.

Update: Comments are working again! Please comment below. For the hassle, we’ll give away an extra power bank to a lucky CBU student!

Note: We will be giving away power banks all semester when you read and engage with new blogs, so be sure you check back for new blogs and leave comments! Raffles will be held a week after the blog is posted. Please email CSHB@calbaptist.edu if you have any questions.

---

[1] This is a statement I’m particularly passionate about. There is a wonderful book on this topic, accessible to a non-technical audience, that I would heartily recommend. Check out more information here: https://mindsetonline.com/whatisit/about/index.html

[2] As a note on time: each unit of a course translates to 2 hours expected outside that course a week. Thus, a typical 3-unit class expects 3 hours in-class engagement and 6 hours out-of-class engagement in a typical week. Thus, the estimate above is actually a low estimate of expectation.

[3] Thank you to Dr. Iverson for sharing this model with me and a former Introduction to Psychology course.

[4] Keep in mind that the more specific you can make “exercise”, the better (e.g., cardio? Weight lifting? A GroupX PiYo class?).

---

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18, NIV)

I love Christmas.  I did not used to love it.  As a mother and student or mother and career woman (depending on the phase of life I was in) I found the season demanding and stressful (did I mention I am also a career perfectionist; that alone is enough to ruin any good gathering).  And then, of course, there is family.  We all have one of those families.

The simple truth of the season is this: some of us spend the advent period leading up to the celebration of the birth of our redeemer as a Martha (rushing hither and to in a frantic effort to perform at some temporal standard for the holidays) and some of us can prepare for the holidays at the Savior’s feet, reflecting on the precious gift of all that is represented in the nativity (a Mary).  But if we are honest, being a Martha comes a little more natural.

If we focus our eyes on that which is seen, on the temporal, we inevitably forfeit our joy and peace during the demanding holiday season.  It is too easy to get caught up in making a perfect holiday meal, finding the right gift, the right party outfit, or in outdoing last year’s holiday tradition.  But what part of those experiences will matter in eternity… or in 100 years?

However, there are many wonderful moments this season that will matter in eternity.  Those “unseen” things include the relationships we cultivate, or repair, the joyful memories we create with those we love, and the careful preparation of our hearts, our inner lives, toward the gratitude and contentment that produce both joy and peace.

As you prepare for this holiday season, may you be encouraged to keep your eyes focused on the unseen, on the eternal.  In the meantime, here are some practical tips to maintaining your sanity this season:

1. Be realistic. Do not set unrealistic or perfectionist expectations for yourself or others with regards to holiday gatherings and gift giving. Give yourself permission to be human and to enjoy the beauty of imperfection.

2. Practice all things in moderation. This applies to spending, eating, as well as other holiday indulgences.

3. Stay connected; this is the season to deepen relationships, build memories, or perhaps reconcile with someone with whom you have had some conflict or distance. Being connected to others, especially during this time of year, is imperative to reducing the experience of isolation and marginalization so many people seem to struggle with during the holidays.

4. Practice gratitude. This might be the single most important thing on this list.  Pate wrote a wonderful blog last month on this very topic. Gratitude, as it turns out, is also very good for your body and brain.  Gratitude activates the hypothalamus (the part of the brain that regulates sleep, appetite, body temperature, growth and metabolism) bringing the body’s systems into balance.  But it also causes a release of dopamine (the feel-good neuro-transmitter) which not only makes us feel happier and more content and joyful, but also reduces pain (physical and emotional).

Finally, as you prepare for this holiday season, with an eye toward eternity, may you “rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

The Faculty of the CBSS wishes you a very Merry Christmas and a truly Happy New Year!

 

—

Angela Deulen, Ed.D.

Associate Professor of Psychology