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The Author Of The Achievement Habit

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You Are Standing In Your Own Way
Bernard Roth is the author of The Achievement Habit. The first chapter, “Nothing is what you think it is,” states “functional and dysfunctional behavior, both result from choices people make based on meanings they create” (Roth 15). Created in 1969, “Designer in Society” is the original encouragement program that the ideas of “design thinking” were developed on. (2) Now called d.school at the Hasso Platter Institute of Design at Stanford Roth teaches techniques with roots in the psychological approach, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Roth’s use of rhetorical appeals was very effective in his effort to motivate and inspire us to change our thoughts, attitudes, and actions. Everyone can be in control of
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There is a story about a woman named Ann, who had breast cancer and went on to write inspirational poems for other cancer patients. This is a great example of how something that seems so personally devastating can be turned into a positive experience by simply changing our attitudes towards the event and giving it a different meaning. (25) We all want to have success and happiness in our lives. Roth describes success as “doing what you love and being happy about it” (15) He says that achievement can be defined as having a good life and getting the job of living done in a satisfying way that nurtures the life force within and with those we associate with” (26)
Roth also had a strong logical approach in the chapter. As people, our thinking becomes biased when it comes to the world around us. Roth says that “nothing is what you think it is,” in order to change our thinking, we must stop labeling things in the usual way. He gives an example from an experiment with statistical evidence, which showed that rephrasing the way you ask a person to do something will greatly change the response they give you, in the experiment they ask people “to be voters” versus asking them “to vote.” Asking them “to be” gives strength to their image, which will change the action and thus change the behavior (28). People are intrigued with things that amplify their self-image and by simply rearranging the
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