R2 Thoughts for You 
What Does It Take To Motivate?
Posted on September 14, 2009 1 Comment
How do I motivate?
I have always wanted to be able to motivate myself and others. As a friend, family member, team member, coach, teacher, mentor, etc., there have been many times where I wanted to be able to motivate people. Eventually, I discovered a strong connection between motivation, values and ideas. Here’s my humble attempt of explaining what I mean.
I remember coaching my son’s little league baseball team and wishing that I could somehow motivate him and his teammates so they would work together as one cohesive unit. I wasn’t able to. I remember student teaching and wishing that I could motivate the students I was responsible for, to pay attention to what I was teaching and follow my instructions. To be honest, I wasn’t successful. Oh, the students were fine, because my cooperating teacher (the true professional and experienced teacher) was able to “clean up” after me. Of course, I was student teaching and was learning how to teach. Part of what I was learning, while student teaching, was how to motivate. What did I learn?
Well, the first thing I learned was that I can’t motivate someone else. I know, you are probably saying to yourself, “that doesn’t make sense.” Really, trying to motivate someone is similar to didactic teaching (teaching by telling). When a teacher teaches by telling, s/he usually ends up helping her/himself understand better what was already known. In other words, it was good for the teacher and not good for the student.
Let me tell you about didactic!
Now, I know you are aware of people who are very good motivators. So, what is it that they do? Let’s consider what good salespeople do. They don’t sell products, but instead, they sell ideas. They will find out what really matters to the people they are trying to sell to and then build that into an idea. The idea is what they really sell. Take, for example, a salesperson trying to sell you a car. The good salesperson works at finding out what you value and then “sells” you on how the car fits your values. The salesperson isn’t selling the car, but instead the idea of how the car is what you value.
If you want to motivate someone, you must present the person with ideas that stimulate her/him into action. Be as clear as possible. Show a picture, a video, an article, and/or any other “thing” that helps clarify the idea and how it connects with what you are trying to motivate the person to do.
Now, here’s something I value.
As a general rule, in order to motivate, you must show those you are motivating the personal “pay” for them. First, find out what they value. Second, tie in what they value to what you are motivating them to do. Third, illustrate the end result. Maybe the end result is only they will feel good. If that is it, then be sure to illustrate that end result as clearly as you can. Describe the feeling and explain to them how they are going to absolutely love it. For example, let’s consider trying to motivate someone to learn a particular subject in school. First, we need to take what they value and connect it to the subject they are learning. Specifically, let’s consider the subject of history. Suppose the person we are motivating to learn history values baseball. Perhaps, we could connect the long and storied history of baseball to the study of history and show how using historical thinking allows us a greater appreciation for baseball. Finally, paint a vivid picture in the learners’ mind how history will give a deeper appreciation of many other interests, both current and in the future.
This, of course, is only a short explanation of how motivation is tied to values and ideas. Hopefully, if you value the power of motivation, then you have an idea of how to start motivating. I wish I could switch motivation and idea in the previous sentence. They didn’t come out in the correct order. :-)
I value your idea and comments about motivation.
I have an idea about what you value.
Value → Idea → Motivate
What Should We Call The Mental Act Of “Quantifying Quality And Qualifying Quantity?”
Posted on September 10, 2009 1 Comment
How big is it?
What do we call the mental act of quantifying quality and qualifying quantity? A confusing mess! :-)
Will you still love me when I’m …..?
Once I asked a critical thinking expert (Richard Paul) what mathematics is? He responded first by asking me what I thought it was? I responded by saying, “mathematics is the logical study of shape, arrangement and quantity.” That was the definition of mathematics I had memorized and used since I was in college. He then said, “well, your definition is fine, but is it what you think, or is it what someone else thinks and you are just using it?” I told him that I wasn’t really sure, since I had been using the definition for such a long time that it seemed to be a part of me. He then said, “I think mathematics involves both quantity and quality – put those two together and you have mathematics!” I said, “how about quantifying quality and qualifying quantity?” He said, “sounds reasonable.”
That conversation has been in my mind for the past fourteen years. I think “the quantifying quality and qualifying quantity” description is a short and to-the-point way of viewing this thing we call math. Having stated that, I must admit when I share this description of math with others, I often get a confused look for a response. I think it is such a different way of viewing mathematics that most find it lacking any “concrete meaning.” That doesn’t make it a bad – it just makes it interesting. :-)
A “quality” 7.
A “7” that lacks quality :-)
Ok, so where am I going with this? Recently, I was looking at some “fun and interesting” statistics. As I was reading through a list of statistical facts, the above description of math came to mind. You see, statistics is where I think we see the “quantifying quality and qualifying quantity” vividly illustrated in our mind. Take, for example, the following statement: “Although everyone knows how many divorces there are, only 12% of married people thought they would get divorced.” If we leave out the quantity words of “many” and “12%,” then we have an unquantified quality of “divorces and married people.” If we leave out the quality words of “divorces” and “married,” we have the unqualified quantity of “many” and 12%. When mathematical thinking is being used for real life situations, we really can’t separate the quantity and quality and have a meaningful thought.
I will end this with some fun and interesting statistics and let you mentally watch your mathematical thinking. Please consider increasing my “comment statistic.” :-)
**The number of mobile phones eaten by dogs in the U.K. every year: 1 million
**Percentage of those who leave their spouses and then go on to marry the person they were having an affair with: 10
**Did you know that 3 billion people worldwide live on less than $2 a day?
** Percentage of divorced or separated Americans who believe marriage should be for life: 80
** Number of calories you burn by kissing for one minute: 26
**Did you know that 3.7 million Americans claim to have been abducted by aliens?
**Five Americans are injured by shopping carts every hour.
** Percentage of third marriages that end in divorce: 90
**Number of people who could be provided with sources of clean drinking water per year for the cost of a submarine: 60 million
** Percentage of children born to cohabiting couples who will live with both parents until the age of at least 16: 36 (compares with 70 for the children of married couples)
**Number of miles driven by the average American car before it emits its own weight in carbon dioxide: 10,000
**U.S. still spends $96 million every day on nuclear weapons.
** Percentage by which you are more likely to get ill if you are in an unhappy marriage: 35
**Women own only one percent of the world assets.
I’m writing quantity and quality.
“And” What Is Better Than “But?”
Posted on September 5, 2009 Leave a Comment
Pen and Pencil, but maybe Pen and Pen :-)
What is the difference between “and” and “but?” They are both conjunctions. They are also known as co-ordinating conjunctions. One is inclusive (and) and the other is “sort of” exclusive (but). I guess that is a difference. On the other hand, I’m the one who declared the two as inclusive and exclusive conjunctions. As far as I know, there is no formal designation of inclusive and exclusive applied to “and” and “but.” OK, so what’s the point?
…But… :-(
The point is that I think “but” forces us to think in such a way that we pay little attention to what comes before the “but.” I realize that I use many sentences with the word “but” and indeed, what I write before the “but” is not usually as important to the thought being portrayed in the sentence as what follows. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t pay attention to what is before “but”; it means we should know that without what follows the “but,” the sentence is an incomplete thought. You know, those sentences where a person says, “That’s true, but …” What follows is an explanation about why you shouldn’t pay any attention to what was just declared as true. How about, “This is an interesting idea, but …?” What is really being communicated is that the idea is not good and here is why. Ouch!
It’s important for us to realize that certain things we say are almost designed to create conflict. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, the word “but” can be conflicting. Replace the word “but” with “and” and we have a much better chance of smooth and conflict free communication. How about, “That’s true, but …” compared to “That’s true and …?” The second sentence sounds like you are respecting what was previously said and not excluding its merit. Or, consider, “That’s an interesting idea, but you could look at it this way” compared to, “That’s an interesting idea and you could look at it this way.” The “and” is friendlier. At least, that’s what I think.
…And… :-)
So, why is using “and” friendlier than using “but?” I think it has to do with “and” including what proceeds it as compare to “but,” which seems to exclude what precedes it and directs your attention to what follows. I guess we could call this a big “but” problem! :-)
I know I’m guilty of overusing “but” in my writing. Reading some of my past postings, I’ve noticed some cases where it would have been better to use “and” instead of “but.” I hope that my writing didn’t cause conflict, since an overuse of “but” could cause my readers to be subconsciously hostile. Using the word “and” more, will subconsciously cause agreement. Agreement instead of hostility by the simple use of “and” instead of “but.” Now that’s an easy solution and “no buts about it!” :-)
BUT AND, what do you think?
What Is “Correct” English?
Posted on August 31, 2009 2 Comments
Correct English Class?
Recently, I sent the following e-mail to some friends and relatives. I had received a “joke” where the humor was derived from the way someone spelled and pronounced a name. My e-mail was designed to encourage a response to the “joke,” focusing on the importance of using “correct English” and providing different points of view for this posting.
Here’s the e-mail with the “joke.”
————————————-
How To Pronounce Le-a
Hello All,
I received the following recently and was wondering what you thought of it. I have been thinking about doing a blog posting on “What’s the value of using ‘correct English’ when speaking and writing?”
Many of you, over the past few years, have expressed to me your feelings and/or thoughts regarding this. Sometimes you have criticized, made fun, joked, snarled, laughed, etc.
I’m wondering if you have any strong feelings about the “incorrect use of English.”
Please share, if you care. :-)
–Ron
How would you pronounce this child’s name? “Le-a”
Leah?? NO Lee – A?? NOPE Lay – a?? NO Lei?? Guess Again. This child attends a school in Detroit, MI.. Her mother is irate because everyone is getting her name wrong. It’s pronounced “Ledasha”, When the Mother was asked about the pronunciation of the name, she said, “the dash don’t be silent.” SO, if you see something come across your desk like this please remember to pronounce the dash. If they axe you why, tell them the dash don’t be silent.
_________________________________
Is sign language correct english?
OK, I’m sure you can see an element of sensitivity in the “joke.” Some of my friends immediately said that the “joke” was from a racist. Of course, they thought that since the child attends school in Detroit, MI and “ask” was pronounced as “axe,” that a reasonable implication is the mother and child are black. I’m not sure that is a fair implication, but I do see the possibility. Having stated that, there was a hidden reason for me to ask my friends and relatives for a response.
You see, I am guilty of purposely using incorrect English on my website. I have a site for math tutoring and enrichment called “R2Math4U” and I know that the title is not “correct English,” or is it? As you might imagine, I have a reason for the title. Let me explain. “R2” is for Ron Rogers. “Math” is for math. “4” has two different meanings. First, the “4” is for “for.” :-) Second, the “4” is for the cardinal number four. How am I using it as the number four, you asked? Well, I am offering math tutoring and enrichment in four different ways – one to one, telephone, e-mail, and through the website. And last, but not least, the “U” is for you. Therefore, R2Math4U means that Ron Rogers is offering math tutoring and enrichment four different ways for you!
English (correct) sheep dog:-)
I think the mother in the “joke” and I are guilty of the same incorrect use of the English language. That is assuming we are incorrectly using the language. Perhaps we are simply using the language in a creative way. In 1940, what did the word “astronaut” mean? In 1950, what did the word “software” mean? In 1960, what did “email” mean? In 1970, what did “AIDS” mean? In 1980, what did “www” mean? In 1990, what did “blog” mean? And how do you pronounce, Web 2.0? I’ll bet you say “web 2 point oh” and not “web 2 and zero tenths.” Ok, ok, I’m sure you see my point. We are constantly inventing new “words” and new ways to write and pronounce words. Perhaps R2Math4U and Le-a are examples.
Oh, I almost forgot to mention that my maternal grandfather pronounced “ask” as “axe.” No, he wasn’t black, but a white man who immigrated from Copenhagen, Denmark and spoke with a strong Danish accent. He also spoke incorrect English (i.e. the dash don’t be silent). If the joke had used the word “father” instead of “mother” and if my mother’s name was Le-a instead of Lola, then it could have been about my family. :-)
How about a creative comment.
Who Should Promote You?
Posted on August 27, 2009 1 Comment
Do you know what I don’t like about blogging? It’s having to promote yourself! Yes, it seems that, in order to have any success at this (I really am unsure of what “success” is), I must work at promoting myself. I know, I know, I have stated many times that I’m writing for learning. Well, I am. That doesn’t mean that when I write and publish, I don’t need someone other than myself to read it. Sometimes my wife will read it before publishing and help with the editing. I appreciate her input, but at the same time, I must admit that I want others to read and/or comment. Oh, well.
Recently, my wife and I saw Julia and Julie, a movie about Julia Child and a woman named Julie Powell, who wrote a blog for one year while she made every recipe in Child’s book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Since I’m blogging, I found the part of the story where Julie was writing, publishing to her blog and wondering if anyone was reading it, most interesting and very relevant. Like in the movie, I often wonder if anyone is reading this. I do get around ten visits a day, but what is the quality of each visit? What I mean is, what are the people doing after they arrive at the site of the blog? Are they reading or moving on? I guess that is why comments make the blogger feel so good. I feel if someone comments, then s/he has read it. I know that is not necessarily true, but it’s what we bloggers hope is true.
So what should we bloggers do? Promote ourselves? Yes, I guess so, but how? Should I, for example, send an e-mail to everyone in my address book after every posting and ask them to please read my latest? Well, actually I have done that on a smaller scale. By smaller scale, I mean I have sent an e-mail advertising a posting to a select group from my address book that I thought might be interested. That’s fine and it did increase the number of hits I got for that posting, but I don’t think I should “over do” it. Another way I have been promoting myself is to have the following signature on every e-mail I send.
Visit my blog and/or website
Blog R2
https://ronaldrogers.wordpress.com
Website
The two methods of promoting myself, an e-mail about a particular posting to those in my address book and having the above signature on all e-mails I send are good, but not necessarily reaching a broad audience. After three months of blogging, I joined the St. Louis Bloggers Guild and thought that might be a way to promote myself. Actually, that is not the reason I joined. To be honest, I wanted to be a part of a community of bloggers. After being a member for awhile, I now think I joined a group whose purpose is to promote all of the current social media. Even though the logo for the guild states, “Promoting & Protecting St. Louis Bloggers,” I don’t see a big emphasis on the community of bloggers, but instead, an emphasis on Web 2.0 and social media. Please don’t take that as a negative, just simply imply the obvious, that the guild is not only about bloggers. Oh, well!
Who should promote you? YOU! The “you” is definitely plural and all of us are a part of YOU!
How about a comment to promote YOU. :-)
Is Obama’s Basic Affordable Health Care For Everyone A Right Of Citizenship?
Posted on August 24, 2009 Leave a Comment
This is my third posting on the health care “issue” we are currently debating in the United States. My first two, “What Is Your Response To Obama’s Socialism?,” and “If We Can’t Have Affordable Health Care Then Maybe We Should Try The Placebo Effect?” gave very little history of health care in America. For this posting, I hope to add a historical perspective and a few more of my personal thoughts regarding this all important issue before us.
As I have stated in previous postings, I think affordable health care for every citizen should be a right of citizenship. Now, I realize it is not in the Constitution. The Founding Fathers did state that we are “endowed with unalienable rights, among them are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” There is absolutely no question that in order to have life we must have health. But, that still doesn’t mean that affordable health care is a right guaranteed by the Constitution. Having stated that, I think it is as much of a right as that of prisoners, who are given the right to health care due to the “cruel and unusual punishment” part of the eighth amendment to our Constitution. Isn’t it curious that prisoners are guaranteed better health care than the citizens in our country who aren’t prisoners?
At the time our Constitution was written, health care was generally available to all citizens. Of course, health care was by no means as developed and sophisticated as it is today. Due to the poorly organized system of health care in the 1700’s, the framers of the constitution most likely saw little need to include health care as a specific right.
Our health care system and our country are very different from what existed in the late eighteenth century. Life expectancy at birth has changed from 40 years to 76 years and due to the many scientific advancements, the potential for a quality life is enormous. This also has made our health care extremely expensive, costing us over a trillion dollars a year and consuming over 13% of our gross domestic product. As we have greater capability to have a longer quality life, the financial ability to provide the necessary services to all of our citizens is declining.
Currently, health care is a right only for prisoners. Health care is a privilege attained by the wealthy. Health care is a benefit provided by some employers. It is a government subsidized insurance plan for the elderly and military. And, it is a charitable gift for some of the poor. What kind of health care system is that? Should health care be a privilege or right?
How have we paid for health care since the beginning of the 20th century? We started out by paying for health care through the consumer. Generally, consumers paid cash – 25 cents for an office visit and 50 cents for a house call. After World War I, the cost started rising and quickly exceeded the low wages being paid to workers. At that time the Blue Cross insurance plan was created to help with the high cost of hospitalization. Soon after, Blue Shield was created to help with doctor’s fees. The two insurance plans were methods of funding that spread the costs between those who needed services and those who didn’t. This worked as long as everyone didn’t use the services funded by the two insurance systems.
After World War II, health care costs began to rise sharply due to rising hospital costs, physician costs and new expensive medical procedures. Insurance premiums rose because of these sharp increases; in the Fifties our government gave a new direction and relief by providing tax advantages to employers that purchased health care policies for their employees.
In 1965, our government realized that two important parts of our citizenry were not covered by employers. This is when the Medicaid and Medicare programs were established to provide health care for the poor and elderly. Both of the programs were financed through general taxes and/or payroll taxes.
The system for funding health care has changed considerably over the years. We have had many different approaches, most of them lasting for a few years and then having to change due to the changes in medicine, government, economy, etc. Shouldn’t we develop a system for healthcare that doesn’t depend on insurance, physicians, hospitals, and future scientific advancements, but instead is more flexible and interdependent?
Today, as healthcare costs rise above our current ability to fund it, we are again faced with solving another problem of how to pay the costs. We must change the way we view healthcare and face the question of whether or not it is a privilege or a right. You know what I think; what do you think regarding this important issue?
The current insurance system must be changed. Today’s health insurance premiums depend on the overall expense, the profits of insurance companies, the cost for lobbyists, the administration cost and last but not least, the inefficiencies of the system. Like at the beginning of the 20th century, World War I, World War II, the Sixties, etc., we are again at a crossroads of history. We need to use our historical thinking, our business thinking, our governmental thinking, our political thinking and our democracy thinking to solve the problem of providing reasonable and affordable health care to all of our citizens.
Currently in America, prisoners are the only group who are specifically granted the right to health care. Most likely the founders of our country, if they could have predicted the importance of health care, would have granted that the same standard of humane treatment be extended to every citizen. Since the founders didn’t, shouldn’t we?
Care to comment?
How To Help A Student Be Successful In Any Class
Posted on August 21, 2009 Leave a Comment
Actively use the language arts (reading, writing, speaking and listening) to think about the subject!
PREFACE: Though, I don’t think I’m necessarily some outstanding “guru” on how to guarantee success for students in a classroom, I do think the fact that I am a retired school teacher who has thought and taught a great deal regarding this subject, gives some validity to my “expertise.” Wow, what a long sentence! :-)
How does this relate to what I already know?
Recently, I designed a website for the purpose of introducing some of my ideas to the general public, and also offering my services to anyone interested in math tutoring or enrichment. The name of the site is R2MATH4U. If you would like to visit the site, please click here, or on the name given in the previous sentence. When you go to the site, you will notice one of the pages is entitled, “12 Ideas For Classroom Success.” On that page you will find a dozen ideas for success in any academic classroom. Some of you know that I taught Mathematics for over 30 years to students in grade levels from middle school to college. I have also taught student teachers and teachers how to teach and improve their students’ critical thinking. I write this to add some credence to my suggestions on how to be successful in any class.
So, this is a way of thinking?
Here are the first six of the twelve ideas I put on my R2MATH4U site. Also, if you go to the site, you will be able to download a copy in PDF format. I hope this provides some insight for success in any of your academic endeavors.
Half Of The Dozen Ideas For Classroom Success
1) Make sure you thoroughly understand the requirements of the course, how it will be taught, and what will be expected of you. After reading the syllabus, etc. and actively listening to the explanations your instructor gives regarding the course of study, ask questions about the grading policy and for advice on how best to prepare for the class.
2) Become an active learner. Be prepared to work ideas into your thinking by ACTIVE reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
3) As you study the subject taught in your course, think of it as a form of thinking. (In a mathematics class, one of your main goals should be to think mathematically.)
4) Become a questioner. Engage yourself in lectures, discussions, reading, listening, and all other mental activities of the class by asking questions. Questions reflect an active mind. Your questions do not need to be asked orally and do not need to be answered by anyone other than you. If you don’t ask questions, you will probably not discover what you do and do not know.
5) Look for interconnections. The content of any class is always a SYSTEM of interconnected ideas, never a random list of things to memorize. Don’t memorize like a parrot. Study like a detective, always relating new learning to previous learning.
6) Think of your instructor as your coach. Think of yourself as a team member trying to practice the thinking exemplified by your instructor. For example, in a mathematics class, think of yourself as going out for the math team and your teacher as demonstrating how to prepare for the games (tests, assignments and other “math performances”).
Mostly Mind Musings From A Senior Mind!
Posted on August 18, 2009 Leave a Comment
I have a senior mind and these are mostly mind musings! :-)
Many of the following statements are from an e-mail that was sent to me recently. I have added a few of my own and hope you will comment with some of yours. If I get enough new and different “musings,” I promise to have another posting with a compilation of all. Enjoy!
lake Scene
I planted some bird seed. A bird came up. Now I don’t know what to feed it.
I had amnesia once — or twice.
Why can’t we park on a parkway?
I went to San Francisco. I found someone’s heart. Now what?
Protons have mass? I didn’t even know they were Catholic.
All I ask is a chance to prove that money can’t make me happy.
If the world was a logical place, men would be the ones who ride horses sidesaddle.
What is a “free” gift? Aren’t all gifts free?
They told me I was gullible and I believed them.
Outside Scene
Teach a child to be polite and courteous in the home and, when he grows up, he’ll never be able to merge his car onto the freeway.
Experience is the thing you have left when everything else is gone.
One nice thing about egotists: they don’t talk about other people.
Moss Scene
My weight is perfect for my height — which varies.
I used to be indecisive. Now I’m not sure.
The cost of living hasn’t affected its popularity..
How can there be self-help “groups”?
If swimming is so good for your figure, how do you explain whales?
Show me a man with both feet firmly on the ground, and I’ll show you a man who can’t get his pants off.
Is it my imagination, or do buffalo wings taste like chicken?
I planted some herbs in my herb garden and some beer in my beer garden. The herbs are doing fine, but the beer never came up!
SMILE :-)
Here’s a senior visual musing of a montage from the Lake Scene, Outside Scene and Moss Scene.
Are You Only Happy When You’re Right?
Posted on August 15, 2009 Leave a Comment
Yes, it’s right!
I’m one happy guy.
I had a conversation recently with a person who made the following statement, “For my own happiness, it’s important that people think I’m right.” The statement made me pause and literally step back. I think the person has his personal happiness tied directly to whether or not he is right. Later, I asked him if he would rather be right or happy? His response to that question was even more revealing. He said, “I am only happy when I think I am right.” Please note that in this discussion, “right” means correct and has nothing to do with politics. :-)
The feeling that I got from this conversation is he would go to almost any extreme to prove somebody wrong in order to make him right. He is willing to sacrifice a lot, such as relationships or respect, just to be right. I’m not sure if he realized that people who make others look bad generally make themselves disliked. I know that while I talked with him, I got an “unlikeable feeling” from just our conversation. It all stemmed from imagining how he was making others feel so he could be “right.”
Sort of right :-)
I think, fundamentally, there is a choice here. Would you rather be right or happy? Now, I know that it is often very complex and not as simple as one or the other. Having stated that, “being right,” where one sees the world as one big competition and winning translates into the end result of right as compared to happy, is not realistic. A person cannot, or at least should not, always expect to be right.
Life should not be a competition of who is right or wrong, but instead, I think it should be viewed as a cooperative endeavor where happiness is the end result. The best approach is for all of us to realize that everyone is on a learning curve. Cooperating instead of competing will help create a world of happiness instead winners and losers. I know that when I was teaching, having my students focus on cooperation instead of competition allowed more and better learning for all.
Each of us must decide what we value. If we value winning above happiness, then how can we be happy when we lose? Oh, I know, we won’t lose. Now, is that realistic? No, but people who value winning instead of general happiness often will not take chances for fear of failure. They will often make “lying” statements of “I don’t know” when they’re sure they do. Of course, no one knows everything, but a fear of failure will cause us to lie about what we know — the “I don’t know” syndrome often seen in children. Wow, that reminds of the classic statement of, “The only thing I know is that I don’t know.” I believe that is almost a “Socratic Statement.”
This “right or happy” is just a matter of choice. We need to decide for ourselves what kind of person we want to be. One who chooses freely and is responsible for the choices. One who gives and takes freely and is responsible for the give and take. One who knows that between competing and cooperating, that one is about being right and the other is about being happy! Of course, sometimes we can do both, but when we can’t, which one do you choose?
Yes, we chose happiness!
If We Can’t Have Affordable Health Care Then Maybe We Should Try The Placebo Effect?
Posted on August 12, 2009 Leave a Comment
Positive Imagery?
I know, I know, this posting has a long title. I didn’t know how else to entitle it and give a positive spin on the great health care debate coupled with a “possible” alternate solution. There are two reasons why I wanted to write this post. The first was an inner desire to find an alternate and positive answer to at least part of our health care problem that is currently being debated by our nation. The second is the recent death of Dr. O. Carl Simonton, a radiation oncologist who popularized the mind-body connection in fighting cancer and helped push the once-controversial notion into mainstream medicine.
Dr. Simonton’s well-known work with cancer patients demonstrated the power of positive thinking and how it can help with the fight against the horrible health care problem of cancer. He would have his patients spend fifteen minutes, twice a day, vividly picturing their white blood cells attacking the undesirable cancer cells. He emphasized the power of positive imagery.
Studies have shown that cancer patients who believe that radiation therapy will help them are more likely to benefit from it. That is, they will experience more benefit than those who think it will provide no help, or actually be harmful toward their cure. This is just another part to the placebo effect. Studies have shown time and time again that patients have improved from many different ailments when given a sugar pill that they thought was a powerful medicine designed to help cure them of their particular health problem.
This Placebo Effect is interesting. I have often said that when whatever I’m taking or doing seems to help with a cure for a personal ailment and, if it’s the “placebo effect,” I don’t care. It worked! I think we often need a “placebo” to help our mind aid us in the fight against problems of the body. It’s too easy for an ailing body to make us think that we are too weak to fight. We just want it to go away on its own.
The determination in our mind to live a good life and be as healthy as we can should never be underestimated. It has made the difference between life and death for many. The power of the mind is often underestimated. What we think and believe affects our bodies, our chemistries and even our desire to live.
Negative thinking can turn into self-fulfilling prophecies. This is something that I have had to fight throughout my life. I remember times when I would think about failing, felt I was failing during…, and realized that I failed after. Everything was based on negativity. This was typical in my earlier days of playing baseball. I remember preparing to bat. I would think about striking out, with each swing I felt I was striking out and of course, I struck out most of the time. :-( Later on, I did get much better at not striking out by imagining the ball hitting the bat with every swing I took. In fact, I would hardly ever strike out after using that type of positive thinking, but I would usually somehow make an out. :-) Oh, well!
So, how can this help us with the health care problem? Let’s encourage the use of “placebos.” By placebos, in this case, I mean the use of positive thinking. “Socialized Medicine” is being used as a negative term. Changed the name to something that is more American, like “Democratized Medicine.” After all, no matter what kind of health care reform we end up with, it will be America’s plan and since we are a democracy, why not start referring to is as “Democratized Medicine?” Another idea in the spirit of using a placebo, is to have all doctors help their patients with positive imagery. Just mentioning it each time a patient and doctor are together would be an improvement over what we have and shouldn’t increase the cost of health care – yet it might increase the quality of it.
As you can most likely determine by now, I am tired of the negativity in our health care reform debate. We need to think of ALL AMERICANS and positively improve on what we currently have. Too many Americans are taking sugar pills and they know they are sugar pills. They are not experiencing the placebo effect.
Health CARE to comment? :-)
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