Workability and My Grading Method

[Guest guest]

Simone, Bruce, , Terry and allWorkability is the reason I give myself a grade for how well I'm living a valued life. Every ACT book I've read emphasizes the importance of workability. Here's what The Confidence Gap, , says:At this point, I’d like to introduce one of the most important words in this book: workability. Please etch this word deep into your brain, as it underpins everything we do from this point on. The term workability arises from this simple question: “Is what you are doing working to help you create a richer, fuller, more meaningful life?” If the answer is yes, then what you are doing is workable. If the answer is no, then what you are doing is unworkable. , Russ (2011). The Confidence Gap: A Guide to Overcoming Fear and Self-Doubt (p. 69). Shambhala Publications. Kindle Edition. I find two tricky steps in workability - 1) recognizing that what I'm doing is unworkable, observing self; and 2) doing something about it - changing what I'm doing, committed action. It's very easy to get stuck in ACT work. If we have no process for recognizing and fixing our "stuckness" we just stay stuck. If we are seeing a therapist, hopefully, they will show us our stuckness. But if we are doing ACT by our self we have to have some method of recognizing it. My grading method is designed to do that. Another concern I have is whether my stuckness is being reinforced by me or by the people I interact with. I think too much self-compassion can quickly become a reinforcing mechanism for my behavior. Compassion from others can also become a reinforcing mechanism for staying stuck. If I find myself or see others giving reasons for the stuckness, there is probably a workability issue. We always have the choice of staying stuck or working to get unstuck, but first we have to see it.I need to have self-compassion AND a method to evaluate workability AND a committed action plan to keep trying to improve workability.So I guess my grading method could be called a workability evaluation method (WEM )To reiterate -- “Is what you are doing working to help you create a richer, fuller, more meaningful life?” If the answer is yes, then what you are doing is workable. If the answer is no, then what you are doing is unworkable. " BillPS - Here's a quote from The Confidence Gap, regarding confidence:"The actions of confidence come first. The feelings of confidence come later."