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Making decisions to do a task and then following through on those tasks no matter how large or small can be daunting for some people and rather easy for others. Why is that? How is it that the person who can manage follow through can actually do this and is it done with ease or with difficulty?
There are those that make lists and cross their tasks off the list as they accomplish the task but what is that fundamental drive that psychologically separates those people from the ones that make that same list and it sits having its tasks without that coveted crossing?
I have often pondered this question. I doubt very much it has to do with the intelligence of these people and yet the consequences can be devastating not to mention how society shuns them and identifies these people as indeed stupid or lazy.
However, are they really stupid or lazy or irresponsible or any of the other derogatory words that tend to go with the incompletion of tasks? This is where the question starts being broken down by other factors like for example age. To apply this situation to a child of perhaps eight-years-old it could be explained away as acting out for attention. Some might even apply this same answer to an adult of 28.
However it is far more likely that it is not the case in our 28 year-old. So what happened? Are we really facing a situation that some would label it with all those derogatory concepts or is this a type of psychological predisposition? I dare not say some kind of physiological disease because that is not my point. I do concede that there are some situations that would fall into this category and I am putting those aside. My interest lies in those that are generally not suffering from any significant psychological interruptions yet they still struggle with completion of tasks.
I simply wonder if it is a personality predisposition and that it is not linked in any way to intelligence. Is it appropriate for those around this person to bombard this person with negative feedback and suggestions for success such as making the highly touted and ever made holy list that is not completed?
My thinking is that as Einstein reminded us how it is insane to continue to do the same thing over and over and expect a different outcome that if the list has not worked in 28 years for our poor example guy it is probably insane to think it is going to start working now. Perhaps it is time to start looking for another solution.
As I see it the problem is unlikely in the actual doing of the tasks but rather the impetus to begin. So then the question is not a matter of why has the person not completed the list it is actually why has the person not started. What is that specific thing that separates those who can start with ease and those who either have a great difficulty starting or cannot start at all? By my observation it would appear that this is a phenomenon that is on a continuum with a barrier for successful initiation that is highly volatile. So how do we actively influence that highly volatile barrier for success?
As an OT I think this is an area where Occupational Therapy could provide a great deal of successful treatment. This is where an OT can really work one-on-one with a patient and help them to identify what is really proving to be the largest barrier for success. An OT would help the client by creating activities and strategies that utilize a client’s most meaningful activities or as they are also called occupations to overcome and perhaps lower those barriers so that they can ultimately find results in the form of long-term success.
Occupational Therapy meet Online Community... a match made in heaven!
2 comments:
I recently read a book on personality and temperament by David Kiersey, called "Please Understand Me II" which illustrates the answers to some of the questions you've been asking yourself.
Kiersey, through exploration, explanation and in depth analysis of Jungian theory and thereby Briggs-Meyers' theory, helps to explain why some people seem to be decision-makers and follow-through and others don't. It has a lot to do with cognitive brain functions and the strengths and weaknesses in those functions.
It was a very interesting and informative read. I understand and respect other people so much more now. :)
I have read the book and while I understand and agree that Personalities certainly play a part in this I don't think that fully addresses the issue. For example the personality ENFP as described by the Meyers-Briggs would not likely have a great deal of difficulty engaging in activities or socializing. However, that may not speak at all to the person's ability to initiate a task. Furthermore, the person might even be exceptional at initiating and organizing activities and groups of people but lack the ability to attend to the details found in the specific tasks that need to be accomplished for the success of the activity or group activity. The person may know and understand that those things need to be done but simply finds the barrier for completion of those tasks untenable. And yet, if you put another ENFP next to that person they may have no difficulty at all with the actual completions of the tasks.
I have no evidence of course but I am wondering what do all those people have in common that cross over all 16 different personality types? I think there may be something that goes beyond what Kiersey is addressing.
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