G.I.G.O.

The acronym, G.I.G.O. (an old computer programming phrase), stands for one of my current sayings, "Garbage In, Garbage Out." Basically, it means that you get out of a situation what you put into it. So, if you put in an honest effort, you should get something good as a result. If you don't take the time to do a good job, your result is not going to be what you want.

This has really been proved to me over and over the past week.

My session yesterday, the one I was dreading, was as bad as I had foreseen. The two kids who get away with screaming in order to play the computer (because, isn't it easier on us to give them what they want just to keep them quiet? - SARCASM), kept trying to get out of doing everything by screaming and tantruming. I don't feel that it is a good idea to teach kids that they can get what they want by hurting other people, so I don't allow them to get out of doing what they are asked if they are being aggressive or overly disruptive.

So what does this have to do with the phrase, "Garbage In, Garbage Out?"

I went into the session with feelings of dread and reluctance. Is it no wonder that kids went into their own patterns of avoidance? Not at all. Why would you want to listen to a person who is convinced that you will not like anything? I wouldn't.

It's time for an attitude adjustment...for me.

One of my favorite quotes is:

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Albert Einstein 
 
If you don't spend the time figuring out how to do things, then you really cannot be surprised when things don't work for you. You cannot blame the computer for not doing what you want it to do if you don't know how to tell it what to do. If you are not willing to put in the time to truly learn how to do things, then the problems are not going to be solved by spending more money and less time. The problems will follow you wherever you go.
 
It is time for an attitude adjustment...again, for me.
 
Here are the components of my adjustment.
  1. I am not in control of what others think, do, or insist upon.
  2. I will pick my battles.
  3. I will choose whether I want to continue in specific situations.
  4. I will attempt to keep my cool when dealing with people who push my frustration button.
  5. If I cannot keep my cool, I will leave the situation.
There you go.
 
Time for an attitude adjustment - some cognitive behavioral shaping, and some time to think things through are in order... 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dear AMTA

Dear American Music Therapy Association: I am debating long and hard about remaining in this relationship. I have been in this relationship since college, and this is not a decision that I am taking lightly or without great cost.  I am not happy with what you are bringing to this relationship. Now, I have been a selfish partner over the past several years - mainly because I am not feeling like we share a common mission anymore. It is easy for me to place the blame on you, but I know that this is not all on me. I have tried to be invested in communication and support and understanding, but everyone comes to a time where enough is enough. I am trying very hard to decide if the benefits that you provide to me are worth the feelings that I have about where I think you and I are going. I am not sure that our destination is the same anymore, and this makes me sad. To be completely honest, I am only in this relationship these days for the music therapy interns. I don't think that is a hea...
Read more

Songwriting Sunday: Repetition

Image
One of the things that I find to be helpful with my client population (children, adolescents, and young adults with dual diagnoses) is repetition of phrases, lyrics, and music. As a result of 30+ years of working with this population in various iterations, I have found that my clients respond the most to songs with three repeated phrases to prime their responses with a different phrase to communicate the important part of the experience. DISCLAIMER: This is not a definite way to write music for clinical interactions. This is what seems to work well with my particular group of human beings. Don't go to your supervisors and tell them that I told you that this is the ONLY way to write music - It is NOT! You have to find what works for your clients and for their clinical goals. Since my clients respond well to this type of song, I tend to write songs in this format more than any other. What I have found is that my clients remember these songs more than the ones that I do in different f...
Read more

Being An Internship Director: On Hiatus

Image
It has been long enough since I have had an intern that I am seriously feeling like I have little to say on the subject. At the same time, I am currently writing Chapter 5 of my general internship handbook, so I am able to write about being an intern and what types of things to think about during this important time in our professional development. It is a strange place to be in, and it is one that is a bit challenging for me. Right now, I have had three vacant internship positions since the beginning of the calendar year. I will have a vacant position next month and that will be an entire year of rejected offers. In the past nine months, I have offered positions to three applicants who have declined. It is interesting how people complain that there aren't enough internship programs, but programs like mine are empty. I guess there aren't enough internship programs that pay large stipends (which mine cannot) out there. I get it. It is interesting to me how we have moved from an ...
Read more