Life Lessons from Piaget

All learning depends on failure.
Information must be presented in a way that can be assimilated into the present cognitive structure but at the same time be different enough to necessitate a change in the structure. Failure of previous knowledge to allow for assimilation of an experience causes accommodation, or new learning. Experiences should be moderately challenging to stimulate cognitive growth. No growth will occur if only assimilation occurs.

Life Lessons from Guthrie #2

To break a habit, the rule is always the same. Find the cues that initiate the bad habit & practice another response the presence of those cues.

Life Lessons from Guthrie #1

Sidetracking a habit is different from breaking a habit.
It can be accomplished by avoiding the cues that elicit the undesirable behavior.
If you have accumulated a large number of behavioral patterns that are not effective or for other reasons cause concern and anxiety, the best thing to do is leave the situation altogether. He advised going to a different environment because it gives on a fresh start - one does not have many behavioral associations in a new environment and can feel capable of developing new behavior patterns.

One heck of a year, huh?

Haven`t opened this account for almost one year now. So much has happened and so many things have changed, so even though I`d like to write about them all, it`s hard to choose where to begin. I guess it`s sufficient to say that the girl who made all these sad posts and selfishly broke her heart again & again is no longer me. Good riddance, I say.

2010 has changed me in ways I never thought possible. The university I had been planning to go to is not the university I`m not attending. That was quite possibly the worst mistake I ever made my whole life...but it`s not entirely bad at all. The new friends and the new enemies I`ve made this year are surprising too, given that some of the came from the opposite camp and made a switch. Guess that just goes to show the unpredictability of the future, doesn`t it?

I started the year with one path in mind: ADMU, then medical school. That changed in the middle of the year and now I`m stuck in a place that I did not prepare for at all. Things I never knew about myself came to light and that led to more introspection happening this year than ever before. (Yes, still accompanied by a trustworthy cigarette.) Most of my former preconceptions about the world were shattered, leading to my, hopefully, more mature outlook on life. My relationship with God...well, that`s still on the rocks. I was thinking of spending more time with him, in order to get to know him more, but our ideas clash horribly and I would most likely end up leaving without saying goodbye. Again.

What more is there to say? I`m a different person, with different ideas, different dreams, worse grammar, and better clothes. I`m stronger, bitchier, calmer, louder, more opinionated, and unfortunately, more confusing than ever before. So even though I`d really like to flip off 2010 for being one fickle sonuvabitch, I`m letting it go `cause we have another year to fuck up & change everything all over again, don`t we?

Hopefully, the world doesn`t end in 2012.

It`s a little late ...

10 days late, actually ... but, who cares? Who`s counting? Happy New Year !!
I didn't make any resolutions this year. Not because I think I have nothing to change, but because I believe that the moment for change comes not every year
but everyday.