One of Dr. Glasser's major premises is
that "All behavior is purposeful."
That is, ALL of our behavior is our best attempt at the
time, given the resources at our disposal (knowledge, skills,
etc.) to meet our needs. Another way of putting it is all
of our behavior is an attempt at making the real world conform
to the pictures in our Quality World.
Most of the time we choose behaviors that
Glasser terms organized behaviors*. These are behaviors
that we are familiar with, that we have used before. For
example, when I want to meet my need for fun, one of my
organized behaviors is to go out to dinner with my wife
and another couple. That is a behavior that has worked for
me in the past.
If we do not have an organized behavior
immediately available, or organized behaviors that have
worked in the past are not working in the current situation,
we are capable of figuring out new behaviors. Glasser terms
this process reorganizing*; this is our creativity, which
is always going on, whether we decide to use it or not.
According to Dr. Glasser all behavior
is Total Behavior, made up of four components:
1. Acting
2. Thinking
3. Feeling
4. Physiology
All four components are present all the
time, and we name our current behavior by the most obvious
component. Like the wheels of a car, if one wheel changes
direction or speed, the others follow.
For example, if I am jogging, the most
obvious component is the acting component. But while I am
jogging, I may be thinking a number of things: "What
a beautiful day!" Or, "I love these new running
shoes." Or, "I wonder if I can make it up this
hill." I also am feeling something: exhilaration, possibly,
or gladness, or maybe even a little fear at times. Simultaneously,
my physiology is pumped up. My heart rate is up, my muscles
are working, and I'm sweating. This would be my total jogging
behavior. All four components are present, but we name the
behavior after the most salient component, acting.
In contrast, a behavior named after the
feeling component might be being angry. But while I am angry,
I may be thinking, "How dare this person treat me this
way!" I may be doing something like yelling or pacing.
And my physiology would most likely include muscle tension
and shallow breathing, among other things.
A behavior named after the thinking component
is meditating. While I am meditating, my acting behavior
would probably be sitting. My feeling component would be
contentment, and my physiology would be slowed down.
Finally, a behavior named after the physiological
component is shivering. While I'm shivering, I might be
feeling frustrated. I might be thinking, "Why didn't
I wear a coat?" And I might be doing anything I could
think of to get warmer, running in place, cuddling up to
my wife, etc.
All four of these components are occurring
all the time, and when we change one of the components,
the other three change accordingly.
According to Glasser, we choose all of
our behaviors. The component we have the most control over
is our acting. The next most easily controlled component
is our thinking. Therefore, if we want to change the way
we are feeling emotionally or physically, the most effective
thing to do is to change what we are doing. If, because
of the situation, we can't change what we are doing, we
can change what we are thinking.
For example, if I have experienced frustration
most of the day, I may be feeling angry, my body may be
tense, I may be thinking "I hate my job!" and
I may be complaining about it to a coworker. The acting
component of my behavior, complaining, may not be helping
me feel better physically or emotionally. So if I change
that component and, say, take a brisk walk, I will most
likely change what I'm thinking, which will in turn help
me feel better both emotionally and physically.
