Thinking in Action

Now that you have read Chapter 4 in Managing Human Behavior in Public and Nonprofit Organizations go back to the self-assessment instruments in the "Where Do We Begin?" section and respond to the following questions.

What are the major sources of stress in your life? What are the major sources of stress at work? Write down three sources of stress for which you can take some sort of action to change. Review the material on coping mechanisms. How might you substitute positive coping strategies for negative ones? Are your preferred coping strategies of a particular type (e.g., emotional, physical)? How might you build a more balanced and healthy repertoire of coping skills? Building Resilience

Look back at some of the major challenges and problems that you have faced in your work and personal life. What have these experiences taught you? Identify a specific instance in which you faced a challenge in a manner that left you stronger and better able to handle such problems in the future. Then answer the following questions:

How do you think and feel about the challenge now, and how did you at the time you faced it? What did you do in response to the challenge? How did your responses improve your ability to cope or make you stronger, more flexible, or capable? How might you apply these learnings to the challenges you face currently?