MAP 590 Final Reflection
RJ Montes
MAP590-21-Su23
Lindsey Bartgis, PhD Lisa Grinde, PhD
June 30, 2023
Over the last year in each of our courses I have been most intrigued with the multidimensional
and interdisciplinary perspective of resilience and how it relates to each of the courses we have been a
part us thus far. What I find most intriguing is that there are so many basic functions that enable us to
have it, yet it is absent in so many arenas. I believe the challenges we face with resiliency can be
illustrated in which our life expectancy while has been increasing over time, in the US has been on a
decline since 2014. That couple with the and questions of our lifespan versus our health span. The three
top secondary factors of death in the US that are contributing to this are: Obesity, Suicide, and Opioid
overdoses. The obesity epidemic was illustrated in the readings in which it was identified that 70% of
Americans are overweight. Suicide as reported by the WHO is impacted by the 320 million people world
wide who are dealing with depressions, and estimated at 350 million after the pandemic. Opioid over
doses also being an unhealthy mechanism of dealing with stress. The causes of these are many and I not
naïve to the extreme complexity. But another well-known fact through research shows that hope,
purpose and meaning have been declining, while fear, worry and doubt are seemingly increasing. Our
culture then turns to unhealthy “mechanisms” to fill the void that can lead to the three secondary
factors aforementioned. I can certainly attest to allowing fear, worry and doubt encapsulate me at
times currently, and periods of my life in the past. There are many reasons these can take hold of us,
and while I will never underscore the importance of real situations that require medical attention from a
professional, I also believe there are opportunities for us all to increase our resilience. While we have
been continuous sally told to “think outside the box” and create new, exciting, creative ways to do the
many things in our life, increasing resilience seems requires us to get back to the basics. Maybe that’s
why it seems to be elusive? Because we over complicate it and it’s not the latest fad, exciting trend or
quick new fix, and it certainly is not comfortable and convenient most times. The many lessons learned
in our most recent course on stress and coping helps us understand some of the underlying phycological
and physiological components that make up our ability or challenge to resilience.
Personally, and professionally I look at the many responsibilities I have in regards to adding
value to myself and others with many of these lessons. I think about my team at work, my friends, my
family and of course my self when I reflect on the opportunities and the consequences with stress and
coping. Most recently during this course two more dramatic occurrences have taken place. In late May a
dear friend of mine was killed in a cycling accident and in June another friend of mine found out that his
daughter has cancer, thankfully treatable but very stressful for him and his family never the less. While I
certainly can not make sense of it all I found some of the mechanisms helpful in understanding my own
way to manage through these situations and also help those that are and were more closely impacted
by these events. In a broader sense I also reflect on my responsibility as a leader in our organization at
Dupaco. I think about these situations in my life that have happened in seemingly such a short time span
and while I am aware of some of the impacts in my team members lives, I ponder what else is happening
in their lives that I do not know about, especially those that I am not directly responsible to. This
awareness I believe helps me increase my empathetic understanding and there for best serve my teams
and all those around me. While I am certainly not perfect and I have many challenges and opportunities
to grow, the path I believe I am on is one of a growth mindset, and not a fixed mindset.
I am a firm believer in you have to know where you have been in order to know where you are
going. Folk wisdom tells us this and it also tells us that we must know ourselves before we can know
others. In the Greenburg text my two top self-identified stressors within the assessments were related
to challenges with decision making and difficult people. While I somewhat understood this intuitively I
am not sure I always understood why. While I don’t have all the answers I found the identified number
of Adverse Childhood Events to be concerning as I have never heard of this before. Because of that I
chose the SMART goal of meditation related to "calming" my amygdala. When I think about my history I
can see the links related to an over active amygdala. I have been one to be known to “wear my
emotions” on my sleeve”. While in some instances this has been positive, others it is negative and has
put strain on the relationships in my life through not only my emotional responses but my unhealthy
mechanism such as alcohol abuse in trying to deal with them. Early in my career one of my great
mentors helped me understand this and challenged me to work on this. But know understanding even
more and seeking to understand the complexity of my responses and my make up are helping me
become a better human.
When we look at the impact that stress has on those we serve professionally I found the article
on “Memory loss prevalent in stressed employees - Occupational health in Auckland, Pre-employment
Medical ([Link]”, one of these important lessons on the real impact stress has
on us. Especially as it relates to newer team members that are coming on and having to leanr so much in
a short period of time. The article is interesting as I think about the stress (perceived or real) our team
members incur and then asking them to "remember" trainings, coaching, etc. And we cannot think
about just e stresses they face at work but all they do at home. This could include stresses related SES,
discrimination, and others. This puts the responsibility for us to continue to find ways to help them
mitigate stress, help them create mechanisms and practices to invest in their wellbeing, and keep the
continuity of the discussions going while challenging our own expectations. I think it is another
important reason that while they may be getting their needs met elsewhere we must try and fulfill the
psychological needs of our team members at work to include, competency, autonomy, and relatedness.
This idea of high demand and high reward as the most positive stress environment is a important
element in that environment work towards competence and autonomy, while also building a strong
community to serve our needs of relatedness. And giving them purpose and meaning in their work.
“Stress is a common experience that can have very serious negative consequences if left
unmanaged. However, learning how to cope with stress is vital and will positively impact different
spheres of life. A large amount of stress is due to work demands. Finding a coping solution that works
for you, especially one that can be incorporated into the work environment, is a great way to improve
your mental health.” - How to Cope with Stress: 10+ Strategies and Mechanisms
([Link]). Within the article the insights help us determine the impacts of stress within
our workplace, whether it be demand, control, support, and resources. As we have discussed it’s
another reiteration of opportunities to manage through coping mechanisms such as exercise, relaxation
techniques, social support, CBT and journaling. With the psychological mechanisms including problem
solving, acceptance, purpose & meaning, mindfulness and core value alignment. While we are not
responsible for these items as they relate to out team members, we are within our organizations
responsible to provide them the conditions and opportunities to manage if we want a thriving work
environment.
During our time in this course we celebrated Memorial Day, in which we honor those who have
sacrificed so much for us. As shared with my team, in a time of loss, we could also be curious about the
life that these sacrifices produced. As we are aware, mindset matters, and this opportunity of
reflections helps us express gratitude. “In positive psychology research, gratitude is strongly and
consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions,
relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.” I find
this to be challenging especially in our consumer/materialistic society. Things like nice cars, homes,
clothes, are not bad, but when they become our “idols” they can be. A few ways to cultivate gratitude
from the Harvard Medical School article included writing thank you notes, thanking someone mentally,
keeping a gratitude journal, counting our blessings, praying, and meditation. Certainly, some
overlapping mechanisms and ways to incorporate into the many communities we are involved with.
Additional insights on this article came from an article written by Steve Magness who is a world-
renowned expert on performance. He is the author of the new book Do Hard Things: Why We Get
Resilience Wrong and The Surprising Science of Real Toughness. He is the coauthor of Peak
Performance. The Passion Paradox, and the author of The Science of Running. Magness has served as an
executive coach to individuals in a variety of sectors. His work serves on applying the principles of which
he writes. In addition, he's served as consultant on mental skills development for professional sports
teams. All these items are parallel to the mechanisms that have been illustrated by Sapolsky and others
we learned from in this course. His items consist of: Stop resisting what is happening. Focus on what
you can control, do not worry about what you cannot. Nail daily habits. Use routines. Stay connected.
Think adaptation instead of chang. Understand perceived control. Respond instead of react. Show up,
get through, and worry about making meaning on the other side. I believe each of these elements helps
us express gratitude for the moment we are in versus ruminating on the challenges we face.
As I mentioned in the opening during this time I was struggling with the news that a dear friend and
mentor of mine passed from injuries sustained during the cycling portion of an Ironman event. As an
imperfect human I could not seem to make sense of this tragedy. I know death comes and is a part of
the process, yet it still created a tremendous hole in my spirit, a whirl wind of emotions for me physically
and racing thoughts in my mind. Interestingly enough though we have been studying death in our
current studies, I could still not seem to process it fully at that moment. Sapolsky discussed this in
chapter twelve on Aging and death and as was shared in previous courses where we discussed our
American culture on this inevitable circumstance
This type of experience gives us opportunities and space to pause and reflect. It also gives us
opportunities to learn and grow from as tragic as it may be. While I processed the loss, I thought of a
quote that has stood the test of time, by one of the greatest minds and growth mindset humans ever to
live (before Carol Dweck named it as such of course). “Concentrate on what you have to do. Fix your
eyes on it. Remind yourself that your task is to be a good human being: remind yourself what nature
demands of people. Then do it, without hesitation and speak with the truth as you see it. But with
kindness, with humility, and without hypocrisy” – Marcus Aurelius. My friend and mentor was driven by
his Faith and his Family. He lives on in all those he impacted as does anyone who has passed and
impacted our life. I am thankful the opportunity to have belonged within his community of friendship
and mentorship.
Shortly after this incident I had the opportunity to watch a few kids’ mountain bike races down in
Cedar Rapids and Iowa City. I was a blown away by the resolve of these kids and I witnessed some pretty
gritty performances. It made me think of us as adults. When do we display grit? When do we need to
display grit? What actually is grit? Can we become grittier? In Margaret M. Perlis’s article, “5
Characteristics of Grit—How Many Do You Have?” What does it mean to have grit? - MSU Extension, she
explored the five areas of grit: Courage, Conscientiousness: Achievement oriented versus dependable,
Long-term goals and endurance: Follow through, Resilience: Optimism, confidence and creativity,
Excellence versus perfection. These seem to provide those mechanisms for coping, for growth, and that
buzz word again, resilience.
One of the opportunities to create resilience, manage stress and coping that I was able to
understand more of through this course was the idea that nature itself can be or rather is an important
tool. As instate as it seems and has been a part of my makeup, I was given the opportunity to be more
intentional given the research behind it. In 1984 Biologist E.O. Wilson developed a theory called the
Biophilia Hypothesis. This theory states that as humans we have an ingrained need to be in nature that
is interestingly in competition with our desire to control our environment. His thoughts are explained as
such: “We have programmed within our genes a need to be in and connect with nature and living things.
If we don’t, we go a little haywire, as if were missing a necessary nutrient for our body, mind, and sense
of self”. “Nature holds the key to our aesthetic, intellectual, cognitive and even spiritual satisfaction”.
In the early 80’s as Japan become more urban and tech focused, government agencies started to
conduct studies and field research on this hypothesis. Later from the flood of studies and peer reviewed
research being able to push Biophilia from hypothesis to hard science. They even coined the phrase
Shinrin-Yoku which translate to “forest bathing”. One of these studies found that people who spent
about 15 minutes in nature experienced drops in: Blood Pressure, Heart Rates, and Stress Hormones.
Subsequent studies at the University of Michigan and scientists in Finland concluded the similar
findings. Rachel Hopman, a neuroscientist at Northeastern University has also conducted a plethora of
research on the topic. She developed the “Nature Pyramid” which provides some protocols on how we
can benefit from this effect. And there is one clear protocol that cannot be overstated, this is without
your phone. She notates, “In our environment where many Americans feel they cannot detach from
their phones and emails, nearly a quarter to half of all employees say they are burned out, Nature may
be one of the best recovery tools for the condition”.
Burn out seems to me to be the results of unmanaged stress and coping. Even if that means making
changes as necessary. Of course, I am not concluding that we have control of this always, but I believe it
is relevant to how we also view our environment. The article on organizational citizenship tied into
previous shares on Job Crafting, behavioral assessments, and our values. I think of this in terms of what
it means for us in the many communities and eco systems we belong to. While we cannot be all things
to all the communities around us, I believe a fundamental question as a human we need to ask is do
need to ask is: Am I an active participant? “Citizenship crafting is based on the notion that employees
can proactively shape the ways in which they to go beyond the call of duty such that they not only
contribute to the organization, but that they are also personally meaningful, rewarding, and consistent
with their strengths”. Regardless of skill level, stage of development, goals, or training needs, individuals
within a team, united under a common approach and mindset, naturally upskill and thrive, as does the
team. The references leaned me into another lesson from Matt Fitzgerald in which he shares that "A
team as a whole develops greater resiliency, higher effectiveness, and a greater ability to adapt and
absorb uncontrollable forces that occur from external factors. In other words, there is a culture of
performance. And it is when this takes footing, that there emerges a virtuous circle of productivity for
individuals, teams, and organizations”. This helps us become inspired intrinsically and helps us inspire
others to be a part of something and participate in building a supportive collective where everyone
commits, engages, and grows together along our/their performance journey. “In every human endeavor
there are two arenas of engagement: the outer and the inner. The outer game is played on an external
arena to overcome external obstacles to reach and external goal. The inner game takes place within the
mind of the player” – Sports Psychologist Tim Gallwey.
This leads me to my last point. Even if we know the mechanisms that will help us mitigate and cope
with stress, we tend to get away from the strategies as we become more stressed, and at times rely on
unhealthy strategies as shared in the Sapolsky readings. This was never more evident than when my
friend shared with me the day they found out his daughter just 16 years old had cancer. The reading and
the lessons helped me manage through this in trying to be a positive support channel for him. While
certainly I would have enjoyed a drink or two with him, I challenged and invited him to stay connected
with his passion of mountain biking. Nothing too physically stressful but the early morning sessions (not
at the cost of sleep) before their trips to Iowa City for treatments I hope is providing value. The value of
sleep can also not be expressed enough in helping with cognition and problem solving as Sapolsky
references in chapter eleven. I also appreciated that you cannot tell someone who is not sleeping well,
that they need to get better sleep. Physical activity (induced controlled stress) helps mitigate our overall
stress. It’s like strengthening our stress muscles. But the research shows that while this is true about
physical activity, it is also shown that if it its forced upon someone that physical activity can actually
create a negative stress reaction. That was the importance of doing what he enjoys in a way that he
enjoyed it. The article To Improve Your Work Performance, Get Some Exercise ([Link]) helps remind us
to: Focus on building daily habits of physical activity, remember something is better than nothing and
motivated or not, just get moving.
In conclusion the examination of the factors (genetic, environmental, or lifestyle behaviors) that
influence each dimension of wellness included for me the bioecological model, SES, intersectionality,
and discrimination. The understanding of the conceptual and methodological definitions of stress and
coping were brought to light by good and bad stress, strategies to cope, managing and memory loss.
Examination of my own health and well-being helped me understand my own self through ACE, my
amygdala responses and mediation. Application of information learned to my place of work included
SMART goals, empathetic understanding, importance of coping, and responsibility to the humans I
serve.
