COURAGE
AND
SENSITIVITY
What do these words mean to
you?
COURAGE
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ˈkərij/
noun
noun: courage
the ability to do something that frightens one.
"she called on all her courage to face the ordeal"
• strength in the face of pain or grief.
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"he fought his illness with great courage"
synonyms:
"the courage of firefighters is just awesome"
Bravery, courageousness,
pluck, pluckiness, valor, fearlessness, intrepidity, nerve,
daring,audicity, boldness, grit, true grit, hardhood, heroism, gallentry;
informalguts, spunk, moxie, cojones, balls
• Origin
• Latin cor –heart old French corage –courage
There is no living thing that is not afraid when it faces danger.
The true courage is in facing danger when you are afraid. — L.
Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
• Attributes from Psychology Today : Melanie Greenberg, Ph.D.
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Feeling fear yet choosing to act
Following your heart
Persevering in the Face of Adversity
Standing up for what is right - ANGER is the prelude to courage. ― Eric
Hoffe
• Expanding your horizons; Letting go of the familiar
• Facing suffering with dignity or faith
• https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-mindful-selfexpress/201208/the-six-attributes-courage
SENSITIVITY
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sen·si·tiv·i·ty
ˌsensəˈtivədē/
noun
the quality or condition of being sensitive.
"a lack of common decency and sensitivity"
synonyms:
responsiveness, sensitiveness, reactivity; More
• a person's feelings which might be easily offended or hurt; sensibilities.
• plural noun: sensitivities
• "the rules that matter are practical ones that respect local sensitivities"
sensitivity means :
• sorrow
• silence
• sympathy
• significance
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Attributes of Sensitivity: Amanda L. Chan
• They feel more deeply.
• They’re more emotionally reactive.
• They’re probably used to hearing, “Don’t take things so personally” and “Why are you so
sensitive?”
• They prefer to exercise solo.
• It takes longer to make decisions.
• They are more upset if they make a “bad” or “wrong” decision
• They’re extremely detail oriented.
• They are not necessarily introverts.
• They work well in team environments.
• They are more prone to anxiety or depression (but only if they have had a lot of past negative
experiences).
• That annoying sound is probably significantly more annoying to a highly sensitive person.
• Violent movies are the worst.
• They cry more easily
• They have above average manners.
• The effects of criticism are especially amplified in highly sensitive people.
• Cubicles = good. Open-office plans + bad.
• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/26/highly-sensitive-people-signs-habits_n_4810794.html
Sensitivity has many shades of meaning but most relate to your response to your
environment — either physical or emotional. Sensitivity to cold means you’re quick to
notice the slightest chill — in the air or in another person’s actions
https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/sensitivity
COURAGE
SENSITIVITY
Courage Exercise
• Complete the assignment
• Break into small groups
• Share your story
• Tell about ways being sensitive helped or prevented you from being
courageous
• Discuss how you felt telling your story
Story Telling: Christina Baldwin (Storycatcher)
• Three premises.
• How we make our experience in story determines how we live our
personal lives
• What we emphasize and retell in our collective story determines
whether we quarrel or collaborate in our community.
• What we preserve in larger human story determines what we
believe is possible in the world.
_____________________________________________________
• How do these premises impact our discussion of courage and
sensitivity?
Transformative Learning: Mezirow 1997
• The process of effecting change in ‘Frame of Reference’
• Coherent Body of Experience
• Associations
• Concepts
• Values
• Feeling
• Conditioned responses
• Structured Assumptions Through Which We Understand Our Experiences
• Selectively Shape and Delimit
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Expectations
Perceptions
Cognition
Feelings
• Set our line of Action
Frames of Reference: Mezirow 1997
• Encompasses: Cognitive, Conative and Emotional Components
• Habits of the Mind
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Broad, abstract, orienting, habitual ways of thinking, feeling, and acting
influenced by assumptions that constitute a set of codes.
These codes may be cultural, social, educational, economic, political or
psychological
More durable than points of view
• Point of View
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The constellation of belief, value judgment, attitude, and feeling that shapes
a particular interpretation
Subject to continuing to change as we reflect on either the content or
process by which we solve problems and identify the need to modify
assumptions
Habits of the Mind: Mezirow 1997
• “We can transform our ethnocentric habit of mind by becoming
aware and critically reflective of our generalized bias in the way we
view groups other than our own.”
• “We do not make transformative changes in the way we learn as
long as what we learn comfortably fits in our existing frames of
reference.”
Problem Solving and Learning Habermas: 1981
• Instrumental: learning to manipulate or control the environment or
other people to enhance efficiency in improving performance
• Impressionistic: learning to enhance one’s impression on others, to
present oneself
• Normative: learning oriented to common values and a normative
sense of entitlement
• Communicative: learning to understand the meaning of what is
being communicated
• At least two persons striving to reach an understanding of the meaning of
an interpretation or the justification for a belief
• Understanding the purposes, values, beliefs and feelings
• Is less amendable to empirical tests.
• Learners must become critically reflective of the assumptions underlying
intentions, values, beliefs and feelings.
Learning: Mazirow 1997
Children thinking autonomously
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Recognize cause and effect relationship
Use informal logic in making analogies and generalizations
Become aware of and control emotions,
Become empathetic to others
Use imagination to construct narratives
Think abstractly
Adulthood
• Build on this foundation
• Become more aware and critical in assessing assumptions-both those of others and
those governing one’s own beliefs, values, judgments, and feelings
• Become more aware of and better able to recognize frames of reference and paradigms
(collective frames of reference) and to imagine alternatives
• Become more responsible and effective at working with others to collectively assess
reasons, pose and solve problems, and arrive at a tentative best judgment regarding
contested beliefs.
The BREATH Pathway
BREATH
RESPONSE
ABILITY
PAST
=
REGRET
ENVIRONMENT
AWARENESS
FUTURE
=
ANXIETY
THANKFULNESS
HABITS
WELL BEING
Intellectual Property of Dr. Janice Elich Monroe
ACTION
CONSEQUENCE
Integration
of the
BREATH Pathway
OBSERVE
RESPOND
Intellectual Property of Dr. Janice Elich Monroe