Response for Quarterly Discussion I, SBSF-7100-138 Research Forum

I have been so busy with other-than Walden matters that I almost missed the cue for the discussion. Life happens and the responses we all make must to situations take time and effort. Nothing serious or life threatening, but very time consuming and labor intensive. I have responded to the book, the application, and the tips for an advice blog in the following paragraphs. In retrospect, being in this program has already made a significant change in my attitude toward numerous things. Eighteen months ago, my responses would have been vastly different, such as a user's manual for the XP OS for the book, a copy of Halo for the program, and the expression, "Plant your corn early this year" for the advice.

The book would be the APA Manual. It sounds odd (to me), because I know who I am now and who I was before I started this process, but the APA manual has really become important to me. Maybe one day I'll figure it all out eventually, or at least remember the important bits.

The program would be Microsoft Word 2003 or 2007. The capabilities of these two word processing applications have helped me over some rough spots more than once. Even though there is currently legal action being leveled against Microsoft for their 2007 Word program, surely both of these applications will be available when they are needed later on.

Finally, there are several tips that I would share. Believe in yourself and you will find that the extremely difficult is accomplished right away while the impossible takes only slightly longer (learned this in the Army). Don't lose your momentum. You may slow down a little, but don't stop completely or you may not be able to get started again. Learn from the actions of others. Pay attention to your classmates' responses and try to see things from their perspective. Study advice and constructive criticism that you receive for what it is worth and see how you can adapt it to what you're doing. This in itself can be well worth the effort you put in and should give back a synergistic return. Finally, don't resist change and be set in your ways, rather be set to change your ways. No matter how much you know or how well you can do something, chances are there is someone, somewhere, who knows more or can do it better. This last bit, after reading it, sounds very sophomoric to me. The sound of it, however, doesn't make it any less true.

Wow, really letting my "Inner Nerd" roar tonight! You can find this message posted on my blog at http://www.psych0daddy.blogspot.com/ . Visitors are welcome.

John R.