My Choice, My Happiness: My Quality World

       What’s your “quality world?” I know that’s a strange question to ask, because most people don’t really understand what “quality world” really means. This term was coined by Dr. William Glasser, a psychiatrist who believes that we all have an idea of what we really want in life. According to this author, “quality world” is the overall understanding of everything that is important to us (e.g., possessions, principles and beliefs, experiences, and relationships) in our lives. This is so ingrained in us that we often don’t even have the words to explain them. It is also all-encompassing, and cuts across all situations that we encounter. We just know what it is, and may take some time and effort to articulate it. We constantly compare this innate understanding of what we want with the reality of our lives, and strive towards making them more consistent with each other.

       In my April 30, 2010 post on this blog entitled “Of Basic Needs and Inner Harmony,” I wrote about the 5 basic needs that we have. In fact, Dr. Glasser was the one who identified these 5 basic needs as well. They are often the source of our yearnings and hopes, the origins of our “quality world.” These needs are as follows: survival; love and belonging; power; freedom; and fun. Once we understand the nature of our needs, we can then act upon them directly, and avoid letting the surface level distractions get in the way.

     As we strive towards making our “quality world” a reality, we sometimes find ourselves going around in circles. On occasion, we also hit the wall and have nowhere to turn. We feel frustrated, and don’t know where to go. What alternatives do we have then?

     When Dr. Glasser put his ideas together into a neat package, he decided to call it “Choice Theory.” There is a reason for this. He believes that our behaviors are often influenced by four components, which include: acting, thinking, feeling, and physiology. These four influence and affect each other; in fact, they are often intertwined. Our feelings and physiology are harder to change consciously, as they are part of the given in a situation. However, there is much that we can do about what we are thinking and what we are doing. As these four components are all intertwined, changing what we do and how we think will certainly affect the way we feel and how our body is responding to the situation. Therein is our choice in the matter of our state of being at any given point in time.

     Choice theory tells us that we have a choice on how to feel, think, and behave in any given situation. We only need to understand our basic needs and how these are reflected in our “quality world.” We can then steer ourselves towards thoughts and behaviors that would be consistent to getting our needs met and coming closer to our “quality world.” Easier said than done; but this goal is ultimately attainable.

     In the morning of April 9, 2011 (Saturday), Sr. Liz Tham, a certified Senior Faculty member of the William Glasser Institute (USA) will be elucidating the concepts of Choice Theory and achieving one’s “Quality World” in a seminar-workshop entitled “Quality Relationships: The Key to Success and Satisfaction.” The speaker will address the challenges faced by parents, teachers and just about anybody when dealing with others. If you or anyone you know are interested to participate, please call PsychConsult, Inc. at (02)4212469, (02)3576427, or (0917)8080193 for details and reservations. You can also email psychconsult@gmail.com. Do call as there are limited seats for this event.