Hello Steemians, tonight I want to talk to you about another overlooked, yet very important psychology topic that I believe all people need to be aware of. Like my last article, it coincides with the fear/survival state of mind that has a very negative impact on our lives. Also, before we get started I just wanted to say that I am sorry for the bad formatting on my last article, and I had a few spelling and grammar errors. I was excited and in a rush to start posting articles, and now I have watched a few helpful tutorials on how to use this wonderful platform.
Recall in my last article the 'formula' that I posted regarding the the mental process of the 'Us vs Them' mentality...
Identification >>> Distinction (division) >>> Superiority (prove opposition inferior)
An important part of this process that I want to look more into today is the identification process. Another way we can think of identifying is judging and labeling. Identifying and labeling our surroundings, whether this involves situations, people, ideas , etc is a basic survival instinct that allows us to determine if our environment is safe. Whether we realize it or not, we label, judge, and make comparisons between just about everything. We judge ideas, to insert our opinion about them. We judge situations, whether we have any control over them or not. We judge people, even though no one is perfect and no one wants to be judged.
We developed these instincts that caused us to be judgemental of our surroundings over thousands of years. Back in the days that we Homo sapiens were hunter-gatherers, those who were best able to interpret and adapt to their surroundings lived on to copulate. It is best to think of the this negative method of identification as the 'lens' one can view the world through when in a state of survival. And let me tell you, more people live in this subconscious state of survival than you think.
You may be thinking to yourself at this point that this mind-made tool of judging and labeling may not be such a bad thing, because it allows us to understand our environment and make better decisions. Let us take a look at why this is not the case. Some basic reasons are that when in an unconscious state of survival (know that state of mind is a spectrum between unconscious and conscious, you can lie somewhere in between) our natural equilibrium is off, we will not feel physically as well, and we will not be as happy. We will also act reflexively rather than reflectively, which hinders our ability to make sound decisions. Also, we react to the people we live around impulsively, which can cause instability in relationships. The subconscious fear of death is the whip that propels this state of mind onward. This will cause problems such as stress and burnout, which is why sometimes you hear stories of people burning out on their passions. These are just a few relative examples, however I promise you that living in this state of mind will affect all aspects of your life.
There is one very significant difference that the conscious state of mind offers over the unconscious which is easy to feel, and this is the ability to practice acceptance. It is very easy to label and complain about 'problems' that are inevitable in our life. But, when we really think about it, how does having a negative attitude towards a situation help? Does it prevent negative situations from occurring in the future? No, simply put our life situation will never be perfect. And even if you achieve all of your short and long term goals, difficulties will arise, and we will have to act. You may be thinking to yourself that if we accept everything that we do not like in our life, we can't change it. To this I will say that acceptance is not the act of giving up, it is less of an action and more of a state of mind. If something unwanted occurs in our lives we are most definitely capable of resolving the issue while accepting the fact that it occurred. No amount of resistance to the present moment will aid in our quest for a solution. In fact, in the relaxed state of acceptance, we will be able to use our minds to greater capacity, and think reflectively to fix the problem.
I hope that this article provides insights that you can use to make better decisions in your life, for that is the reason I am here typing. When ever your stressed out, just step back and take a few slow, deep breathes using your stomach, this will naturally take us out of "fight, flight, freeze" mode.
I am very eager to keep writing articles, next one comes out tomorrow. As I wrote this article I could have gone off on so many tangents that I know people would enjoy hearing, I will post about these ideas in the near future. If you enjoyed reading throw me an upvote, and leave a comment or question, I will definitely respond. Lets develop a community to grow and learn together. :)
Hi, great post, worth a follow.
thank you, i appreciate it