I recently read an interesting article about the effect that feeling helpless has on our emotional state and sense of control.
“Even the most laid back among us crave a sense of control, and when we feel helpless we scour our surroundings for anything that will restore predictability. New research shows that when we lack control we don’t simply wait for order to return: we impose it, if only in our own minds, by imagining patterns and trends where none exist.
In six experiments, psychologist Jennifer Whitson of the University of Texas at Austin and Adam Galinsky of Northwestern University manipulated subjects’ sense of control. Results showed that not having control caused participants to mistakenly see an image in a field of static, to smell conspiracy in other people’s benign behavior, to embrace superstitious beliefs and to perceive nonexistent stock-market trends. Such illusory perceptions evaporated when participants were first denied control but then given an opportunity to write about their most deeply held values, an activity that bolsters psychological security and quells feelings of helplessness.”
So I now ask myself: is it therapeutic to write as much as I do, and about what I do? It might be considered therapeutic. But I also know that I have something to say. I know that I have experiences to bring to the table in this current economy. As I write, and when I write, I find myself taking stock of my experiences in my 20 year career. I ask myself — how can I wield those experiences and invest them, infuse them into this blog so that readers, and as a collective, we can all change the course, and apply what we know. There’s a galaxy of collective wisdom among us. The best and brightest in our Nation’s Capitol are at work on the issues of our day.
I’m not sure that my craving for control is real because after all, what is “real” anyway? I do believe that it’s our nature to express our thoughts and beliefs and in the process we constantly shape and re-shape our own sense of reality and control — the sense of ourselves to ourselves.
Tags: Inspiration, Vision
I think that there’s a difference between wondering what is “real” and what is “reality”. If you shut your eyes at noon, the world goes dark. This doesn’t mean that the workd is dark. If everyone on the planet was blind, it still doesn’t prevent the sun from rising and falling. Real is what you perceive in your mind. Reality is what happens outside of your mind. I think we blend things together and find our way.