Monthly Archives: May 2024

Seeing ourselves beyond simplified scripts

So, simplified strategies help us cope with emotional & mental burdens, like too many choices. This article discusses cognitive shortcuts in a similar context: “Our minds are naturally inclined to use simplified strategies to conserve mental energy and reduce cognitive load.”

Although “self-talk is what separates us from other species,” there’s a negative edge. It reveals early stories (scripts) which simplified framing ourselves and the world. Such simplifications (or partial perceptions) can bias our outlook, stand in the way of healthy outcomes.

How do we find the energy and support to reframe those beliefs (“reparent your inner child”)? To overcome fears? To realize “more balanced and realistic self-talk?” And to nurture positive relationships?

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Holding the middle – gerbil lessons

Over the years, when there’s been conflict between groups – like what’s been in the news lately, I’ve thought of a lesson from watching pet gerbils. About what sparks conflict in situations where both sides avow nonviolence. And when, in fact, there’s been peaceful coexistence.

Factions appear to coalesce around the opinions of the most forceful members …” – Crowds, Cults, and Extremes in Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies into Reality by Renee DiResta
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if choice = freedom, are > choices always better?

I remember reading the book Small Is Beautiful in grad school. About rethinking “when enough is enough.” Does more = happiness? Does “choice” = “freedom?” Is “more, more, more” sustainable?

Freedom of choice can be a luxury, especially when so many people around the world have few choices in navigating life.

And then there’re the more prosaic decisions or choices. Like what to eat, as in ordering from an expansive restaurant menu. Or pondering all the different salad dressings in a grocery store aisle.

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