2. Laugh and laugh a lot.
3. Oranges are wonderful and necessary to happiness.
4. Professors are people too.
Megan here aaaand we are back on track. Happy Wednesday!
So the theme that seems to be constantly popping up for me this week is the idea of how we affect each other with our actions, whether those effects were intentional or not. Adam Smith advocated individualistic economic thought and practices as a means of attaining the greater good for all people through competition and whatnot. John Nash, the central figure in A Beautiful Mind, countered this with his idea of Governing Dynamics which showed that collectivistic thought and the pursuit of goals with the group in mind was also a viable strategy. Here's the clip from the film!
Cool right? Now, this is great for economic theory but what about our everyday lives? How do our individual actions manifest in other people? Well, me being biased towards psychology, I find that triggers are a good example of how we affect each other which can result in consequences we never intended. Triggers are stimuli such as words or images that "set someone off" and "trigger" a response, whether that be a strong physical response, a memory, a mindset, emotions etc. They're commonly tied to previous experience and can actually be really rough. I know last night's episode of Glee handled heavy subject matter and didn't provide any trigger warnings which upset some people. An example of a trigger would be a gunshot triggering a flashback for a veteran who experienced combat. I have a bunch of triggers too, but I can usually avoid them or navigate whatever they bring up with relative ease.
So last night I was browsing the web and chilling on various social networks when I was triggered by an image I couldn't avoid or prepare for. Normally I could handle it, but if I get hit in the right spot at the right time I definitely feel it, and this particular instance sent me into an intense physical reaction which I would describe as a prolonged fight or flight response. Over an hour's worth of calm music, tea, a stress wrap, and breathing exercises could not get be back to a sense of calm, safety, security, and general well-being, which is a frustrating experience when you're alone in your dorm. I tried getting in touch with several friends to draw my focus, but even that plan had flaws and I ended up needing someone physically present to calm me down. When I went to bed 5 hours later, I was still experiencing pain in my chest. Even this morning I'm still not 100% but I'm totally fine and bouncing back.
I think we need to be mindful of how we affect other people with everything we project into the world, whether that's our own emotions, art, words, whatever and however we express ourselves. I think there's a difference between censoring yourself and being mindful about how what you do could affect your audience. In a way, part of our self-concept is just a reflection of how we perceive we affect other people. Ex. I think I'm funny because I make people laugh, but I wouldn't think so if they had no reaction. I know I need to work on recognizing the effects I have on other people--I've been somewhat inconsiderate lately. My point is we're all connected and affected by each other in various ways, positive AND negative and we just need to be respectful and mindful of those effects, especially surrounding sensitive subject material. Still, think about the last time you made someone's day. It's a wonderful thing to be able to affect someone else.
So I challenge you to get out of your own head and focus on someone's reactions to you. I think you'll learn a lot about yourself and the power you have, as well as about that other person.
Hope your week is filled with smiles and hugs,
-Megan
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