You thought I was going in a different direction with that, didn't you?
Well, HA!
Something I learned "officially" as a grad student is that our brains are incredibly adaptive. We can learn to live with nearly anything if we're exposed to it enough. Not only that, we can come to appreciate it and consider nearly any condition as ideal with enough exposure. It's called, as you might guess, the Law of Exposure. Essentially, we think most about what we're most exposed to.
Various research studies and anecdotal cases illustrate this. Prisoners become institutionalized and come to see prison as preferable to freedom. Poor and starving people find nutrition from unthinkable sources; when conditions improve, those sources are considered delicacies.
Gary Ryan Blair reminds us of this concept as it applies to our daily lives. He points out that what we read, listen to, talk about, and daydream about goes to shape our future. Lots of people are getting what he calls "indecent exposure" - things that pollute mind, body, or soul, like excuses, junk food, violence, lack of integrity, inconsistancy, fear, worry, mediocrity, and so on.
So for example, if Junior grows up constantly thinking about how Biff called him "Stupid" on the first day of second grade, and Junior tells the story to everybody he meets, and he replays that event in his mind over and over ... can you see how that might become a self-fulfilling prophecy? First, it's not smart to let someone else's questionable opinion of you become your reality! So the fact that Junior devotes any time to such a singular event is, well, stupid. But then all through his life he's reinforcing the lesson. Eventually he believes he truly is stupid.
And beyond that, we're exposing others to our own behavior every day, which contributes to their exposure. What do others really see and think about when they observe us?
Just something to consider this week. As I always say, it all matters.
No comments:
Post a Comment