[Neurons] 2016 Neurons #31 When Things Go Wrong

[L. Michael Hall]

From: L. Michael Hall

2016 "Neurons" Meta Reflections - #31

June 27, 2016

Resilience Series #13

 

 

WHEN THINGS GO WRONG

 

As we all know, and know all too well-things often go wrong.  Whether in
business, career development, relationships, parenting, in all areas things
can go awry from our plans, desires, and expectations.  Sometimes when
things go wrong, things become muddled and confused.  At other times, things
become damaged even destroyed, toxified, traumatized, and distorted.

 

Now when things go wrong-one thing that potentially can undermine resilience
is your philosophy of good and evil.  And you can count on your
"good-and-evil" philosophy being activated when things go wrong.  It comes
with the territory of being human.   We all have some understanding about
good and evil, but until something goes wrong and you have a set-back, it is
just a philosophy.  Then it becomes real, it becomes life.  And then, as a
meaning-maker who has to identify what a thing is, what it means, how it
operates, it's significance, etc., now you have to do that with the
set-back.  What do you think?  Is it good and supportive?  Is it evil and
hurtful?  What is its source and significance? 

 

Whether the set-back occurs to you as an individual, a manager, leader,
entrepreneur, business owner, parent, a friend, etc., you have assumptions
in the back of your mind about what it means when things go wrong.  You ask
the why question:

"Why did this happen to me?"

"Why is there pain, hurt, unfairness, injustice, challenges, problems?"

              "Why does evil things happen in the world?"

 

At this point your answer to these so-called philosophical questions enables
your resilience or it disables your resilience.  Which direction does your
philosophy lead you?  How do you explain the source of evil?  Does the cause
of the thing that goes wrong come upon you because there's something wrong
with you?  Is it just happen chance?  Is evil personal or is it impersonal?
Does "evil" even exist as a thing?  If it does not, how do you understand
the presence of evil in the world?

 

Prior to the twentieth century, people mostly thought of evil as a thing,
something that existed externally and apart from human activity.  They even
invented personifications of evil in terms of demons, devil, satan, etc.
Twentieth Century Psychology did no better.  It also took the negative view
of things going wrong.  Following Freud and Watson, both Psychoanalysis and
Behaviorism assumed that "human nature" was the problem.  The source of evil
goes to the basic human drives which are hostile, antagonistic, aggressive,
totally selfish, anti-social, etc.  The problem is inside.  Applied to
business or social contexts, and people don't really want to work, they are
lazy, irresponsible, selfish, greedy, etc.  McGregory called this Theory X.

 

Maslow changed all of that as he explained "evil" differently, it is not
grounded in human nature, but arises from failing to fulfill the basic needs
required for health and growth.  For Self-Actualization Psychology,
deficiency is the problem.  Things do not go wrong because people are bad
(evil) at their core.  It is because their basic needs have not been taken
care of in a satisfactory way.  Pathology arises because of the lack of
gratification of needs.  People become sick due to not satisfying the
requirements for health and growth.  The problem is outside.  It is in how
you cope with your driving needs.

 

The first needs are those for oxygen, food, water, and sleep.   Deprive a
person of one of these and stand back.  Watch the person becomes desperate.
Perpetuate that state-then out of that desperate need to survive will come
aggression, hostility, competition, greed, fear, grief, sadness, shame, etc.
The same happens when you deprive a person of the safety and security needs,
the social needs for love, affection, connection, relationship, and support.
It happens with deficiency of self-value, self-respect, and self-dignity.
When people are deprived of these basic human requirements, they become
aggressive, hostile, competitive, desperate, fearful, angry, etc. and will
do harm (evil).  They become reactive which then leads to doing evil to
oneself and to others.

 

Deficiency even occurs at the highest of needs, the self-actualizing needs
of knowledge, beauty, justice, order, love, etc.  When deprived of these,
meta-pathologies arise- meaninglessness, hopelessness, futility, desperate,
depression, alienation, cynicism, etc.  What is called "evil" arises due to
the failure of human beings to live and be fully human.  "Evil" describes
the failure to be human, it misses the mark of what's required to be fully
alive, fully human- knowledge, understanding, self-development, personal
growth, meaning, significance, beauty, order, discipline, excellence,
etc.-the being-values.

 

What do we need when things go wrong, when bad things happen to us or to our
world?  What do we need when questions of good and evil arise?  One thing we
need is a philosophy that enables us to understand the source of the problem
which, in turn, gives us a way to respond creatively.  And that's precisely
what Self-Actualization Psychology and Theory Y provides. 

 

When things go wrong-something is off-track.  We are missing a key variable
that's required for things to go right.  When we evaluate that something is
"evil," we are saying that instead of fulfilling the criteria for health,
growth, success, etc., we are instead experiencing something preventing that
or something destroying it.  It is "evil" to what we are attempting to
achieve.  The solution is now at hand- let's find out what's missing or
what's interfering.  If something is deficient, let's fulfill it.  If
something in interfering, let's identify it and replace it.

 

When things go wrong, you need a practical philosophy or understanding that
can guide you into taking smart corrective actions.  Maslow suggested the
understanding that human nature is neutral or good, and not bad or evil, and
that it is designed with certain requirements for health and wholeness.
Believing that leads us to get curious, "So what's going wrong?"  "Going
wrong in terms of what goal or objective?"  "What's needed so it goes
right?"  Now you're thinking resiliently!

 

 

 

 

L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.

               Neuro-Semantics Executive Director 

               Neuro-Semantics International

P.O. Box 8

Clifton, CO. 81520 USA                             

               1 970-523-7877 

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