Some people live in the space where nothing matters, and then create things they think are entertaining or personally valuable.
Other people believe there is some construct of value that exists perpetually and therefore try to improve or change their world based on that.
Yet there are some people who believe there is no change required to a system and construct they are in and defined by.
In each category there are different people who react to their world differently and effect or don’t effect change on themselves or their world.
According to Mark Manson’s three categories of belief, one is spiritual category, which is the belief in a higher power and drives the people of that faith and belief system.
Some people are good at what they do, because they have such a strong belief and intrinsic and deeply rooted cultural religious experience that when they shift from category of belief system to belief system they know how to take on in an extreme way to create perfection.
People strive to create order out of chaos.
There is a spectrum of thinking that has on one end emotional thinkers and on the other end rational thinkers. People fall somewhere in the spectrum and will vary in their emotional and rational thinking. An example of where we can clearly see the spectrum are how people approach politics and or form an opinion of a political matter. Many people have an emotional drive to fall on the political spectrum. People who lean right or left, will often times lead to rationally support their positions based on their emotionality. Meaning a person will often first form a position on how life ought to be, because of their experiences and life events that trigger them emotionally. Often times the emotional theme clouds their ability to understand a purely rational viewpoint. An opinion based in emotion that one then seeks to find rational support for is how there are people who lead political parties at the opposite end of the political spectrum.
Often times, marketing and advertising seeks to trigger peoples subconscious emotional thinking mind in order to sway them to purchase a product or aspire to be something, even though the rational reasoning would not make sense.
I like to try and view the world as if I am wearing polarized lenses. Polarizing lenses are designed so that light can only enter in fewer directions than non-polarized lenses. For sunglasses, polarizing them results in less glare entering the wearer’s eyes. If you have ever worn polarized lenses and you try to look at digital displays, sometimes the image gets obscured or is completely erased because the “light” from the display is not entering the lens in the right direction, so it disappears, if you tilt your head to a different angle the image re-appears. The world is filled with chaotic light that is blinding. It is glaring, and with an unprotected eye, it can cause damage or discomfort. Light in my metaphor is all the triggers, and stimuli and all incoming information that a person perceives. While one thinks they use their rational mind, often times their emotional mind is first triggered then the person reacts. Imagine for a second wearing a filter where light is directed exactly to where you want in your mind. So for example when you see something on social media, you are able to parse out what is happening what is meant to be your “reaction” then work through your reaction by starting at the rational thinking mind instead of the emotional thinking mind.
This exercise is incredibly difficult to establish in oneself, but in order to do so, you have to actively tell yourself that is what is happening, like a mantra, so that your natural method of viewing and interpreting the world begins with the rational brain and then opens the door in a controlled manner for the emotional brain to makes its mark.
Emotions are like an uncontrolled fire. They are strong, and powerful and unless harnessed correctly, they can be devastating. Rationality is like a lighter where you can control the flame size to suit your need.
My personal journey thus far has been to try and balance my emotional and rational brain. I enjoy when I think that I am beginning a journey of thought with my rational brain as opposed to my emotional one. As well, I enjoy when I “call myself out” for embarking on a decision train with emotions versus rationale. Sometimes life calls for emotionally led decisions then letting things figure itself out. For example there are personal goals that I set for myself that are emotionally driven that I know are emotionally driven, and that I will hope to realize through rational thought. Those emotions are based on personality, and personal reasons such as feelings of inadequacy, or fear of failure, or more specifically, fears of “looking like a failure”. I then set goals that seem to allay the anxiety that comes with these emotions, and the goals seem to be realistic and surmountable such that if the goal is realized the anxiety will subside.
I guess my point is to try and think about yourself, what drives you, and question your everyday interpretations, especially if you are triggered. Break down where you’re at into its core elements, and try to regrow the thought/speech/action from there.