07-14-2008, 09:27 AM
“Innocent Self-Deception ?” – Article
Many people, especially during times of big changes or after, get into a mental disposition of “Self-deception”. They don’t know what their role should be under changed circumstances. This article shows how to deal with this problem.
Even though Alexander got a good education, became a doctor, he was never satisfied. He wanted more. The profession of a doctor became too insignificant in his eyes, because it didn’t go along with his dominant idea to be up. In a sense his dominant idea erased his former dream he had in his youth to become a doctor and cure people. But when a person tries to go up at all cost he can lose the contact with the reality. That’s exactly what happened to Alexander. He became a dreamer. And a dreamer collects what he is sowing – just fantasies.
We can not say that Alexander was lazy or that he didn’t put some efforts towards achieving his dream. For instance, Alexander started to work on improving his public speaking skills. He knew that a more elevated speech belongs to people from a higher class. He tried to learn some selected poems and stories, which would help him to impress people. In other words he was building his “arsenal”, which according to his thinking was important to bring him closer to the fulfillment of his dream. Meanwhile the time was passing and Alexander began to forget his profession of a doctor, which once provided him and his family with the necessary means of life. In his run for his dream Alexander’s mind lost connection with the reality. Instead of focusing on what he really could do, Alexander started building “castles in the air”. Meanwhile outside him was the world driven by the principles of competition, ambition and pride. It is not hard to imagine what were the next steps undertaken by our ambitious Alexander. He began borrowing money from anybody he could, just to create the appearance that he lived his dream. But soon enough he got in the biggest trouble possible. Alexander borrowed money from a gang member and was threatened to be bitten up. Instead of working, returning to his profession and doing something to provide for his family, he was desperately hoping that a fortune will fall from the sky. But nothing was falling. And Alexander was going down into a bigger trouble. Thoughts about his worthlessness began to infiltrate into his mind. He came to the dramatic point in his life of not believing in himself.
As our reader saw from Alexander’s life, everything began with an apparently innocent self-deception. And because self-deception was always with him, because it “dwelled” in his mind, it deepened and deepened further. At one point Alexander even yelled: “Who will cure my soul?” But this was a rhetorical question, because he didn’t want to listen advises. Why? It was because everything that didn’t harmonize with his dominant idea had no value for him. “Only a weak person renounces his idea! » - kept repeating Alexander. But the truth was that the wrong dominant idea could kill even a strong person. It was so simple, but not for Alexander.
What is the real problem with people like Alexander?
And what are the roots of self deception? The fact of the matter is that some people live sweet dreams all their lives. In their minds they could consider themselves “the greatest of people”, but in reality they lost gradually their dignity. So what at first looked like an innocent self-deception turned out to be a serious personal problem.
What is the solution for these kind of people? The solution is simple. They need to humble themselves and start with small things. They need to do what they really can do under given circumstances. They need to open themselves to external advise, otherwise they will scream helplessly like Alexander: “Who will cure my soul?”, but they will not recognize the answer offered to them.
Many people, especially during times of big changes or after, get into a mental disposition of “Self-deception”. They don’t know what their role should be under changed circumstances. This article shows how to deal with this problem.
Even though Alexander got a good education, became a doctor, he was never satisfied. He wanted more. The profession of a doctor became too insignificant in his eyes, because it didn’t go along with his dominant idea to be up. In a sense his dominant idea erased his former dream he had in his youth to become a doctor and cure people. But when a person tries to go up at all cost he can lose the contact with the reality. That’s exactly what happened to Alexander. He became a dreamer. And a dreamer collects what he is sowing – just fantasies.
We can not say that Alexander was lazy or that he didn’t put some efforts towards achieving his dream. For instance, Alexander started to work on improving his public speaking skills. He knew that a more elevated speech belongs to people from a higher class. He tried to learn some selected poems and stories, which would help him to impress people. In other words he was building his “arsenal”, which according to his thinking was important to bring him closer to the fulfillment of his dream. Meanwhile the time was passing and Alexander began to forget his profession of a doctor, which once provided him and his family with the necessary means of life. In his run for his dream Alexander’s mind lost connection with the reality. Instead of focusing on what he really could do, Alexander started building “castles in the air”. Meanwhile outside him was the world driven by the principles of competition, ambition and pride. It is not hard to imagine what were the next steps undertaken by our ambitious Alexander. He began borrowing money from anybody he could, just to create the appearance that he lived his dream. But soon enough he got in the biggest trouble possible. Alexander borrowed money from a gang member and was threatened to be bitten up. Instead of working, returning to his profession and doing something to provide for his family, he was desperately hoping that a fortune will fall from the sky. But nothing was falling. And Alexander was going down into a bigger trouble. Thoughts about his worthlessness began to infiltrate into his mind. He came to the dramatic point in his life of not believing in himself.
As our reader saw from Alexander’s life, everything began with an apparently innocent self-deception. And because self-deception was always with him, because it “dwelled” in his mind, it deepened and deepened further. At one point Alexander even yelled: “Who will cure my soul?” But this was a rhetorical question, because he didn’t want to listen advises. Why? It was because everything that didn’t harmonize with his dominant idea had no value for him. “Only a weak person renounces his idea! » - kept repeating Alexander. But the truth was that the wrong dominant idea could kill even a strong person. It was so simple, but not for Alexander.
What is the real problem with people like Alexander?
And what are the roots of self deception? The fact of the matter is that some people live sweet dreams all their lives. In their minds they could consider themselves “the greatest of people”, but in reality they lost gradually their dignity. So what at first looked like an innocent self-deception turned out to be a serious personal problem.
What is the solution for these kind of people? The solution is simple. They need to humble themselves and start with small things. They need to do what they really can do under given circumstances. They need to open themselves to external advise, otherwise they will scream helplessly like Alexander: “Who will cure my soul?”, but they will not recognize the answer offered to them.
