The concept behind being told vs. telling is interesting. There are those that when trying to get their point across will directly tell you their point of view. This can often be abrasive in nature and I've found that some just blow off what they are being told and are unwilling to engage and review the supporting ideas. Now on the flip side there are those that manipulate the conversation in such a way that they are able to make the point they are trying to make by being told by the other person. In the movies or books this is often the stodgy old college professor.
The reason this is important is because when someone makes your point for you they end up owning the statement / idea weather they wanted it or not. Now this doesn't mean that they necessarily agree but it does mean that they will at least think about the topic and hopefully form some decent opinions about it.
An interesting question then arises. Have you ever blown someone off when they told you something? Perhaps extra thought on that topic is in order because they may not have had the personal tools to illicit the ownership transfer.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Escapism
One of the topics I often consider is escapism and its effect on my life. My definition of escapism is a device or activity that aids in distracting from the stresses of everyday life. The use of that device is the act of escapism.
For example, one common form of escapism is drug use. By drug use I'm being inclusive of alcohol. Altering your mental state is an age old rite that allowed the participant to go to another world or state of being. An interesting note is that this particular pattern has been documented and repeated for the last five thousand or so years.
Another form of escapism that I used to pursue religiously is gaming in particular online gaming. I used to sit for hours playing games which allowed me to escape from reality and go and play in a pretend world. An interesting thing to note is that when the game became too repetitious or felt like I had to grind away at a goal I lost interest it became too much like work and achievement didn't occur fast enough to offset the work required.
One last example of escapism, that I have experience with, is reading novels. A good book with take you away to another world. Often times I have found my self so engrossed in a story that I loose complete track of time and several hours go by before I realize I need to answer reality in some form or fashion. However I have found recently that I have become to good at reading and I finish a book to quickly, which reduces my level of enjoyment, you could say that the journey was to fast and I didn't take the time to enjoy the scenery.
The conversation on escapism wouldn't be complete with out talk of taking it to the extreme. Too much drug abuse and an individual is incapable of participating in society in a meaningful way. Extreme gamers suffer from real life relationship issues. There are stories where couples got divorced, college students dropped out of high school, and couples would ignore or mistreat their kids, just so they could play a game. Those that read too much are often found to be recluses preferring to engage with their books than with other people, limiting their interaction with society where their insights would be a benefit.
Escapism has its benefits but like anything else when taken to the extreme it is more often than not detrimental to our selves, our family and our friends. The challenge I now present is what are your forms of escapism and do you take them to the extreme?
~Dale
For example, one common form of escapism is drug use. By drug use I'm being inclusive of alcohol. Altering your mental state is an age old rite that allowed the participant to go to another world or state of being. An interesting note is that this particular pattern has been documented and repeated for the last five thousand or so years.
Another form of escapism that I used to pursue religiously is gaming in particular online gaming. I used to sit for hours playing games which allowed me to escape from reality and go and play in a pretend world. An interesting thing to note is that when the game became too repetitious or felt like I had to grind away at a goal I lost interest it became too much like work and achievement didn't occur fast enough to offset the work required.
One last example of escapism, that I have experience with, is reading novels. A good book with take you away to another world. Often times I have found my self so engrossed in a story that I loose complete track of time and several hours go by before I realize I need to answer reality in some form or fashion. However I have found recently that I have become to good at reading and I finish a book to quickly, which reduces my level of enjoyment, you could say that the journey was to fast and I didn't take the time to enjoy the scenery.
The conversation on escapism wouldn't be complete with out talk of taking it to the extreme. Too much drug abuse and an individual is incapable of participating in society in a meaningful way. Extreme gamers suffer from real life relationship issues. There are stories where couples got divorced, college students dropped out of high school, and couples would ignore or mistreat their kids, just so they could play a game. Those that read too much are often found to be recluses preferring to engage with their books than with other people, limiting their interaction with society where their insights would be a benefit.
Escapism has its benefits but like anything else when taken to the extreme it is more often than not detrimental to our selves, our family and our friends. The challenge I now present is what are your forms of escapism and do you take them to the extreme?
~Dale
Monday, August 4, 2008
Hi
This is the first entry. My blog will be updated infrequently and will be primarily used to jot down and develop my thoughts on things. I'm using this software as more of a means to archive my thoughts for latter. Though I do invite discusion for any who wants to participate.
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