> "For some it's a coping mechanism, but for others it's an excuse for passivity. Others it's a way of projecting their personal failures onto society. And for others it's something like an addiction."
Is it not possible that all of those ARE coping mechanisms? Ways of numbing out or unconsciously avoiding feared disappointments?
> "For some it's a coping mechanism, but for others it's an excuse for passivity. Others it's a way of projecting their personal failures onto society. And for others it's something like an addiction."
Is it not possible that all of those ARE coping mechanisms? Ways of numbing out or unconsciously avoiding feared disappointments?
Within myself, I notice that when I start to feel helpless to improve things, fearful of the future, tired of seeing things deteriorate - is when I feel the tug of "F it all, humanity is a failed experiment, I give up".
I try to keep the level of that stuff down to occasional dark humor and wry comments, rather than full blown negativity and cynicism - but I recognize within myself a diluted form of cynicism (or a different but related expression of underlying forces which could instead have led to cynicism?).
Sometimes I instead try to cultivate a Buddhist-inspired detachment from outcome, with engagement in process.
One of the things I've learned over time is that we have more control over our minds than we tend to initially think we have (one of the top tips I'd like to go back in time and tell younger self). One of the ways I keep my love for my partner alive, is to take time thinking about all the things I appreciate, in the present or over our history together. I will think about and discuss problems, but I do not dwell on them, thinking about them all the time. This mixture has a good effect on my mental state.
Likewise, if we are constantly looking for microaggressions and obsessing over remembering them, we will be living an a dark and grim world largely (not entirely) of our own making.
We can affect our minds by being conscious about the stories we tell ourselves. And the neo-progressive ideology encourages telling ourselves some pretty dysfunctional stories. Or more broadly, the cynical negativity you describe can be thought of as "the story somebody is telling themselves" - perhaps as a coping strategy.
"Is it not possible that all of those ARE coping mechanisms?"
Hmm, I guess you could argue that if you say that cynicism is a way of with "coping" with insecurity or resentfulness or passivity. But for whatever reason, I've never really had that instinct to say "F*** it."
Don't get me wrong, there are lots of problems I'm not smart enough to solve, but none that I think there is no solution to. So I'm interested in pulling as many smart people into the conversations as possible until we figure it out. There is nothing humanity can't achieve if we put our collective minds to it.
Funny you should mention Buddhism. An upcoming conversation touches on some Buddhist themes (I'm not a buddhist, but have an extensive background in meditation)! I'd never thought about it that way, but maybe that background helps me avoid getting too sucked in by negativity.
> "For some it's a coping mechanism, but for others it's an excuse for passivity. Others it's a way of projecting their personal failures onto society. And for others it's something like an addiction."
Is it not possible that all of those ARE coping mechanisms? Ways of numbing out or unconsciously avoiding feared disappointments?
Within myself, I notice that when I start to feel helpless to improve things, fearful of the future, tired of seeing things deteriorate - is when I feel the tug of "F it all, humanity is a failed experiment, I give up".
I try to keep the level of that stuff down to occasional dark humor and wry comments, rather than full blown negativity and cynicism - but I recognize within myself a diluted form of cynicism (or a different but related expression of underlying forces which could instead have led to cynicism?).
Sometimes I instead try to cultivate a Buddhist-inspired detachment from outcome, with engagement in process.
One of the things I've learned over time is that we have more control over our minds than we tend to initially think we have (one of the top tips I'd like to go back in time and tell younger self). One of the ways I keep my love for my partner alive, is to take time thinking about all the things I appreciate, in the present or over our history together. I will think about and discuss problems, but I do not dwell on them, thinking about them all the time. This mixture has a good effect on my mental state.
Likewise, if we are constantly looking for microaggressions and obsessing over remembering them, we will be living an a dark and grim world largely (not entirely) of our own making.
We can affect our minds by being conscious about the stories we tell ourselves. And the neo-progressive ideology encourages telling ourselves some pretty dysfunctional stories. Or more broadly, the cynical negativity you describe can be thought of as "the story somebody is telling themselves" - perhaps as a coping strategy.
"Is it not possible that all of those ARE coping mechanisms?"
Hmm, I guess you could argue that if you say that cynicism is a way of with "coping" with insecurity or resentfulness or passivity. But for whatever reason, I've never really had that instinct to say "F*** it."
Don't get me wrong, there are lots of problems I'm not smart enough to solve, but none that I think there is no solution to. So I'm interested in pulling as many smart people into the conversations as possible until we figure it out. There is nothing humanity can't achieve if we put our collective minds to it.
Funny you should mention Buddhism. An upcoming conversation touches on some Buddhist themes (I'm not a buddhist, but have an extensive background in meditation)! I'd never thought about it that way, but maybe that background helps me avoid getting too sucked in by negativity.