2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43
In the life of each of us there are black and white stripes. We are used to them and rarely wonder why these stripes alternate so often and so unexpectedly. Everything lies in the peculiarities of our thinking - black and white thinking, the so-called ambivalence. A way of thinking without shades and bright colors, with an uncompromising division of the world into good and evil - this is it.
It is important how we think and perceive the world. Scientists have long noticed that there are forms of thinking that help a person not to solve, but to create problems. One of these forms is black and white thinking. The world is seen in black and white colors, without halftones. A person thinks in terms of "all" or "nothing" and considers himself a complete failure at the slightest discrepancy between expectations and reality. I must say that our consciousness is heterogeneous and therefore we successfully combine different types of thinking.
What is the cause of black and white thinking?
Mental illness is not always the cause of black and white thinking. Often a person resorts to it deliberately to prove his innocence or to amuse his pride. Why speculate and look for facts when the world is either black or white?
It can also be the result of deliberate manipulation. To prove your point, it can be very beneficial not to pay attention to certain details. Cunning, profit, and laziness are some of the common causes of black and white thinking.
Writer Donald Miller said: “Black and white thinking is attractive because it is reductionist. It simplifies everything that we are unable to understand and comprehend. It allows us to feel smart without much knowledge and effort. People who disagree with us are just stupid. We feel this superiority."
Is he good or bad?
Black and white thinking - or ambivalence - forms the habit of dividing the world into good and bad. And sometimes we seriously try to decide: “So worthy or unworthy of my sympathy is the one who was still called a friend yesterday, but today offended, rude? Is he good or bad? " Looking into ourselves, we find that the good one is the one with whom I feel good, and the bad one is the one with whom I feel bad. Black and white thinking sets a scale with two extremes and then makes people think there is no other choice. As a result, we accept a very simplified, categorical view of the world and its phenomena - either good or evil. And this leads to the termination of the life of thought. “Why think ?! It is important to just remember the categorical definitions without making any further attempts to figure it out."
What are the consequences of this kind of thinking?
In addition to those three deviations, there are a few more negative points.
Over-simplification can lead to very big career and relationship problems. Also, you won't be successful in business if you don't understand what people really need.
When it comes to morality, people with black and white thinking demonize the opposite thinking, while a reasonable and rational person does not deny someone else's opinion, just because it contradicts his beliefs.
It is more difficult for such people to change their point of view. You are either on one side or on the other. The nuances are confused, especially if there are dozens of them and they are not obvious.
Black and white thinking can also lead to acquired helplessness. Any opportunity is interpreted as something impossible: “What a business, only swindlers are in power. They just put sticks in the wheels, demand pieces of paper, take them away and divide them up!"
How to avoid this thinking
Separate your ego from your ideas
Another quote from Donald Miller: “Our ideas are not really ours. They may be true, which makes them important, but these are not our ideas. This means that people can have the freedom to accept or not accept them. It is very difficult to calm down your ego and admit it, but this method allows you to become a smarter person."
Reframe your thinking
Don't jump to conclusions immediately and categorically. Ask yourself clarifying questions. Is he really such a terrible cook? Are you really that stupid? Is your financial situation really hopeless?
Stop and think if you are exaggerating. Use logic, critical thinking, creative thinking. There are dozens of great tools at your fingertips.
Say goodbye to never and always
Eliminate all words associated with extremes. Throw them out of your vocabulary. So you instantly get a chance to think wider, to find shades where you have never seen them. It can be an amazing experience that will stay with you for life.
Learn to feel comfortable in the unknown
It's okay not to know all the answers. You can also collect information and understand that it is not enough yet. You do not have to immediately express your opinion on any issue. Say you don't know the answer. Or start thinking about it and looking for facts.
Just take the terms of the absolute and find the shades in them. The term "bad" has a whole scattering of them: catastrophic, monstrous, tolerant, permissible.
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