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Wellness in the Headlines
(Don's Report to the World)
Adopt a Positive, Self-Management-Friendly Frame of Reference —It Makes A Big Difference
We all use frames to observe, sort data and draw conclusions. We unknowingly construct and thereafter apply mental models to guide our feelings, judgments and actions throughout each day. The frames or mental models we maintain vary as do our personalities, but they are far less evident to others than personality traits. For the most part, our frames or mindsets are quite useful, in that they spare us the paralysis of analysis on matters routine and simple. While these mental models are usually functional, there are times when they can complicate or hinder our best efforts.
Examples of collective mental frames that seem to work quite well abound in all fields. In astronomy, some are even named after those whose mindsets were adopted by others in their fields, such as Newton, Kepler and Hawking in astronomy. In biology, Darwin leaps to mind, as does Pasteur in medicine, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker in theology and so on. All but the latter worked from frames (later theories) verified by independent observation and replication via supportive data.
But a frame of reference, even when elevated to a scientific "theory" or a "law of nature," is still a replication of reality. The frame remains a model, not reality itself. Models can be a hindrance, especially in the early stages. This is most dramatically seen in the social sciences and popular culture.
The lesson in all this is to be careful of the frames of reference you use to sort things out. Here is a value-free example. Try to connect the nine dots below using only four straight lines. Do so without lifting your pen or pencil -- and do not retrace any lines. I'll give you a hint: Your frame of reference might make this impossible -- try to override it.
. . . . . . . . . For those who might want to muse over this a bit, the frame of reference adjustment key to solving the puzzle and the solution itself are provided at the end of this essay.
What has all this to do with effective self-managing for lifestyle artistry? Everything. A sound frame of reference is essential if you are to be successful at sustaining good intentions for a healthy lifestyle. The barrier to wellness for a lot of people is the fact that they were conditioned by unhealthy or "worseness" environments. Such settings at home, work and play are marked by dysfunction, poisonous pedagogy and other forms of deadening mediocrity. The result is an unhealthy frame of reference. As a consequence, people learn to automatically, arbitrarily and wrongly frame problems and situations!
I remember a wire service item a few years ago about the crowning of "America's Most Overworked Person." This silly award was conferred by an organization called "Overachievers Anonymous" (OA). The winner was a New Yorker who worked 15-hour days and endured a four-hour daily commute! Not surprisingly, he had a heart problem. The frames of reference displayed by the OA and the winner were clearly hazardous, for it makes little sense to associate this kind of routine with "achievement." Such a workaholic lifestyle is not an achievement, though getting attention for such a silly award IS something of an achievement for the head of the San Francisco public relations firm who cooked up the idea.
Think of how your frame of reference works. Do you automatically interpret and put frames on situations that lead to inappropriate feelings, judgments and actions leading to mediocrity, worseness, lack of adequate satisfaction and a paucity of life satisfactions?
On a bright note, I recall that the winner of the OA award said he is not proud of the title and realized he should change his ways to strike a better balance in his life. Regrettably, he said he had little idea how to do so. I wonder how things turned out for him? To increase the chances that things will turn out well for you, choose a wellness-oriented frame of reference and keep your focus on the bright side of life.
--------------------- Solution to puzzle: The key to solving the puzzle is to extend a few of the four straight lines BEYOND certain dots. While the instructions did not state that you had to stay in the frame of the box, most would make this assumption. As noted above, we tend to frame problems and situations all the time. Sometimes, the way we do so works against our best interests.
Domain: mentalSubdomain: emotional intelligence
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