We navigate reality throughout our lives – from the toddler taking first steps, to the student’s first day at a new school, to young adults learning to live together in their new apartment, to a grandparent in the midst of meeting with a new specialist doctor. Across our lifetime, and everyday within this, we navigate our reality, even though we don’t often describe what we think, feel, say, or do, in this way.
However, when we think about what we do as “Navigating Reality”, we are consciously attempting to integrate information - facts, feelings, past and present life experiences, and future expectations - into a framework of understanding that will make sense to us. Sometimes we get this right; at other times we’re close; and sometimes, we do not have enough information to even know what to think – yet!
When I think about helping people with Navigating Reality, I have an approach referred to as Applied Psychoanalysis. For me, this means I look at our life experiences and the decision dynamics of how we engage reality, through a developmental lens – where our objective is to learn, grow, gain insights about ourselves, others and the world around us, and importantly, to continue adding to, and modifying, our informational foundation for living. From these efforts, we are continuously becoming more informed, objective enough to see different perspectives, empathetic, resilient, and emotionally mature.
Even though we are often unaware of this, we are continuously employing what we know from our life experiences – the information we have gathered, the skills we have learned, the knowledge we rely upon to guide us, the lessons from which we have gained insights, and the wisdom we acquire from engaging our lives to the best of our ability, at any moment in time. These are just a few examples of how we build and design our repertoire of tools to navigate reality.
When you are contemplating the best way to engage a situation, whether at work, home, with family or friends, or in community, do you think of what you are doing as Navigating Reality? If not, try thinking about your efforts as an example of Navigating Reality, and see if this helps:
Can you observe more about the situation than before?
Are you able to recognize a number of different possible pathways?
Can you create steps to engage the situation in healthy ways, with the patience to see how your efforts might help the situation improve?
Are you more aware of your different thoughts, preferences, potential assertions, or probable outcomes, to help guide this situation in the most constructive and positive way possible?
Most importantly, are you having moments of insight, to help you connect information in ways that are useful, meaningful, and help you to navigate your reality better?
If yes, then you are Navigating Reality! Keep up the great effort and Congratulations!
If you would like to receive emails when new For Contemplations are posted, you can let us know on the Contact Form.
Comentarios