I usually ignore those pesky emails from sites like Linked In that try to convince me that I need to network more. However, the other day, just as I was about to hit the trash button on my Gmail page, I saw this headline—“95% of your pain is caused by your own stupidity”—and decided to take a look. This title may turn off most people, and the article may be hard to swallow. But, like vegetables and cardio exercise, sometimes the most uncomfortable things are the most beneficial. We have biologically and socially evolved, as a defense mechanism the article says, to blame others for poor circumstances, and fighting against that automatic response is one of the most challenging—and productive—things we humans can do. In my many years as both a student and a teacher, a majority of the times in which I have felt the most angry, discouraged, disrespected, or just unfulfilled have been, sometimes only partly and sometimes predominantly, due to a screw-up by me. This short piece is a good lesson in dealing with problems that inevitably rise, whether at school, at work, or just in life. Our problems may not always start with us, but they are often made worse by us. And we have the power to change that if we choose. Check it out here.
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AuthorDr. Spivey is a college English professor and lives in Scottsdale, Arizona. Archives
October 2017
Movie Reviews |