Understanding Disconnects
Disconnects may be categorized as internal and external. An external disconnect exists when a person's behavior is inconsistent or when commitments are not fulfilled. An internal disconnect occurs when a person's thoughts or views are inconsistent or contradictory.
In the autumn of 1999, my family learned that my mother had a severe form of cancer which was slowly destroying her brain cells. My brother was in his final year of medical school and had contacts who were able to explain the type of things which were happening to my mother. My brother would then explain to the rest of the family in non-scientific terms the theories and the facts concerning my mother's condition.
One of the first things to happen to my mother was that she ceased to be able to talk. She could hear what we were saying and respond in such a way that we knew that she comprehended, but she could not form sentences. Apparently, part of the human brain analyzes concepts while a separate part of the brain stores an individual's vocabulary. My mother knew what she wanted to say but her vocabulary was disconnected from her conceptualization.
Many people have disconnects in their mental processes. One example is the person who has a strong conviction but due to fear or desire or some other strong emotion acts in violation of her conviction. Another type of disconnect is the disconnect between a principle in theory and specific applications. For example, a person might believe in theory that he should not cast stumbling blocks in front of others, yet obliviously behave in such a way as to provoke envy or covetousness in the minds of others.
Disconnects prevent internal cohesion. You can not be complete or whole unless you strive to eliminate contradiction and inconsistency in your life. If your inconsistency is external it causes you to lose other people's trust and if your inconsistency is internal it produces dissonance.
Disconnects are often caused by a lack of awareness, whether it be self-awareness or being oblivious to the external consequences of one's actions (naive).
Dissonance occurs when one becomes either partially aware or fully aware of inconsistency. Many times dissonance occurs before full awareness. As a result of dissonance, a person either attempts to rationalize the inconsistency or else changes their beliefs and viewpoints in an effort to accommodate both sides of the conflict. This rationalization is often partially sub-conscious. That is to say that because of being only partially aware of the inconsistency, the rationalization or accommodation is attempted without being fully aware of one's own motivations for the rationalization or accommodation.
Unfortunately, because the contradiction is oftentimes irreconcilable, these efforts lead to even greater dissonance and inconsistency.
Searching for disconnects is one of the goals of Holding Yourself Accountable. Working on removing those disconnects, should be one of your Objectives.
In the autumn of 1999, my family learned that my mother had a severe form of cancer which was slowly destroying her brain cells. My brother was in his final year of medical school and had contacts who were able to explain the type of things which were happening to my mother. My brother would then explain to the rest of the family in non-scientific terms the theories and the facts concerning my mother's condition.
One of the first things to happen to my mother was that she ceased to be able to talk. She could hear what we were saying and respond in such a way that we knew that she comprehended, but she could not form sentences. Apparently, part of the human brain analyzes concepts while a separate part of the brain stores an individual's vocabulary. My mother knew what she wanted to say but her vocabulary was disconnected from her conceptualization.
Many people have disconnects in their mental processes. One example is the person who has a strong conviction but due to fear or desire or some other strong emotion acts in violation of her conviction. Another type of disconnect is the disconnect between a principle in theory and specific applications. For example, a person might believe in theory that he should not cast stumbling blocks in front of others, yet obliviously behave in such a way as to provoke envy or covetousness in the minds of others.
Disconnects prevent internal cohesion. You can not be complete or whole unless you strive to eliminate contradiction and inconsistency in your life. If your inconsistency is external it causes you to lose other people's trust and if your inconsistency is internal it produces dissonance.
Disconnects are often caused by a lack of awareness, whether it be self-awareness or being oblivious to the external consequences of one's actions (naive).
Dissonance occurs when one becomes either partially aware or fully aware of inconsistency. Many times dissonance occurs before full awareness. As a result of dissonance, a person either attempts to rationalize the inconsistency or else changes their beliefs and viewpoints in an effort to accommodate both sides of the conflict. This rationalization is often partially sub-conscious. That is to say that because of being only partially aware of the inconsistency, the rationalization or accommodation is attempted without being fully aware of one's own motivations for the rationalization or accommodation.
Unfortunately, because the contradiction is oftentimes irreconcilable, these efforts lead to even greater dissonance and inconsistency.
Searching for disconnects is one of the goals of Holding Yourself Accountable. Working on removing those disconnects, should be one of your Objectives.
posted by Shewmaker on Thursday, January 05, 2006 Permalink
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