Jun 23, 2016 11:46 PM
The Surprising Power of Just Giving Up
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/evo...ust-giving
EXCERPT: This post closely complements my last one—namely, “You Only Get More of What You Resist—Why?”. Ironically, though, it goes off in a totally different direction. Whereas my earlier article warned of problems inextricably linked to fighting what is, this follow-up piece explains how, in certain situations, the best way to triumph over difficulties is, curiously, to surrender to them. And whereas my earlier thesis was that you can make bad matters worse by focusing on them, this post stresses that turning your back on them can sometimes make them better—or disappear them entirely. Offering an academic/empirical paradigm here may make my contentions, at least initially, seem even less rational. But let me describe the basic concept of “learned helplessness,” so-named on the basis of a famous research experiment by Martin Seligman of the University of Pennsylvania (1967). Without going into the fairly intricate (and frankly, unpleasant) details of this experiment—or rather, series of experiments—I’ll briefly summarize its key findings....
Having a backup plan might be the very reason you failed
https://aeon.co/ideas/having-a-backup-pl...you-failed
EXCERPT: [...] Over the past few years, I’ve worked with Alexandra Freund, a professor of psychology at the University of Zurich, to unpack how a backup plan (or Plan B) affects the way we pursue our goals. Our core thesis is that backup plans change the way people pursue their goals, even if they never use the backup plan at all. In other words, backup plans are not inert: as they sit in your ‘back pocket’, they influence the way you use your Plan A. This effect can be positive. A backup plan can boost confidence to tackle challenging goals. But backup plans can also subvert pursuit of your goals. Developing them costs resources that could have been spent perfecting Plan A. Choosing when and if to use a backup plan can distract you. It can provide an easy, but perhaps untimely ‘out’ during tough times. A backup plan could, perversely, cause you to fail.
But how can a backup plan, your buffer against failure, cause failure? Imagine being on the job market. Cash is tight: your goal is a new job this month. Plan A is to work for a tech firm. You know getting hired there is a challenge, so you’ve made a backup plan: a banking position. Does your banking backup plan help or harm your chances of getting a job this month? To understand the impact, it’s important to realise that not all backup plans are the same....
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/evo...ust-giving
EXCERPT: This post closely complements my last one—namely, “You Only Get More of What You Resist—Why?”. Ironically, though, it goes off in a totally different direction. Whereas my earlier article warned of problems inextricably linked to fighting what is, this follow-up piece explains how, in certain situations, the best way to triumph over difficulties is, curiously, to surrender to them. And whereas my earlier thesis was that you can make bad matters worse by focusing on them, this post stresses that turning your back on them can sometimes make them better—or disappear them entirely. Offering an academic/empirical paradigm here may make my contentions, at least initially, seem even less rational. But let me describe the basic concept of “learned helplessness,” so-named on the basis of a famous research experiment by Martin Seligman of the University of Pennsylvania (1967). Without going into the fairly intricate (and frankly, unpleasant) details of this experiment—or rather, series of experiments—I’ll briefly summarize its key findings....
Having a backup plan might be the very reason you failed
https://aeon.co/ideas/having-a-backup-pl...you-failed
EXCERPT: [...] Over the past few years, I’ve worked with Alexandra Freund, a professor of psychology at the University of Zurich, to unpack how a backup plan (or Plan B) affects the way we pursue our goals. Our core thesis is that backup plans change the way people pursue their goals, even if they never use the backup plan at all. In other words, backup plans are not inert: as they sit in your ‘back pocket’, they influence the way you use your Plan A. This effect can be positive. A backup plan can boost confidence to tackle challenging goals. But backup plans can also subvert pursuit of your goals. Developing them costs resources that could have been spent perfecting Plan A. Choosing when and if to use a backup plan can distract you. It can provide an easy, but perhaps untimely ‘out’ during tough times. A backup plan could, perversely, cause you to fail.
But how can a backup plan, your buffer against failure, cause failure? Imagine being on the job market. Cash is tight: your goal is a new job this month. Plan A is to work for a tech firm. You know getting hired there is a challenge, so you’ve made a backup plan: a banking position. Does your banking backup plan help or harm your chances of getting a job this month? To understand the impact, it’s important to realise that not all backup plans are the same....