Happy Labor Day

Know your rights as a worker.  You are entitled to them.  Anyone who doesn't respect your right should be educated not just for your sake but also for theirs.  

If only our workers know and understand the law, if only our workers know how to assert themselves and fight for their basic rights the law protects, and the elite few in our society who run business know that our workers know, the likelihood of their taking advantage of our common Juan who toil day and night, I believe, will somehow decrease.

You have the right to speak; don't let others take that away from you for fear of being branded as a whiner or a complainer or a negative person.  If you feel in your heart as your senses tell you that the reality around you is oppressive and that your rights are trampled, do you close your eyes along with it or do you choose to question?  I hope that you question instead.  You question to the point that it creates controversy that other people who hear your question also think.  This is not to create disturbance.  This is to genuinely empower people with their own thoughts that they may think freely - freely that it opens up their senses to reality whether such oppression or trampling of rights really does exist.  As Emerson puts it, "To believe in your heart what is true for yourself is true to everyone, that is genius."  You, the worker, are your own genius because you also know that without your labor, no institution would prosper nor even survive.  You are the real power.

In an institution where most people are afraid to speak up to the ones in power, evil is more likely to prevail.  Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely even the ones who possess it.  Unfortunately, the possessor does not see it this way, the possessor sees the ones who speak as a threat to their status quo and to preserve it some of them will suppress your thoughts and make you believe in what Orwell understood to be the solidity of the wind.  Some of them will use their charms and their rhetorics and the workers' best defense from this is the pruning of their mind that they may distinguish rock from air.

As I have oftenly rephrased and quoted, "The only necessary thing for evil to prevail is for a few good men to say nothing."  And to the oligarchs, and capitalists who serve only their interest in profit, listen to Shore, "The only necessary thing for evil to succeed is to treat everything as business."  People are not businesses.  They are a part of your business, an inseparable part in fact.  Remember there's more likelihood for a business to survive without the few ones on top rather than without the many ones below.  Remove the top of the pyramid and the bottom part survives.  Remove the bricks below and the top of the pyramid crumbles.

So, fellow workers, know the law, understand it and use it.  Speak your minds and assert yourselves.  Empower yourselves.

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To all the hard workers, most especially to my co-teachers, happy Labor Day.  We choose this profession not so we can profit monetarily but so our future kids can profit from the promise of a brighter future; because we teach the next generation not to be victims of commercialism, not to be victims of profiteering, not to be victims of preachers who cling to flowery words to hide their intentions, and not to be victims of themselves by becoming the profiteers who take advantage of others.

Let's teach our students to open their eyes that they may see what Socrates put above all of us - Truth.  Let's teach our students to speak up their minds no matter how their ideas may seem eccentric or unusual, that we may guide them to see what is real, that we may strengthen their senses to perceive reality.  After all, God is God of truth, not of lies.

The Hashtag Generation

(The speech below is as should be delivered in MIIS HS Baccalaureate 2014.  It was cut short during the actual delivery because of an unexpected turn of event.  Comments are most welcome.)

#SOCIAL MEDIA #TEENS #SELFIE #YOLO

#QUOTES

by June Canicosa Hebrew

            “I would like you guys to know that I love you and I will miss you in case you don’t know yet but a part of me would like to believe that you already know that.  Most of you have always told me,  “ I love you, Sir”, or “I missed you, Sir” and I will surely miss the sound of your sweet greetings as I walk through the hallways.  But then again if we feel we want to express how much we love and miss each other, our gadgets are just right inside our pockets and all we’ve got to do is just to press on those keypads our messages to each other and voila - we are connected.  To add, whenever we want to know how each other is doing, all we’ve got to do is to entertain ourselves with the “hashtag selfie”, or “hashtag YOLO”, or “hashtag coolteenquotes” of those whom we miss.

            Technology has brought us so far; in fact, I don’t see many students enthusiastic to go to the library anymore since a lot of information are now googleable.  Wherever we go, mobile phone companies have also found a way to bring social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and many more right there on our very fingertips.  Along with this trend, a lot of advertisers become more competitive as they take advantage of making not just their products but also their ideas present wherever you go; the future ahead of advertising is “social media marketing”.  They will make sure you see them, you buy them, and ultimately, you buy the new definition of life as how these advertisers want you to be.  Truth of the matter is, all of us are their target.

As much as we rejoice our connectedness because of technology, it also drives us apart.  It drives us apart not just from each other but also from the everlasting principles technology just by itself would not understand.  It is scary.  It scares me as a teacher – that the influence of the advertising media makes you, teens define your lives as mere hash tags. 

Most girls are now a generation of “hash tag selfies” and it makes me wonder, “Is it really necessary for this generation to check through their camera phone how they look every moment of the day? Is it really necessary for these kids to make different kinds of facial expressions with their lips pouting, eyes bulging, mouth opened? –

You name it, I have never seen a face gets distorted so many times in a few seconds for the sake of vanity or “likes” received in the social media.  Researches also found how many teenagers feel bad when after their hash tag selfies they don’t get too many “likes” in their social media accounts.  What scares me more is right after the typhoon Yolanda and pictures of victims spread the Internet, many teens couldn’t care less and their hash tag selfies seem to be, for them, worth more than the pictures of the victims. 

Another scary thing is that the posted images of the devastated province and its homeless victims get “TOO MANY” likes and I was wondering, “What was there to like?”  The meaning of “like” seem to be changing as well.

And then, there’s “hash tag YOLO”.  Teenagers rejoice doing stupid things and then they would be proud of them because well, “You Only Live Once”; “YOLO, dude!” 

I have read over the Internet, “My brother was kicked out of his hotel because of peeing from the balcony of his hotel room; hash tag Can’t Stop Laughing, and hash tag YOLO.” 

And then there’s another one, “Exchanging seats while driving “hash tag YOLO”. 

What do you think happened after they exchanged seats?  Luckily, they survived but it is not unfathomable that teenagers because of the influence of too much social media craze would take a picture of the ZERO’s in their exam and hide it under the guise of “hash tag YOLO” with the effect of devaluing the essence of education.  In one of the high schools in the United States, whenever they see “hash tag YOLO” the faculty and staff become alert to see what’s going down or what pranks students would pull.  Does these hash tags not scare you, students?  Parents?  Teachers?

Lastly there are those “hash tag cool teen quotes” that students use as an excuse to be lazy – hash tag education does not define success.

“Sir, why do we have to go to school?  Even Bill Gates, or Mark Zuckerberg didn’t finish college but they are wealthier than most of us!  They are successful!” 

To which I replied, “If you have the IQ or even the parcel of knowledge and technical skills of Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg before they created Windows, or Facebook, come back to me and then ask again that question.”

Hash tag – “It’s the journey not the destination.”

“Sir, I really did my best here.  Can I get a passing grade for effort?”

Hash tag – “Character is more important than knowledge” or “EQ is more important than IQ”.

“Sir, don’t worry, even if I don’t know the answer to that, I have a good heart.”

With the vast amount of information available within your reach, you tell me you don’t know the answer to my simple questions. 

Perhaps you are busier selfie-ing, YOLO-ing, or tweeting your angst against the whole wide world.

Einstein’s version actually sounds like, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.”

But then again, even Einstein was knowledgeable himself.  I can only deduce that when Einstein said this phrase, he knew he was knowledgeable and that his knowledge would be useless if he didn’t use his imagination.  Therefore, he was not eliminating knowledge in the equation.  When he said that quotation, there was presupposition of the existence of knowledge before imagination could even make sense. 

Character is more important than knowledge you guys would tell me to defend your failing quizzes or tests, but let me ask you, “Would you even know the essence of character without having checked the dictionary or without having read stories discussing the concept of character? - Or having listened to lectures or team building, retreats, and other venues for you to learn of such?

Character and EQ are important; but your foundation, which is knowledge, and your ability to think are equally important.

Do not just fall into quotes thrown into your face by the popular psychology promoted in social media.  These quotes are designed to make you feel temporarily good.  But soonest as the quote doesn’t feel appropriate for the situation anymore, you will look for another quote to make yourself feel better.

With all those said, what happens if the power goes out and the last battery dies?  How will you survive when you can’t “hash tag selfie” anymore? Or “hash tag YOLO”?  Will it make your life less meaningful that you can’t see how many likes you get or how your other classmates do stupid “YOLO” stuff?  And how are you to make yourself feel better when no quotes over the Internet seem to appeal to your emotions anymore?

“I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction.  The world will have a generation of idiots.”  Albert Einstein allegedly said that.

Students seldom think these days.  If they forget the spelling, there’s spellcheck; grammar, grammar check; phone number, cellphone.  It seemed as if there are ready answers for everything that now a mere use of their faculty seems to them as an insurmountable effort – to spell words properly, or to even construct correct sentences, or even memorize emergency numbers.

Have Einstein’s fears been realized?

Actually it’s not Einstein’s fear since no one has actually proven the quote came from him.  I believed it was from him.  But after some research, I found out it achieved its viral status with its dubious ascription riding in Einstein’s popularity. 

I probably am becoming an idiot, too.  And it’s scary. 

Our dear MI students, I would be lying to you if I say that we have prepared you enough for what’s out there.  However in my attempt to make you feel better about yourself, I could not say you are prepared.  Truth of the matter is no one in this room is prepared.  Each day we wake up, we are unsure of what’s to come.  As a matter of fact when your parents gave birth to you, they were scared as hell but excited greatly well; when it was your first day to school, the teacher who received you was also scared as hell.  When it was your teachers’ first day to teach, they were also anxious, they didn’t know what to expect.  They prepared themselves, yet at the end of the day they tell themselves, “I could have been better prepared.

We are never fully prepared.  We make ourselves believe we are ready because believing in such does not threaten our self-esteem.

Allow me to reiterate differently the M-I Way.

So what then if you are not ready – that’s when you choose to selfie or to love others; that’s when you choose to YOLO or to learn when your friends make you choose between your schoolwork and gimmicks; that’s when you choose to believe cool teen quotes or actually lead by being a person others want to follow.

Ultimately, yes, we are never fully prepared for whatever the future shall throw on our way but we can always choose to do what is right when no one is looking.  Do this and you have passed the ultimate test of all and you will be on your way to AWESOMENESS.

Thank you for listening.

            

The Other Side of the Optimist (Part 3 of 3)

Where to Go From Here?

It took me quite some time to wrap up this topic.  One probably would just merely identify the other side of the optimist as that of his being a pessimist just like with the two sides of the coin - head or tail.  On a deeper perspective, however, one would find that the other side of the optimist could be that of what has become of him as he embraces mostly the personality ethic without the strong foundation of character ethic.

A few years back, a student of mine gave me a video.  It was "The Secret" written by Rhonda Byrne.  When I watched it, I was moved with the testimonials of the persons who attributed their success to the power of positive thinking and the law of attraction.  According to this theory, the mind attracts what it thinks.  Thus, when you think of positive things, you will attract positive things.  It added that the clearer you see what you want, the easier it will be for you to get it.  I was amused, impressed, and even inspired by this yet another psychology technique that would alter your thinking and lead you to your success.  I tried practicing it for quite sometime - seeing people that annoy me under a different kind of light so they would become more likable; reframing my perspective so that a negative situation around me would seem wonderfully okay; psyching myself to believe that I look good and that I feel good so that I would exude positive energy.  As I interacted with difficult people, and hard situations, or whenever I was feeling down, I noticed that the world seemed brighter - at least inside my head.  

On another note, however, I have witnessed how some people abuse this principle like it was drugs - they don't realize they've become addicted to it to the point that they shut themselves out from reality; worse, they use the other similar principles to manipulate other people into looking the other way so that they could get what they want without being noticed; worst, they intentionally take advantage of this optimism strategy.

I noticed these optimists to be selective - focusing only on the positive things (and when I say only, I mean ONLY).  At some level, they denied themselves of the reality of the present and it observably weakened their senses.  Noticeably, it blurred their eyesight, deafened their ears, and it made them fake human interaction and people they interact with notice the lack of sincerity.  They cast off negativity as if anything negative would disrupt their balance and so they left no room for it.  Their positive confirmation bias became so strong that with the mention of any negative statement, their eyes would roll and they would suddenly try to redirect their thoughts and language (even those of others') just to make sure that they are positive.  

I have also encountered motivational speakers who take advantage of this popular psychology by advising their employees to think positive instead of noticing not just the flaws of the organization but also its wrongdoing.  I have heard employees inquire about their employment terms and conditions and instead of giving a direct answer, these employers know how to make their employees think positive, be thankful, and have a sense of gratitude.  The employer, having smoke-screened the situation, would get his or her way.  The employee, on another hand, would either just look the other way around or wonder what just happened.  The organization, unfortunately, 

And yes, worst would be that some of them intentionally use this as a manipulative technique.

Poser-sitive Optimist

I have also met some so-called leadership and management gurus.  For some of them, I would be all hands up for their words translate into practice, but for MOST of them, lip service is the name of the game.  Most of them have mastered the art of PR and human relations technique, and get their way by taking advantage of others.  They would preach about good management practices and how leadership is an integral part of running an organization.  Virtues such as integrity, honesty, sincerity, etc. would seem to be their line of expertise.  A closer look however would the opposite.  In my recent FB post, (https://www.facebook.com/june.hebrew) I narrated how this lordy-lordy guy preached in his organization about the value of leadership and management, and even about sincere human relationship.  He would appear as a father image to his employees as he gave them pieces of advice about work ethics and life in general.  The sad truth was each time the same employees leave the organization, they would wonder "How the hell did I believe that guy?" 

He also had in his direct employ less than 10 employees which he hired on a job-contract only basis even if these employees deserved to be regularized.  Most of these employees served the company for more than 4 years yet they didn't even see a single contribution in their SSS, or Phil Health.  The reason? - they are contractors.  Even if they should not be merely as such.  He was good with the use of his words saying that most people don't get anything anyway from SSS and Phil Health contributions so they might as well become contractors.  The employees, charmed by his rhetoric would just agree with him.  If you look closely enough however, you would find out that he just didn't want to bear the responsibility of having to regularize these people for the fear that his people might demand benefits.  (His organization by the way earns millions and millions of pesos with the help of at least two marketing staff who never got a raise in their contract fee and even got lesser and lesser commission.)  Just like The Secret, he subscribed to positive thinking techniques telling his people to have a sense of gratitude, develop positive thinking, instead of questioning the unethical practices of his organization.  He also subscribed to PR, and advertising making sure positive things about his organization was heard.  He would tell his audience in his talks his vision for the country and the audience who didn't know how he ran his backyard would look at him in awe as if a lord has come down from the heavens.

Recently, a colleague of mine received an email from his boss.  It went something to this effect - "I really appreciate your openness.  Thank you for agreeing to the terms of payment."  My colleague was stunned.  He never agreed to any terms. The terms offered was lower than his usual rate.  When we spoke to each other, we knew how some people would take advantage of their knowledge in psychology to take advantage of others.  He decided to accept out of respect.  After this, I wondered whether such respect to the boss would stay.  Manipulative psychology - starting with a positive note (I appreciate…) to prime the recipient and sneakily transitioning to the real intent (lower terms of payment).  

Has the use of positive psychology gone too far in these instances?  

Sometimes the optimist has a dark side.  The optimist would use his words and charm to appeal to someone who is vulnerable in thinking and feeling.  The other side of the optimist is dangerous.  He could be an expert in cult indoctrination and before you know it you have been forced to swallow, without you knowing it, the bitter pill disguised by the sweetness of his words.  He will throw you quotations - "Do not work for money, work to improve yourself", "Do not ask what the organization can do for you, ask what you can do for the organization (sounds plagiarized?)", "Work with cheer and money follows" and he won't run out of them.  The truth is it's easier for him to say those because after all he has the money.  

It is not bad to optimistic.  After all, hope is all we have left in this ever unsure changing world; but with this, let us all be reminded, if it's too good to be true, it can't be that good.

Acta non verba.  Actions, not words, are the true measure of intent.

The Idealist Teacher?

I have been often told that I was idealistic.  It used to be that I heard it on a negative light that I wanted to change the way I cling on to my beliefs.  But ever since I became a teacher, I slowly realized that it was what made me become a teacher.

Truth is I'm a proud idealist.  But what most people who know me don't know is I'm also a proud realist.  Of the two, I have learned to be the former first, and then experiences taught me that I should start with being the latter.

Yes, I hold on to my ideals and I make sure such ideals echo to the ears of my students when I talk to them.  I refuse to teach them how to be eaten by personality techniques and the popular psychology of public relations, which often are manipulative, fake, and temporary.  Sincerity, and truthfulness are the true measure of human relationship.  

I also hold on to what's real for it is never possible to effect genuine change unless you know what is real.  It is only from the proper lens of truth can you assess your problems and eventually come up with a solution.

I refuse to teach my students to glorify consumerism through the art of advertising, and marketing strategy.  Most advertising practices are designed to manipulate the weak at mind to buy, to buy, and to buy.  And from these practices, I would like my students to be able to protect themselves; that they don't easily believe the unscrupulous designs of these victims of their own consumerism; and most importantly that they don't become one of them.  To become one of them is the real tragedy.  

To my students, hold on to your ideals without blinding yourself to what is real.  To attain the real ideals is to start to see what is real.

PR is not necessarily true.

It is not being negative.  It is seeing what is real rather than what the PR techniques of the government want us to see.  When there is a conflict between what the government claims, and what our personal observation tells us, we simply tell them we are not easily swayed with their rhetorics.  

This politically colored network, and the government PR team seem to have been insulting the intelligence of the many Filipinos by giving us false information just to make us believe that everything is under control.  Yes, we appreciate the effort of the government.  Besides, we cannot compare to japan to how It responded to the aftermath of the Tsunami because unlike Japan, we are, so to speak, a third world country.  Japan did not become ready overnight.  Their readiness is the result of long tedious process of policy making.  We, on the other hand, are barely trying to get back on our feet even before Yolanda hit us; and when it did, it just washed most of our previous efforts to rehabilitate our nation away.

But why are many people mad at the government?  Is it because they are less Filipinos?  Or is it because they feel insulted as Filipinos?  For decades, corruption has festered this country and the common Filipinos, despite their wailing, do not feel heard.  Instead of listening to the cries of its citizens, the government tells us the economy is improving, or (in this recent calamity) we are prepared to face Yolanda, all with the attempt to either pacify the Filipinos, or worse, to cover up their lack of capability for good governance.  

I am a proud Filipino.  I love my country.  However, it is saddening to see how our so-called country fathers rape our mother nation with their impotent dicks; how they appear to be pure to conceal their adultery.  We, the sons, and daughters of this nation cannot help but use our words to let these politicians know that we deserve better, our nation deserves better, and something has got to be done quickly, now, before our other brothers, and sisters die, helpless, because a lot of people kept quiet to let it happen, or because they think it is negative to say something.  

It is not purely negativity.  It is seeing clearly.  It is not being less of a Filipino, but being a true one.  

To my fellow Filipinos, may this humble message reach you.  Do not be disillusioned with what they are trying to make us believe that social harmony is not to be disturbed; and that peace is achieved when there is quiet.  The truth is the opposite.  Real harmony exists when despite differing views, we choose to co-exist.  Real peace exists when despite warring ideas, we choose to use our words and not our fists.  

If I may rephrase, "the only necessary thing for evil to succeed is for good men to say nothing."

High or Law

Shocking.  The study of law is not what I imagined it would be.  I have heard challenging stories from law students on how their professors castrated, and castigated them.  I have heard stories of law students crying, which I then thought to be "too" much.  Having heard all these, I knew that what I was putting myself into was not an easy matter.  Now, I am an irregular 2nd-3rd year law student, and I have witnessed the same.  And yes, they are a bit "too" much.  Apparently, there is a generally accepted practice among law professors to antagonize their students inside the class.  I tried reading blogs from law students both locally and internationally, and well, it seems that this is the trend and practice.  IT DOESN'T MAKE THE PRACTICE RIGHT.  And so goes my appreciation to the other law professors who make learning a collaborative and an interesting one.

Having taken Education and having passed the LET (Licensure Examination for Teachers), I somehow understand the basic foundations of and concepts in education.  These concepts are nowhere near the classroom of a law class and this makes me wonder.  I will not claim to have observed classrooms in other law schools but I will claim to somehow know that in teaching, there are principles and methods that are effective and are not so effective.  I also know that these principles and methods apply to all levels of learners be it in the elementary, secondary, or tertiary, or even in further studies.  I will not attempt to discuss learning styles because while related to learning, it is a different topic requiring a more in-depth discussion.  However, if there is one foremost objective of an educational institution, it is to ensure student learning - nothing more, nothing less.

Here is one of the principles of learning from Horne and Pine (1990): Learning is an experience which occurs inside the learner and is activated by the learner.  the process of learning is primarily controlled by the learner and not by the teacher (group leader)… Learning is not only a function of what a teacher does to, or says to, or provides for a learner… Learning  flourishes in a situation in which teaching is seen as a facilitating process that assists people to explore and discover the personal meaning of events for them.

In law school, recitation is the most common practice in teaching.  Other professors call it the Socratic method (although I'm not sure if some professors really understand the underlying principles in Socratic method.  Some of them just threateningly ask questions.  Such is not Socratic.)  While learners control their learning, they should also be provided a situation where teaching is seen as a facilitating process.  This is where some of the professors lack a skill in - the skill in facilitating and assisting.  It is as if their expectations of their students should already be that of a lawyer's and anything that fall short of should be regarded as mediocrity.

To add, "no one directly teaches anyone anything of significance.  If teaching is defined as a process of directly communicating an experience of a fragment of knowledge, then it is clear that little learning process occurs as a result of this process and the learning that does take place is usually inconsequential… People forget most of the content "taught" to them and retain only the content which they use in their work or content which is relevant to them personally.  Then it must be wise to engage the learners in an activity that is connected to their life experiences.  It is unwise to impose teaching on our students.  No amount of imposition can cause student learning."  

Imposition of teaching on our students is counterproductive.  You can't teach anyone anything.  A teacher must know how to use the students' experiences as the basic foundation of their own learning.  While some professors engage students, other professors would regard teaching a one way process, that is students should think only the way professors think.

Learning is also a social activity.  Human beings are by nature and culture a small group species.  We have survived, despite our physical vulnerability, by working together as a group.  And it is through collaboration - not competition - that we learn best.  In fact, competitive learning environments (my mark is higher than your mark) encourage surface-level thinking, increase dislike for school and decrease both creativity and subject interest.  People learn best through interactions with others, and these interactions strengthen both communities and individuals. (changelearning.ca)

I enjoyed two of my subjects not because the course was easy but because our professor allowed the class to group and to solve a case together.  Not only did this promote friendship inside the class, it also diffused the tension of competitiveness among us.  It allowed us to exchange ideas no matter how silly the ideas were.  It forced us to actively question each other.  It helped us overcome that trickle of insecurity by making us work as one.

On the other hand, I cannot completely discount the fact that the training I got from my professors continuously makes me to be stronger and more competent in what I do.  I am sure that just like any other law student, there were a lot of times when they felt disappointed of themselves each time they walked out of their classroom; disappointed that the question probably was the topic they didn't read that day or simply because their nerves got to them before the question the professor asked did.  These experiences all in all would make one a stronger person but being a stronger person is not the only thing we need to pass the bar.  We need to maximize our learning with the guidance of those who stand in front of us.

I remember one professor telling my classmate while he was reciting nervously, "Are you sure you want to become a lawyer?  Why don't you know that?"  

I wanted to say to my professor, "Maybe he doesn't know that because he still wants TO BECOME a lawyer since he is NOT YET one."  

Another professor says, "We are preparing you for real-life.  In real-life, if you fail the bar, you fail the bar.  So if you fail my exam (patterned after bar questions), you fail the course."  

In my head it rang, "Seriously?  You're a lawyer and you don't know logic?  That is false analogy.  Baristers have finished 4 or 5 years of law studies and most of them fail after taking the bar.  Now, you expect us to be able to answer bar questions while we are only on our second year?"  I bit my lip and I murmured, "That's not realistic."

Shocking.  But I'm getting used to it.  Although, I do not understand yet how law education has evolved into such a competitive, and adversarial system.  Maybe some law professors should take a step down from their pedestals and start reaching out to their students more.  Or maybe they should also be required to take at least 18 units of education before being allowed to teach; besides, being a good lawyer is not tantamount to being a good teacher.  Or maybe it's high time law professors realize the importance of applying learning principles in their classroom instructions.  After all, law students are not excused from benefiting from these learning principles; neither are our professors.

The Other Side of the Optimist (Part 2)

This habit poses a challenge to us in our dealings with people who have low tolerance of negativity.  Their tendency is to suppress anxiety and maintain a positive self-image of themselves or their surroundings.  This lens allows them to maintain their balance at the expense of not acknowledging reality.  If practiced for a long time, the habit of self-deception slowly clouds one's judgment.  While Freud understood self-deception as a kind of protection mechanism and sometimes a false sense of security that self-deception creates contribute to psychological health, this defense mechanism could also lead to being delusional.  Once delusional, people who may have acquired this kind of practice, to preserve their optimism, may refuse to see the reality.  This poses another challenge because the first step to real positivism is the ability to acknowledge the reality of the situation, no matter how negative it could be.  Only when this conflict is recognized can real positivity start taking place.  Feldman found out that researchers studying depression have found that clinically depressed people often have surprisingly accurate views of themselves - a phenomenon known as depressive realism.  People suffering from depression make better assessments than nondepressed people about their control over events, their role in effective positive outcomes, their good qualities, and their shortcomings.  Their perceptions are not irrationally pessimistic. On the contrary, they are unusually clear-eyed.[1]  This is not to say, however, that one needs to be depressed to clearly see one's self or surrounding.    However to those who refuse to see reality, they are consistently in the stage of denial and they bury in their unconscious guilt and fears that might threaten their ego and this could lead to mental imbalance.

While self-deception can help preserve our optimism, the bigger challenge is how to realize we are falling victims to self-deceptive optimism.  What are the indications that we could be deluding ourselves?  How does delusional positivism affect our relationship with others?  How can we face the negativity around us and still be able to maintain a positive disposition?  And most importantly, how can we balance what is real and what is positive?  These are just some of the many questions that posit an individual in the middle of optimism and pessimism.  Thus, it is through these issues that this writing discusses the other side of the optimist.

Self-Deceptive Optimism

How do we know we are falling victims to our own self-deceptive optimism?  Unfortunately, we usually don't.  In the book, You are Not so Smart by David McRaney (a book that will make you smarter, by the way - a MUST read!), our different cognitive biases are discussed.  He wrote in his book that we have a deep desire to be right all of the time and a deeper desire to see ourselves in a positive light both morally and behaviorally.  We can stretch our mind pretty far to achieve these goals.[2]  Cognitive biases, according to McRaney, are predictable patterns of thought and behavior that lead us to draw incorrect conclusions.  He further wrote: 

            "You and everyone else come into the world preloaded with these pesky and completely wrong ways of seeing things, and you rarely notice them. Many of them serve to keep you confident in your own perceptions or to inhibit you from seeing yourself as a buffoon.  The maintenance of a positive self-image seems to be so important to the human mind you have evolved mental mechanisms designed to make you feel awesome about yourself.  Cognitive biases lead to poor choices, bad judgments, and wacky insights that are often totally incorrect."

According to him, most people believe that their opinions are the result of years of rational, objective analysis.  The truth, however, according to him is that their opinions are the result of years of paying attention to information that confirmed what you believed while ignoring the information that challenged their preconceived notions.[3]  This is what we call confirmation bias - you want to be right about how you see the world, so you seek out information that confirms your beliefs and avoid contradictory evidence and opinions.[4]  Our confirmation bias bends toward our looking for validation. 

Most believers of positivism whose tolerance for anxiety is low often fall victim into self-deception through this bias so that they could maintain their positive view of themselves and the world.  This often compromises the truthfulness of their words and along the process, unfortunately, the integrity of their relationship with other people.

(To be continued.)

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[1] Ibid.

[2] McRaney, You are Not so Smart

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid.