Zacharias 🐝 Voulgaris

4 anni fa · 2 min. di lettura · ~100 ·

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A Matter of Perception through Proper Word Phrasing

A Matter of Perception through Proper Word Phrasing

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Many people these days use highly negative (and to some extent toxic) terms to refer to the situation we are all experiencing. I find this highly ineffective and irresponsible and I'll explain why. The human mind tends to take things very literally. It is like a child and despite what many psychologists say, it's not that intelligent. In all honesty, it's dumb AF. It is the consciousness that has the attribute of intelligence, which has more to do with how well you manage your mental faculties rather than the mind itself. Of course, a sharp mind is a potentially useful asset, which is why education is very important.

Anyway, the human mind has a lot to benefit from how we phrase things because it lacks the intelligence to discern between the positive and the negative unless to delves into the information and exercise discernment. Naturally, this is not an easy task, which is why we often outsource it to machines through data science-related methods. This way we can guarantee a level of objectivity since the mind on its own tends to be highly subjective. So, if we use this impressionable tool in tandem with information that is biased (even if that bias is merely an emotional one) it is bound to be affected in the same direction of the bias. After all, not everyone is detached like a Stoic or an experienced scientist. If that were the case, I’d be writing a very different article right now (perhaps one related to my blog)!

So, how can the phrasing of the conditions and situations we experience change into something more positive, so at least the mind doesn’t panic and manages to handle the situation more effectively? It’s simple: we can use more neutral or positive terms to describe these situations. So, instead of saying "pandemic", we can say "Covid-19 situation" or something like that. Instead of saying "lock-down", we can say "movement minimalism" (MM) for example, a term I'm particularly fond of. As for "social distancing" we can use terms like "physical spacing" or "buffer-oriented interaction" (or BOI for short). The possibilities are limitless!

You may think that I'm not taking this situation seriously and that I'm mocking it. However, that's not the case. I take it very seriously but I am also aware of the effects panic and depression can bring to society (I was around when the last recession happened and the images of closed stores around the central streets of Nicosia still haunt me to this day).

So, I recommend you take a break from all the torrents of negativity that besiege us through the TV and the internet and think for a minute: does worrying about this benefit you or anyone else you care about? You may not care about countries that are infected right now (unless you are in one of them yourself), but you surely must care about your well-being. If that's the case, consider what I'm suggesting and try it for a few days. It doesn't cost you anything plus its effects may positively surprise you. In the spirit of Nassim Taleb's philosophy, this is a classical antifragile situation, so you might as well view it as such. Cheers!

#MM #Word #AF #Word Phrasing #Perception
Commenti

Zacharias 🐝 Voulgaris

4 anni fa #11

#10
It's difficult, like every other country that's experienced an outbreak. I don't watch the media so I cannot compare. However, my biggest regret since the MM movement (aka lockdown trend) started is that the neighborhood park is shut off. Also, the fact that we have to wait in line outside a shop in order to get in and do some shopping doesn't help either. Still, no army on the streets, just a few police cars, the buses, and the garbage trucks. Cheers!

Lada 🏡 Prkic

4 anni fa #10

#9
How is the situation in North Italy compared to how it is presented by the media?

Zacharias 🐝 Voulgaris

4 anni fa #9

#8
Good question. The answer is not that simple though. My financial residency is in the US, my physical residency is in Cyprus (though it's not official yet), and these days I'm in North Italy. So, yes, you could say that I am affected by the Covid-19 in more ways than one, perhaps more directly than most people in Europe. Regarding the match, PM me with details. Cheers

Lada 🏡 Prkic

4 anni fa #8

#7
Zacharias, I forgot to ask where do you live and how coronavirus disease affects your life. Don't' get me wrong, but I have a feeling that you don't take the whole situation as seriously as I do, especially when it comes to the strict social distancing measure we should all be taking. It's better to be safe than sorry. Having a match online is a great idea. :)

Zacharias 🐝 Voulgaris

4 anni fa #7

#6
I understand. If that works for you, that's great. I've been playing a lot of chess lately myself. Perhaps we can have a match one of these days. Cheers! 🙂

Lada 🏡 Prkic

4 anni fa #6

Zacharias, each of us deals with the current situation in our own way. As you said, you choose to deal with all this in a lighthearted way. To me, "Covid-19 situation" doesn't sound more positive than other terms describing coronavirus pandemic. What it is called cannot affect what it actually is. Just as a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. But I do agree that we need more positivity to deal with the current situation and stop being focused only on the latest news about the coronavirus disease. I work from home because faculties in Croatia are closed, along with schools, kindergartens, all shops and services that are not essential, restaurants, cinemas, theatres, libraries, gyms, and many more. The life we have known has stopped. Now, I have more time for reading books and playing chess, and baking cakes for the joy of the household. :-)

Jerry Fletcher

4 anni fa #5

#4
Zacharias, Each of us will deal with this invader in our own way. And so it goes.

Zacharias 🐝 Voulgaris

4 anni fa #4

#3
Jerry, I concur. However, I prefer to focus on thing I csn control. Regarding the MM condition, I doubt there is much I can do. As long as everyone is convinced thst it's a good thing, reacting to it can only cause frustration and anger. Since there is no way to ground either of them to actions, I'd rather deal with all this in a lighthearted way. Once the time for action comes, I may adopt a very different strategy...

Jerry Fletcher

4 anni fa #3

Zacharias, I agree. Words have the power to warp feelings. In this case I have frequently used the term lockdown. I've done it intentionally to tap into the emotions we all have about being ordered to do something rather than asked. That, to me, is the critical element here. Rather than alleviating the stress by sugar coating the terminology I believe it is better to acknowledge the emotion and then find ways to engage and overcome it. I don't know which way will generate the best results. All i know is that to convince or persuade you have to start with where your prospect is at. And so it goes.

Ali Anani

4 anni fa #2

Zacharias \ud83d\udc1d Voulgaris I salute your post because we are already tensed and I coined today for myself the term "Stressing the stress". This is in line with your writing here "I take it very seriously but I am also aware of the effects panic and depression can bring to society". Our minds cross as I published today on LinkedIn a mini post "Stressed Marriages and Corona " as the strain of keeping a buffering distance (I am using your term" is already stressing more a stressed situation. Words can harm more than swords, the old Arabic wisdom says. Choosing words carefully so as not to add fuel to a burning fire is needed. After burning disruptively forests generate new life, WE don't want to burn people;we need to enhance their hearts with positive words to lessen their stress and keep their spirit high.

Zacharias 🐝 Voulgaris

4 anni fa #1

Ali \ud83d\udc1d Anani, Brand Ambassador @beBee, probably you'd enjoy this article too as you are more of a SME in this subject.

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