Radical Change: Begin With What Simply Is

[DISCLAIMER]

Years ago, when working in the field of nuclear security (2004-2008), I joined a running club with several coworkers and one of their spouses. Having developed a number of injuries associated with my military service (1996-2007), I underwent an adjustment period with running.

That method of change was radical (very different from the usual or traditional), because I’d grown accustomed to simply being injured and not appreciating previously enjoyed activities. Specifically, I hadn’t committed myself to running, whereas I was once quite skilled at it.

When in the Marine Corps, during my time in Okinawa, Japan (1997-1999), I was referred to as a “rabbit,” because I was one of the faster Marines in my military police unit. However, due to strenuous circumstances, that’s when I developed injuries to my lower extremities.

Therefore, when participating in the running club from Pantex, it took time to understand that I couldn’t perform as well as before. When reflecting upon that period in life, as I self-disturbed with irrational beliefs about my injured condition, a book that I’ve been reading comes to mind.

As Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is informed by Stoic philosophy, this blog entry is part of an ongoing series regarding a book entitled The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman.

REBT uses the ABC model to illustrate that when an undesirable Action occurs and you Believe an unhelpful narrative about the event, it’s your unfavorable assumption, not the occurrence itself, that causes an unpleasant Consequence. This is known as distress or disturbance.

In particular, there are four predominate irrational beliefs which people often use to upset themselves: global evaluations, low frustration tolerance, awfulizing, and demandingness. When contemplating these unproductive beliefs, think of the acronym GLAD.

As an example, I sustained injuries from my military service (Action) and I Believed, “I’m useless [G], and I can’t tolerate that I’m unable to perform as well as I used to [L]. In fact, it’s horrible that I’m injured [A], so I shouldn’t even participate in the Pantex running club [D]!”

With those unaccommodating scripts, I became sad and almost dropped out of the running club (Consequence). Thus, not only was my body somewhat broken, the self-narratives I used were also damaged. Arguably, the latter was far more detrimental to by well-being than the former.

Addressing how people upset themselves with unhelpful attitudes, the ABC model incorporates Disputation of unproductive philosophies of life in order to explore Effective new beliefs. Whereas rigid beliefs cause self-disturbance, flexible beliefs result in an un-disturbed condition.

What I failed to understand as a member of the running club was the is-ought problem proposed by the late philosopher David Hume. Describing this radical concept that can help people un-disturb themselves, one source states:

The is–ought problem, as articulated by the 18th-century Scottish philosopher David Hume, arises when one makes claims about what ought to be that are based solely on statements about what is.

Hume found that there seems to be a significant difference between descriptive statements (about what is) and prescriptive statements (about what ought to be), and that it is not obvious how one can coherently transition from descriptive statements to prescriptive ones.

Hume’s law or Hume’s guillotine is the thesis that an ethical or judgmental conclusion cannot be inferred from purely descriptive factual statements.

Per this view, given that I was injured during military service (i.e., is), it was irrational (not in accordance with both logic and reason) to unproductively demand with what I believed ought to have instead been. Thus, I could’ve begun with what simply was.

Truly, my body was injured. However, my mind didn’t have to be. Now, that’s a radical perspective! Regarding a similar worldview, authors of The Daily Stoic quote ancient Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius who stated (page 243):

Do now what nature demands of you. Get right to it if that’s in your power. Don’t look around to see if people will know about it. Don’t await the perfection of Plato’s Republic, but be satisfied with even the smallest step forward and regard the outcome as a small thing.

When getting back into running, I literally took the “smallest step forward” to achieve the figuratively longest step from my self-disturbed condition when working with what simply was. Concerning a similarly radical view, authors of The Daily Stoic state (page 243):

Have you ever heard the expression “Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good enough”? The idea is not to settle or compromise your standards, but rather not to become trapped by idealism. The community organizer Saul Alinsky opens his book Rules for Radicals with a pragmatic but inspiring articulation of that idea:

“As an organizer I start from where the world is, as it is, not as I would like it to be. That we accept the world as it is does not in any sense weaken our desire to change it into what we believe it should be—it is necessary to begin where the world is if we are going to change it to what we think it should be.”

I’m not interested in changing the world! I’ll leave that to the radicals. Rather, I adopt a radical mindset by changing my own life. As Alinsky suggested, this begins with acknowledging what simply is. About the radicals of the world, authors of The Daily Stoic conclude (page 243):

There is plenty that you could do right now, today, that would make the world a better place. There are plenty of small steps that, were you to take them, would help move things forward.

Don’t excuse yourself from doing them because the conditions aren’t right or because a better opportunity might come along soon. Do what you can, now. And when you’ve done it, keep it in perspective, don’t overblow the results. Shun both ego and excuse, before and after.

When participating in the Pantex running club, the way to my success was to begin with what simply was. I didn’t wait for conditions to be “right,” because it was a matter of fact that I was already injured. Moreover, my injuries weren’t going to mysteriously heal themselves.

Thus, I unconditionally accepted what was. Then, I took tiny steps forward until those steps grew in size and moved me along to success with my interests and goals. How radical! Now, I invite you to begin with what simply is—irrespective of whether or not you want to change the world.

If you’re looking for a provider who tries to work to help understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life—helping you to sharpen your critical thinking skills, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.

As a psychotherapist, I’m pleased to try to help people with an assortment of issues ranging from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.

At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply trying to help you to feel better, I want to try to help you get better!

Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW

References:

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