Creative Thinkering

In fact, the prevailing American attitude is to find the easiest way out of a difficult situation by using other people. I see it when I work with people from the lower socio-economic classes and I see it from the rich brats in my neighborhood. You are the fool if you decide to do something the honest way.

Thank goodness I chose the honest, hard-working way to acheivement. It makes the struggle special and real.

Tragically the left has been so successful at pushing their distorted concepts of 'fairness', 'equality' and 'entitlement' they have damaged this country to an extent no Russian or Chinese military could ever hope to.

It's bizarre to read such a harsh article in Psychology Today, a website / magazine that is constantly publishing articles about how people are far less in control of their destiny than they believe.

Yes, hard work is important. Yes, it's important to keep the right perspective on failures. Yes, taking the easy way out is no way to get ahead in life, unless you're one of the lucky few who has had everything handed to them.

That said, one's motivations aren't necessarily consciously controllable. The rational decisions we make are often simply justifications for the subconscious ones we made long before.

Do you look at poor people and think, "it is their fault that they are poor; why don't they work hard so they aren't poor anymore?"

I'm not trying to put words in your mouth by implying that the above is your perspective; my point is to emphasize the importance of understanding how little control we really have over our situations.

That said, I think it's incredibly important to foster a culture and civilization in which everyone is *driven to drive themselves*. Give people opportunities, from a very young age, to accomplish anything. Give people an understanding that more than intelligence or genetic talent, hard work, perseverance, and making social connections determines who succeeds in life.

Create circumstances that give people the best chance to help themselves. That means good education, reducing poverty, etc. Not throwing everyone to the wolves and saying, "work hard, or get eaten."

That kind of attitude seems strongly based on a belief that people always get what they deserve... which, as everyone ought to realize, just isn't true. Life is far more twisted than that. But civilization should be about making reality a little more fair; giving people a chance to actually get what they deserve. That's why we have a justice system, why so many people believe in a meritocratic society - people want reality to be fair. I say, build a society around that principle; and that requires giving everyone a real chance, not just what fate threw them.

This is an extremely simplistic description of a complex problem. I do agree that people shouldn't just complain, run away from hardship, and look for hand-outs. BUT there's a difference between asking for handouts and asking for a fair societal system.

And anyways, what's the purpose of "hard work" if you're working hard to screw everyone else up or for an illogical ideal? I'm not saying hard work isn't important. It is. Overcoming adversity is a vital part of individual and societal psychological health.

We're in a point in American history where past social hegemonic discourses, such as the "American exceptionalism" and the "rugged individual" are reaching their limit. In addition to that, postmodern thought (NOT necessarily academia) brings in a sense of being "lost" and "helpless." In order to for a civilization to be successful, hard work is necessary but NOT sufficient. What the US needs is a rekindling of the "frontier spirit" - a grand vision to explore the world (and cosmos) and search for truth as individuals AND collaboratively as a nation through the lens of science and driven by a spirit for adventure. Not just hard work alone.

"If you want to build a better boat, don’t teach people carpentry. Teach them to long for the sea"

"The more adversity one can claim they face, the more benefits that person will receive." Which is why so many doctors and lawyers are quitting their jobs to get a chunk of those benefits? And, having been trained in behavioral science at U of Chicago in the 60's, I don't recall anyone promoting the idea that we are mere victims of our past or biology - instead, they were mercilessly tearing down structures that allowed discrimination based on those beliefs. Mr. Michalko seems to have succumbed to a well documented discovery - we can alter our memories after hearing false descriptions of events.

Pardon me for being cynical, but in today's society influenced by a huge overpopulation problem, not everyone can find what they were possibly meant to do. The opportunities made by improved technology are outweighed by more people and a smaller required workforce. Now, I'm not defending the people who think they know better and just sit at home partying all the time, they really need to get out and find a job. I'm thinking you're talking about, say, Janitors and fast food workers.
The thing is, now that everyone thinks they are ENTITLED to be able to live a better life than a minimum wage job will give them, Everyone is trying to be a Doctor, a Lawyer, a CEO, not just the ones who pursue excellence. Not everyone can get that, so everyone else has to settle for a much lower standard. Of course, even with that low standard, we still have to have a car, a phone, insurance, and preferably a non-crappy apartment to sleep in, which are impossible with one job and gun-to-the-head stressful with multiple jobs. Living wages and less expensive health care, or Entitlements if you wish to call them that, are a very helpful way of keeping us from becoming robots in this overcrowded world.

Oh! So that's what has crippled the American Spirit! Not out-of-control corporations consistently ripping us off while simultaneously outsourcing our jobs. Not the obliteration of the community by greedy franchises. Not the lack of care for our education system. Oh no, it's these lazy, self-entitled groups (gee, I wonder who you could be talking about) and poor people with their hands out. And everybody wants to be a doctor or a lawyer? Where are you getting that from? Two cheesy examples and you think you're proving something? Who publishes this?

You talk about learned helplessness without a mention of Seligman? Or is it ok in this new America to nick someone else's ideas and pass them off as your own?