Читать книгу Prosper! - Chris Martenson - Страница 12
ОглавлениеYour author Chris remembers the first time he went out to buy emergency storage food at the local grocery store. He loaded up his cart with beans, rice, sugar and other staples. Hat tucked low over his sunglasses, a roll of cash in his pocket; he repeatedly rehearsed a cover story in his head in case anyone asked him what the supplies were for. After all, it was a pretty ridiculous-looking cart of food.
He was nervous throughout: worried of judgment from the other shoppers or, god forbid, from someone who recognized him. His stomach was tied in knots just from the simple act of buying food with the intention of storing it long-term just in case. Nobody would understand, he feared, thinking it was too outside of the social norm in his area. It’s just not something that normal people do.
That was back in 2004, over ten years ago. Of course today he’d have no problem saying what he was up to and why. But, sadly, shopping just in case is still socially different enough to raise a few eyebrows and make things slightly awkward.
Which brings us to the heart of this chapter: the obstacles that may prevent you from taking steps towards resilience.
Based on our experience, most people don’t take any steps at all to secure a better future for themselves. And not because of any limitations in ability or resources; quite the opposite. Instead, it’s the emotional intangibles like fear, limiting beliefs and social pressures that usually trip folks up, many of which have no rational basis.
We’re going to spend some time deconstructing these now, because the more you understand them, the less power they will have over you.
SOCIAL PRESSURE
You might find yourself avoiding getting started down the path of becoming resilient simply because, as Chris experienced, it’s socially awkward and uncomfortable.
Most people don’t want to do anything too far out of social norms. And as hard as it is typically for most people to go against the social herd, with the material we cover it can be a pretty tall order. Preparing for disruptions to our modern lifestyle flies in the face of society’s sense of “normal”.
Most folks fear change, and they want to believe in the re-assuring dream—sold daily by our media and politicians—that everything’s great, and is only going to get better with each passing year. If they see you taking steps that signal you may not believe 100% in that promise, they interpret it as a challenge—likely one triggered by an inner unspoken anxiety that if they’re wrong, then they’re really vulnerable. You may even get teased and ridiculed as a “doomer,” “survivalist,” or “tin-foil-hat prepper.”
Not everyone is willing to sign up for that kind of social shaming, and as a result, most people won’t prepare for crisis in advance.
State and federal government agencies tasked with emergency preparedness are well-acquainted with this dynamic, perhaps best illustrated by the fact that only a small minority of people living on active earthquake zones in California have even the most minimal of preparations stored away in their closets or garages.
This means that the vast majority of the people living on top of destructive faults have no water, no blankets, no hand crank operated radios, and no food set aside for the possibility, or we should say eventuality, of an earthquake. And this is despite active programs of education and cajoling by various state and federal agencies with hefty budgets aimed at getting people to prepare. As we said, it’s not entirely rational.
A rational person would calculate the odds of an event, multiply it by its potential severity or catastrophic potential, and then calculate the amount of effort and money they’d be willing to spend to protect themselves and their family.
So in the case of people living on top of the San Andreas fault, the calculation might be (an unacceptably high probability) × (a catastrophic outcome) = (I should really do something!).
What would “doing something” actually cost? Not very much. To locate and purchase a 72-hour emergency kit for a family of four would require perhaps ten minutes online and $50 for a basic version (the deluxe version is roughly $150). Many people spend more money than this on coffee each month, and far more time on the Internet watching cat videos. So it’s not really the cost, in terms of time or money, which prevents them from taking action.
What explains it then? What prevents people from even taking minimal, prudent actions that could literally make the difference between life and death? If it’s not a rational calculation, then what is it?
Fortunately psychology helps us to understand what’s really at play. Social pressure it is definitely a big inhibitor to action, but we have to go a bit deeper to understand the rest.
PAIN AND INSIGHT
If you’re a dentist you’ll be quite familiar with this next part.
Most people resist change and tend to avoid anything that’s uncomfortable. These are not usually wise strategies, and they often backfire, but this is how most humans react. We remain in our comfort zone until forced out of it. The more uncomfortable the threat, the greater our willful denial. People easily ignore uncomfortable truths—bad health habits, mounting unpaid bills, declining 401k statements—even though the repercussions of this negligence can have a material and detrimental impact on the rest of their lives.
However, life rolls on and we cannot ignore everything forever, especially things with inevitable consequences. Sooner or later we have to either decide to change our behavior, on our own terms, or else run smack into reality’s hard limits. Said another way, there are two ways that people decide to change: by insight, and by pain.
It’s only after the heart attack, the divorce, the backing over the family dog while drunk—moments of extreme pain—that most people will begin to actively face the idea that they need to make different decisions in life. Change by the pain route is something that we all do now and then in life. It’s simply part of the deal and it’s very common.
But it doesn’t have to be the whole deal. Part of the beauty of being human is that we can learn from observation, reflection and experience, and can adapt. Someone buying a 72-hour emergency kit before the next earthquake strikes is acting via insight.
We wrote this book to help you make your life changes now, via insight. Hopefully, that’s why you picked it up.
The story told by the Three Es is loaded with the potential for plenty of painful moments over the next few decades. Sadly, a lot of people will not take precautionary steps far enough in advance to matter. They’re just not focusing on the risks right now. As a result, much of the world will be forced to change its behavior via the pain route.
Use this awareness as a sense of urgency to prepare now. To secure your future prosperity, as well as to help those regretting that they didn’t follow your lead.
THE COMMON REASONS ‘WHY NOT’
In our conversations with thousands of folks through our website and seminars, here are the most frequent excuses we hear for avoiding taking action today:
• Social Shame – My family and friends will think I’m ‘crazy’. (this is another way of saying “I don’t want to commit social suicide.”)
• Lack of Awareness – If I’m not familiar with these risks and if they’re not immediately apparent when I look out my front door, then maybe they’re not real. (This is the “Ignorance is bliss” defense.)
• Too Uncomfortable – I don’t like thinking about things that make me uncomfortable. (This is the “Don’t ruin my vibe” mindset.)
• Too Limited – I don’t have the time/money/etc. to focus on this right now. (This is the “Hey, I have a life, in case you hadn’t noticed” pushback.)
• Too Superstitious – If I give voice to my worries, then they’re more likely to occur. (This is the “He-who-must-not-be-named” defense.)
• Too Scary – I don’t want to live in fear. (This is the “Dear God, we’re all gonna die!” rebuke.)
• Not a Problem #1 – Humans are clever. Somebody smart will invent a solution in time. (This “faith in technology” meme is very prevalent in today’s culture.)
• Not a Problem #2 – “They” will never let that happen. (This “faith in authority” is a close second behind technology.)
• Not Credible – Well, I haven’t heard it from NBC News/ Oprah/my dad/[insert other trusted source here] yet, so how big a deal could this be? (This is the “Who the heck are you?” rebuttal.)
There’s one thing every one of these “reasons” share in common. Each is the product of a belief system.
In the previous chapter, we discussed the powerful influence of narrative and beliefs. Beliefs may be of either the enhancing form (I’m lucky!) or of the limiting variety (I’m unlucky!). Beliefs operate on an unconscious level although they play out in our lives every day in very real ways. They are immensely potent in shaping our decisions, far more than is commonly realized.
“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.”
—Carl Jung
Holding even one of the above beliefs (let alone several in combination) can be sufficient to stop any potential action dead it in its tracks.
At Peak Prosperity we spend a good deal of time understanding and helping people shift beliefs. Until and unless a blocking belief is removed or minimized, action is usually stymied.
SHIFTING YOUR BELIEFS
So how can you shift a limiting belief into an enhancing one?
Beliefs are something that we hold to be true and seem to be supported by daily experience and facts. While we may intuitively consider them to be entrenched and immovable elements of our psyches, we actually shift them all the time—raise your hand if you still believe in the Tooth Fairy, the Easter bunny, fairies, or Santa Claus?
Once new information comes along, beliefs can shift. But first there’s an emotional unhooking process that has to run.
Here’s how we know when we’re debating someone who is operating from a belief system rather than simply holding an opinion. The more we argue, the more emotional they become. Facts don’t matter. The more facts that run up against this person’s beliefs, the angrier or sadder or volatile they become.
This is because our beliefs are hooked up to our deepest selves. They are wired right into our amygdala and bypass our rational brain centers.
On the other hand, a person holding an opinion can shift that opinion relatively easily if presented with new data.
Suppose you’re shopping for a new vacuum cleaner. You’ve gathered the product specs, read the reviews and have formed an opinion about which one is best for your needs. Then along comes a friend who has new firsthand information with that model that causes you to change your mind. Does this shift in opinion get you riled up? No, of course not. It’s just an opinion.
Not so with beliefs. Shifting those takes emotional energy, sometimes a lot of it. It takes time and courage to consciously examine and alter our deeply-held beliefs. Not very many people do this or are even willing to try.
In her research into the grieving process which we touched on in the previous chapter, Elizabeth Kubler-Ross talked about this exact dynamic when we are confronted by the most belief-challenging experience of them all: our own death. When our own mortality finally breathes down on us, we tend to go through a very predictable set of emotional responses: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.
These five stages of grief play out virtually every time a belief system is challenged. The more entrenched the belief, the stronger the emotional resistance to changing it. But regardless of whether the belief is tiny or large, confronting our beliefs is always an emotional process.
We might feel that we have to give up something cherished, which feels like a loss to us. Perhaps it’s faith in authority that we may have to relinquish, or the hope that our children will have as many opportunities as we did, or that technology will ride to the rescue in time.
The main reason people avoid developing resilience is because doing so usually asks them to confront one or more closely held-beliefs and is therefore an invitation to a certain amount of emotional stress.
Another thing about beliefs is that they are incredibly good at harvesting data that supports their continuation and solidification, and are amazingly good at either rejecting or completely overlooking data that would undermine them. This is obviously at play with climate change, where various camps cherry pick their data to support their case while ignoring mountains of evidence that would refute their positions.
So let’s look at some of the common excuses again and see if we can identify the beliefs at play:
Social Shame – My family and friends will think I’m ‘crazy.’
Our social conditioning has led us to believe that bad things will befall us if we are seen in a poor light by the people around us, as illustrated by Chris’ bulk food shopping adventure.
The belief in play is that it’s wrong somehow to deviate from social convention. The repercussions can hurt: a loss of social standing, shunning, and damaged relationships, which then translate into the loss of love and connection. So being seen as crazy or nuts is really a threat to our ability to feel loved and be connected, which means it’s wired right into one of the most emotionally-charged areas of our psyches.
When we find ourselves disguising our actions it indicates that shame is the emotion in charge. Shame is a very powerful method of social control, used in the socialization process, which gets internalized at an early age.
It keeps us in line, but does it really serve us? What if we could reduce or eliminate unnecessary shame? Would our social lives and connections improve or degrade? It’s interesting to note that culturally we admire and idolize the rebels and (seemingly) shameless celebrities. The wilder and more confident the better.
What would happen if we simply openly acted in accordance with our inner guidance and accumulated wisdom? Honestly, it’s more probable that people would admire and follow us than ridicule and shun us.
Lack of Awareness – If I’m not familiar with these risks and if they’re not immediately apparent when I look out my front door, then maybe they’re not real.
This one is denial, plain and simple. It’s the most common stage we encounter. It plays an important role as the gatekeeper that actively prevents the rest of the emotional sequence from being triggered. Denial is a self-defense mechanism that allows us to avoid looking at things so that we don’t have to open an entire can of worms.
Sometimes this is actually a legitimate and useful strategy. For the person who is otherwise unable to cope with more emotional stimulation at the time, perhaps a struggling single parent at the end of their reserves, or someone battling a serious health crisis, choosing battles carefully is a wise move.
But for most others, denial is a poor strategy because it makes us more vulnerable to the risks we close our eyes to.
Too Limited – I don’t have the time/money/etc to focus on this right now.
This belief is a common one, which we run into all the time. At its core is a limiting belief that one does not have the resources to get the job done well. And this regularly leads to nothing getting done, even though everyone has the resources to get something done.
The person holding this belief might have deep-seated fears of failure or losing what they have. The underlying beliefs manifest in feelings of powerlessness and insufficiency.
However, we know people of extremely limited means who have made huge strides in preparedness using practically no money. One, a divorced mother of four, with no savings to speak of, became highly prepared entirely on a shoestring budget. She prioritized her time, was scrappy, made excellent use of online swap and classified sites, and took advantage of the fact that if you live in America, you live around a lot of people with more stuff than they want or know what to do with.
The point here is that everyone has capacity to prioritize toward preparing, but they first have to elevate the priority above other commitments. The statement that I have no time, money or resources is a pure limiting belief. If you hold it, those things may as well be true.
By identifying our limiting beliefs, we can expose them for the frauds they are and begin the process of removing them from our lives and replacing them with enhancing beliefs. As Gandhi said, our beliefs shape our destiny. Rather than being captive to our beliefs, we can consciously choose them!
And finally:
Not a Problem #1 – Humans are clever. Somebody smart will invent a solution in time.
This is faith in technology and it’s a doozy. For all of our lives, technology has only been getting more elaborate and more powerful. And while it’s certainly true that technology will continue to get better at the things it does, we shouldn’t let our faith in it cause us to overlook the things it cannot do.
Technology is only as good as the people using it. For instance, GPS is wonderful. It enables us to easily and safely navigate the trickiest of cities effortlessly. But it also allows gigantic fishing trawlers to drop their massive weighted nets six inches to the left of where they left off last week, ensuring that the ocean bottom is thoroughly scraped. As a result, many of the largest commercial fishing grounds, like the once-massive Northern cod fishery in the Grand Banks, have collapsed. That is, our cultural decision-making has not evolved as fast as the technology. Think ‘monkeys with machine guns’ and you’re on the right track.
Technology also cannot create energy. It can find it, use it more efficiently and help us do far more with less, but it cannot create energy. If our faith in technology causes us to overlook the risks of fossil fuels on and in our lives then that belief system will bite us. Why? Because fossil fuels are the source of energy that provide our food, our warmth, our lights and our fuel. Technology does not create energy, it uses energy. Technology alone cannot create new deposits fossil fuels for us, even if we wanted it to. Instead we should be eyes-wide-open about what technology can and cannot do, and plan our lives accordingly.
