The most common mistake made by these modern advisors is the tendency to turn a habit recognized as healthy into a universal recommendation. From psychology to medicine, the excellent professional is the one who can best adapt to the individual circumstances he encounters. This means that, no matter how qualified he may be, or how much theory and case experience he brings to the table, the effectiveness of his work will depend above all on the sensitivity and ingenuity with which he adapts his repertoire to the needs of the person he is guiding. In other words, it is a task that almost always involves more understanding of a unique and new situation than applying a standard protocol.
Category: Notes
The Most Frustrating Problems Are Those…
The most frustrating problems are those whose understanding is insufficient to solve them. They are the ones one must deal with for a prolonged period, and even if their mechanism is perfectly understandable, even if their solution is crystal clear, one cannot overcome them because one lacks the means to do so. Hence, each time they arise, it feels like a blow to the mind, a painful, exasperating blow that must be endured in silence, since reacting is futile and only increases the irritation. The worst part of such problems is that they seem unjustifiable the moment after they are understood; that is to say, what needed to be taught has already been taught; yet even so, out of sheer stubbornness, they insist on not going away.
It Is Difficult to Gauge Just How Useful…
It is difficult to gauge just how useful it can be to master at least one of these great symbolic systems, so that one’s reasoning naturally tends to find connections between reality and the myriad of traditional symbolic interpretations. Such correspondences are inexhaustible and greatly deepen one’s understanding of reality. A simple event, therefore, takes on a broader meaning for the mind. And one gains from this even when not consciously trying to interpret it, since a mind trained in this way will always be inclined to go beyond the superficial layer of meaning.
To a Certain Extent, One Does Not Choose…
To a certain extent, one does not choose the feelings that will arise in relation to one’s environment, because one does not choose the circumstances into which one is born, nor does one choose most of the defining events that the environment will produce over the course of a lifetime. Thus, affection and aversion, patriotism and anti-patriotism, a sense of belonging and alienation arise naturally. But all these feelings, if not understood, bear poor fruit. A conscious effort is needed to always relate them to the personal transformations one experiences, viewing them as the extremely important catalysts that they are. Such transformations sometimes run counter to the nature of that initial feeling; but they all teach something, and one must cultivate a positive attitude toward them all.