Problem Paralysis
Hypnosis and Camouflage
This is a Cuttlefish…
Did you know the Broadclub Cuttlefish can use camouflage and hypnosis to subdue their prey? How amazing is the Cuttlefish? These adaptations are a boon for hunting. What about the prey? Is the actual process of hypnotic beguilement frustrating? Do they sense danger, is instinct screaming at them to stop? Yet, against their better judgment they move forward. I feel like that would be terrifying! As if hypnosis wasn’t enough, imagine if a predator could camouflage against a backdrop and then reappear instantly? Materializing out of nowhere and providing you with no time to escape. The Cuttlefish’s abilities render their prey’s instincts useless.
Do your problems do that to you?
Hypnosis
Our problems hypnotize us. We get mesmerized by their complexity. We get fixated on certain aspects of the problem and return to those parts again and again. We do this, even though we know we shouldn’t, we know the solution doesn’t lie there, but we can’t help but stare. The longer we stare, the more comfortable we get with the problem until eventually we find comfort in the problem itself. Because now, the problem helps define us. We only partially want it gone. If we fix it now, are we losing a part of ourselves?
Camouflage
Sometimes problems do literally come out of nowhere, they catch us off guard and they hurt us. We recover, but we don’t always remember. How did we feel before the problem found us? What were we doing when the sneak attack occurred? Why can’t we keep this clear in our memories? Dory didn’t remember, but that fish had amnesia. Do we? If so, does our amnesia serve a purpose, does the occasional trip and fall somehow make us feel natural? What if we remembered, what if we changed the pattern. Would that threaten our identities?
Safety in Numbers
The truth of it is, you can’t see every problem coming and some of our problems are irresistible. Our salvation is in our community. When you can’t stop staring at your problem there will be others happy to peel your eyes away, or cover your face. In that respite from hypnosis we have time to find our solutions. If the problem arrives out of nowhere, perhaps there were those walking with you who remember how it all transpired. Fellow scribes accompanying you on the journey of life. They serve as our heralds so that we don’t forget. We really do need one another. I’m a coach; I watch with you, I transcribe for you, and help you I focus.
This is fantastic! First, I really enjoyed learning about the Cuttlefish; its hunting strategies are pretty creepy, though clearly effective. The imagery helps illustrate the points you are making. You are 100% right about focusing on the problem...I'm not sure if we learn that as kids or if it is a default way humans approach things, but I know that it's accurate. I remember a light bulb going on about this as I was listening to an interview with a woman who had walked across Asia by herself, and was sharing some incredible wisdom. Then I heard a saying that captured this very point: What you focus on expands. That stuck. Nice piece!
My uncle taught me from a young age that there are no problems. Only opportunities.
I kind of like to think of it that way.