John Morgan’s Post

Transcript

The title of this mini podcast is Paradoxical Communication. He was a renaissance man, Gregory Bateson, and he left us with the concept of paradoxical communication. Now, for lack of a more detailed explanation, think of someone saying go left when pointing right. Or as a young person you may have heard this gem. Do as I say, not as I do. We're all really adept at paradoxical communication because we were taught very well by our early caregivers. It seems many of us have bought into this fantasy that we should be judged by our words rather than by our actions. That's a paradox. We can't be taken seriously about our positions if we're standing in another position. If our own shoes hurt, why would we pass them on to someone we care about? Because we don't realize we're displaying paradoxical communication? That's why monkey see monkey do is more accurate than just do it. The trick to outgrowing anything is the first notice that you're doing it. I can assure you, we're all paradoxically communicating. It's just a matter of degree. How often do your actions not match up with your words? Do a personal inventory and you'll be amazed at what you see. It's like a visit to the attic you haven't looked at in years. The Saturn News is that we pass along this trait. The ones we care about most are victims of our fantasy, just as we were the unwitting recipients of a philosophy that looked good on paper but won't help us pass the test. The test in life is getting results. Results. They're hard to come by when we participate in paradoxical communication. A productive step in outgrowing PC paradoxical communication is to immediately stop being an expert on what we talk about, but don't do. Think of Oprah on losing weight and keeping it off again. It takes recognition that we're involved in a paradox. Once noticed, we have a better chance of outgrowing A philosophy that keeps us in those we pass it on to stuck. Start small. Just notice 1 Pearl of wisdom that's still in the oyster that you're claiming as your own, and give it up. It'll lead you off the slippery Rd. of paradoxical communication, which is loaded with good intentions onto a road with traction that only leads to good deeds. All the best, John.