Are you a realist, or does realism kill the joy?
Are there any problems or drawbacks to being realistic? If your personality belongs to the more realistic ones, then the answer would be no, but for someone, being realistic seems more negative than positive.
(How can you blind blind Enneagram Type make you overly realistic?)
Being realistic would often be perceived as having an objective perception, recognizing the problems and dangers, emotional groundedness, and tending to be courageous when all obstacles are foreseen. Realism could be seen as something emotionally distant or maybe emotionally cold, as realism tends to be a matter of the mind. But realism could also be seen as a quality of the alfa-person in the family or group serving the overall health and survival of the family or group.
On the positive side, “Realism” can provide better planning and precise goal settings, better decision-making and more explicit instructions, a more profound trust and credibility, and better chances for long-term success. Many philosophers and writers have used realism as the foundation for their work. Victor Frankl developed logotherapy as a method to accept difficulties in life and to use our inner will to meaning. Fyodor Dostoevsky, Arthur Schopenhauer and Ingmar Bergman were also searching for realism in their writing and filmmaking.
The negative side of “Realism” might be pessimism and cynicism leading to less joy and happiness, lack of innovation and creativity leading to missed opportunity, low ambitions, and stinginess to plans and ideas. The negative side can also be expressed as overly realistic or thinking that one understands everything. The Maginot Line in France was built as a defense against the German army, but it had no use as the Germans just took another road into France. The unsinkable Titanic and Kodac’s reluctance to use digital photography might also be an overly confident realism.
Your weekly question
This week’s question is about how you use your realism in a balanced way and not become attached to the way you think.
- How do you see yourself? Are you a realist or not? What do you think about being a realist? Is it something positive or negative?
- How do you make sure that you are not overly confident in your own realistic ideas and principles?
- How do you react when someone else is overly realistic or unrealistic and might create harm to their own and other’s life?
Your weekly quote
Life is an endless evolution of natural, organic and spontaneous changes. Accept the changes. Accept the sorrow. Accept the joy. Let reality be reality.
Your weekly recommended reading
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