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PREVIOUS : Human Nature LAWS (#2)
😉 LAWS of HUMAN NATURE by R. Green (cont)
5. of Shortsightedness
6. of Narcissism
7. Law of DEFENSIVENESS
People don’t like someone trying to change their opinion. They look after their own interests, wanting to feel that they’re independent, following their own ideas.
If you attack their beliefs, they will only dig their heels in deeper. So when someone tries to persuade or change them, they become defensive & resistant.
RESPONSE : Soften people’s resistance by confirming their Self-Opinion. Don’t try to show how good you are nor challenge them directly. Validate their intelligence, autonomy & goodness. If you want a favor, frame it in a way that allows them to feel generous. Make them feel like the decision is theirs. When you acknowledge their beliefs, they tend to let their guard down (some), making them more open to your suggestions. If you have valuable information & can get things done, you’re a force.
8. of SELF-SABOTAGE
We project our internal fears & insecurities onto the world. Our mental attitudes are self-fulfilling, which paint everything we experience, learn & do. It determines much of what happens in our life, sitting at the heart of success or failure, affecting our ability to make the right moves.
RESPONSE : Audit your own mindset. See yourself as an explorer – always curious, open to learning new things. AND see adversity as opportunities to improve life, not to be avoided. If you expect people to be reasonable and open, your body language will reflect that, and they will likely respond in kind.
9. of REPRESSION
People are rarely who they seem to be. Lurking beneath their polite, affable exterior is inevitably a dark, shadow side. It consists of the insecurities & the repressed desires, anger, & selfishness they carefully conceal from public view. Often, those who loudly condemn a specific behavior are secretly struggling with it themself.
RESPONSE : Confront your own shadow – depression & anxiety comes from not being aware of these tendencies. Channel them into productive avenues, like competitive sports or ambitious career goals, rather than letting them leak out as passive-aggression. By accepting them, you become a more complete & authentic person, radiating that to others, which will attract them into your circle of influence
10. of ENVY
Envy is the ugliest human emotion and the most heavily disguised, People are naturally compelled to compare themself with one another. so some friends & peers will secretly resent your success. Humans tend to evaluate the quality of our own life based on the values accepted by the mob. We continually measure people’s status, level of respect & attention they receive, noticing any differences between what we have & what they have.
RESPONSE : Develop your sense of self-worth from internal standards rather than by endless comparisons. Work on personal progress, not attaching weight to someone else’s work.
Deflect others’ envy by drawing attention away from yourself & emphasize the role of good fortune in your life. Recognize the early warning signs of others’ uneasiness with your success – too much praise & people-pleasing, or subtle digs under the guise of good-natured humor.
11. Law of GRANDIOSITY
Our natural grandiosity creates an unrealistic sense of superiority, encouraging the view of oneself as better than others. Even a small measure of success can make us lose contact with reality. If the opinion of our goodness, greatness & brilliance diverges enough from reality, we over-blow our abilities, to compensate, leading to irrational or dangerous decisions.
RESPONSE : Know your limits. Humans want to think highly of ourselves, to the point of imagining our superiority. Learn to identify the signs of elevated grandiosity in yourself & in others – including 7 illusions of grandiosity – and how you can adopt practical ‘grandiosity‘.
12. of GENDER RIGIDITY
All of us have masculine & feminine qualities. Suppressing one side or the other limits your flexibility in problem-solving & relationships. Some is genetic, & some come from the profound influence of the opposite sex parent. But we tend to repress these characteristics, over-identifying with the role expected of us.
RESPONSE : Connect your masculine & feminine aspects, blending in the parts you’re most lacking. Recognize the various types of gender projections, to unlock your specific repressed qualities / energy. Then you’ll become more authentic & effective – drawing others to you. It will allow you to be more fluid in your thinking, which can unleash creative powers
NEXT : HUMAN NATURE #4
