Today we will talk about willpower - that part inside everyone that is responsible for the decisions we make: to be or not to be, to do or not. Whenever there is a need for action, which is not part of our habits or contradicts internal desires and beliefs, we use willpower.
The ancient Greek philosopher Plato was the first to offer a description for man's internal struggle with himself, around 400 BC, by comparing the soul to a chariot. In the place of the charioteer, according to Plato, there was a rational principle endowed with a certain willpower. The chariot itself is harnessed by a pair of horses, symbolizing the noble and sensual principles. Obeying the hand of the driver, they carry the chariot forward, but if he is tired or drives the horses too much, he immediately loses control over them, going against his conscious desires.
Our minds are structured in the same way. In a tense struggle with our internal “I want”, he inevitably gets tired , willpower weakens, and, as a result, we can no longer make some decisions that require some effort from us. By taking care of personal productivity and controlling our inner desires, we want to make the “charioteer” stronger so that the “chariot” always goes in the desired direction. Simply put, we always want to see the results of our efforts. This can be achieved by training willpower.
Willpower is your main ace in the hole
Willpower at its core is the ability to successfully cope with tasks. It is this that determines how quickly you can get back to work, give up unhealthy food, and start going to the gym. Willpower applies to absolutely all aspects of life.
Consider willpower to be one of your muscles that, like all other muscles, requires regular stretching and training. Otherwise, they will atrophy, like an astronaut returning from an orbital station.
Scientists Mark Muravin and Roy Baumeister share the same opinion. (Muraven and Baumeister).To confirm their hypothesis, they once conducted an experiment that went down in history as the experiment with radishes and cookies. Its essence was as follows: hungry subjects were asked to divide into two groups, one of which could only eat radishes, and the other could only eat chocolate chip cookies. After some time, participants were asked to solve a complex geometry problem. However, not a single group of people knew that there was simply no solution.
During the experiment, it turned out that those who treated themselves to radishes gave up a good 20 minutes faster than those who got the cookies? Why? The point is that the last didn't have to make any effort and eat less palatable food, which means using willpower. The experiment clearly showed that the will also has achievable limits.
You may now be thinking, “Hmm, what kind of willpower is there... I couldn’t stand it and attacked the cookies.” I hasten to reassure you: meticulous servants of science have found that willpower, like any muscle, can be successfully trained, like a tiger that fell into the hands of the Zapashny brothers. With proper training, willpower allows a person to perform much more complex tricks. For example, going completely without food for five days, which, you see, is a very serious test.
Two ways to strengthen willpower
- Cultivate your will. To strengthen muscles, we put stress on them, and they become tired, and when they recover, they become stronger. Willpower is trained according to the same principle: take charge of your health, try to organize your thoughts and become more collected.
- Use power wisely. Willpower - especially. Sometimes it is better to go around the mountain than to climb it. Likewise, most everyday tasks actually require less effort than it seems at first glance.
So, if you are someone who wants to boost your self-control new level, we will continue to introduce you to tools designed to make your willpower stronger than diamond claws .
How to develop willpower
Let's face it - we are mostly weak-willed. Many people actually have a talent for vegetation and vice: we sit on social networks all day long, indulge in hamburgers, smoke, and do something else harmful. Try going to lunch after postponing mobile phone to the side,- it's not as simple as it might seem to you at first. Being in constant tension, you do not feel the need to train your will. But as soon as the thought comes into your head to reset excess weight or, open your own business or find a better job - here you have to learn about the disadvantages of its absence on the thorny path to success.
And yet there are chances to win in this unequal struggle with oneself. It's simple: pay attention to your health physical as well as mental. Try to follow a few simple recommendations that we offer you below.
1. Eat healthy
The human brain is a mystery to this day. The structure of this organ is very complicated, and its significance is not subject to the slightest doubt. The weakening of a person’s mental abilities leads to a disorder of habits and desires. The most obvious external sign This is what is called (BMI). If it is too high or tends to increase, then the blood sugar level begins to “jump”, and you feel inhibited and “sway for a long time”.
However, body weight is not the only indicator of health status that affects a person’s ability to self-control.
Deficiency of vitamins and microelements in the body, such as vitamin D, may lead to cognitive impairment. That's why healthy eating plays one of the decisive roles: a person’s weight is fine, the necessary vitamins and microelements, and willpower is also present in the proper amount.
2. Exercise
Many have probably heard the saying “In A healthy body means a healthy mind." This is true. How more active person physically, the better he, as they say, thinks.
If we are without movement for a long time, and especially if we sit, then all the muscles gradually “fall asleep,” and with them our brain.
That's why on the bus long distance or it’s so easy to fall asleep during a lecture. Partly for the same reason, standing desks are gaining popularity today. The so-called desks can significantly increase productivity due to the fact that the muscles of the legs and back remain in motion, which means that the vessels fully participate in blood circulation, supplying the brain with oxygen. If working while standing is not possible, take time to stand up and stretch a little. You don't have to be a marathon runner or a heavyweight in oats - just be more active. To do this, include warm-up in the list of mandatory activities for every day. After all, we are ourselves, right?
Try to follow the “Japanese” norm, which prescribes 10 thousand steps daily to maintain good health. It will also be useful to climb the stairs a couple of times. Do whatever you want, the main thing is to be in motion.
Sometimes we feel like our strength is leaving us and it is no longer possible to continue working. You shouldn't fight this feeling. Get up and go for a walk! You will be surprised when you feel better within five minutes.
3. Sleep
To achieve the highest degree of concentrated willpower, combine healthy eating and exercise with quality sleep at night.
By sleep deprivation we mean sleeping less than seven to eight hours at night. A sleep-deprived brain works at half capacity, as if you “took it on the chest,” which can already be compared to a complete lack of willpower. Imagine, just an hour or two that you need to “get” to the eight-hour norm will make your willpower much stronger. But for someone who doesn’t get enough sleep, even if only infrequently, willpower will not be so easy.
4. Drink more water
This is the last point related to healthcare. Honestly.
Every living thing needs water - an indisputable fact. It turns out that the ability to concentrate efforts is largely determined by the water content in our body. Even minor dehydration can have serious consequences on human mental activity.
It is believed that to maintain normal functioning you need to drink two liters or eight glasses of water daily. We recommend increasing this norm by one and a half to two times: the benefits to good health will be beautiful skin and a healthy, moderate appetite.
Water also contains potassium, sodium and chlorine - the most important electrolytes for the human body.
5. Practice meditation
Kelly McGonigal, a psychologist, professor at Stanford University and author of a series of books on willpower, believes that meditation is one of the best methods her workouts.
The concept of “willpower” is associated with a person’s ability to focus on the task at hand, controlling distracted consciousness. Many of us have a problem with this, which is aggravated by the continuous flow of a wide variety of information pouring at us from our mobile phones, laptops and social networks.
With the help of meditation, you can train self-awareness, the ability to abstract or concentrate your attention on some internal process - the goals may be different. If you have mastered the basic techniques of breathing control, then concentrating on your work will not be much of an effort, even if the environment is not conducive to work.
Moreover, meditation teaches us to “control ourselves among the crowd of confused people,” instead of losing our temper or getting upset over any reason - you must admit, the latter is unlikely to make you employee of the month.
By concentrating on different sensations, we learn to get rid of unnecessary emotions and their external manifestations in a given situation.
If you want to try the wonderful effects of meditation on yourself today, check out, for example, the application. which will help you master the science of relaxation.
6. More practice
Whatever you want to succeed at, train. When starting willpower training, start by checking yourself for lice. Let's do without wisdom, because with willpower, as in war or in love, all methods will be good.
Willpower itself is not enough to achieve your goals. Imagine that you have a Ferrari in your garage, under the hood of which there is a whole herd of horsepower hidden - the car is, without a doubt, very fast. However, if the fuel tank is dry, you won't get anywhere.
This is why it is important to use good and proven control methods. Why run to where you can get there without haste? In the following paragraphs, we will learn about ways to use willpower sparingly so that there is something left “for later.”
1. Divide and conquer
Sometimes, just looking at the front of the upcoming work, we already want to give up and admit: nothing will work out. Same with personal motivation. For example, if you say to yourself: “I have to lose 20 kilos,” then you need to understand that achieving this goal may take more than one month.
However, if you conditionally divide one large task into several smaller points, say, “read one paragraph from a microbiology textbook” or “lose two kilograms,” then the goal will no longer seem so unattainable to you.
The more difficult the task, the more effort you will have to make on your will. Understanding this, tackle the clearly feasible items first. This way you will “warm up” before doing everything else.
2. Form habits
Lifehacker has already talked about Charles Duhigg(Charles Duhigg) and his book “”, in which he states: habits make up approximately 40% of our daily actions.
Overall this is good news. Imagine if every time you got into a car, you started a thought chain: “So, I take the handbrake off, press the clutch pedal, turn the key, look in the rearview mirror, look around, put the reverse gear in motion.” Do you understand? If these actions did not become habits, we simply would not have time to think about anything!
But, whether we like it or not, bad habits, alas, have not been canceled. It is because of them that we snooze the alarm several times a morning, twirl the keys in our hands and (oh, horror!) melancholy pick our nose. As soon as self-discipline weakens, they are right there.
On the contrary, good and good habits help maintain willpower in maximum tone and state of combat readiness. For example, if your regular schedule includes jogging every morning, jumping out of bed and running to the park is unlikely to be a problem for you. If not, force yourself to start, and within a week your body will get used to the new morning “ritual”. Use this simple technique to gain truly valuable skills.
When starting work, try spending half an hour of your time planning the most important tasks - after a few days this will become quite common for you.
Think about what actions Everyday life require special moral efforts from you. Make a list of them and identify those that could become a habit. Service can be an additional source of motivation , which will display the progress of your achievements graphically, identify lazy people and “punish” with a ruble for weakness of spirit. This is Sparta, brother.
3. Avoid bad news
Someone who feels like a millionaire thinks clearly and is usually a strong-willed person. The absence of stress and all kinds of sadness will have the best impact on the development of self-control. That is why the expression “You are what you eat” will also be true for “mental” food - the information we consume.
Of course, our world is not ideal, and not every event can bring a smile to your face. Traffic accidents, wars, financial market collapses - in a word, everything that is continuously broadcast on TV screens and mobile devices, along with all other information, affects our mood and... willpower. In fact, even vacation photos that your friend posted on his social network page can become a serious threat to willpower and bring your passion to naught. As you know, an ax is the same as chopping. It’s the same with our consciousness, which processes signals coming from outside in autopilot mode.
To avoid being overly “informed,” try to limit your consumption of information that is not directly related to your field of activity. Of course, if you are a broker by profession, then be aware of fluctuations stock market- your direct responsibility. But thoughts from the series “What will happen tomorrow if...” will not bring practical benefit.
4. Create a positive work environment
With willpower it’s like with money: the less you spend, the more you end up with. It would be logical to assume that you can make the environment work for you, that is, reduce the likelihood of situations where you may need willpower. This means you can calmly focus on the most important thing.
For example, you have a box of expensive chocolates. From time to time, a desire arises in your head to open it and treat yourself, but you fight it with the help of willpower. Next to the box is a mobile phone, on the screen of which notification icons appear from time to time. Trying not to be distracted, you continue working. Know: willpower works with you.
The same applies to delicious photographs of food in glossy magazines.
To make sure you don't fall into the list of spineless losers that Jonathan talks about, try the service : it will not only allow you to take into account your working time, but will also help classify activities according to their degree of importance.
5. Prepare in advance
Psychologically, decisions are easier if we know about the need to make them in advance. Knowing this, we can minimize the use of our volitional resources in achieving our goals.
Just think about what you need to do and repeat to yourself, fixing the desired thought in your head, as if it were a mandatory rule. For example, “When I get to work, I will immediately answer all emails” or “As soon as I wake up, I will get dressed and go to the gym.”
Such rules greatly simplify a person’s struggle with himself, saving his internal resources. They also help keep promises. Sometimes doing and forgetting is better than not doing and being tormented by internal contradictions and remorse. Believe me, generated by cognitive dissonance, they will inevitably appear to ruin your mood. If you know that there is a lot of hard work ahead of you, prepare yourself for it in advance and complete a few simpler tasks to “warm up”.
6. Listen to yourself
Many people know their natural “clock”. There may be a feeling that you are about to lose your strength, or, conversely, when productivity is at the highest level, it seems that there is no problem that cannot be dealt with.
This occurs due to circadian rhythms -cyclical fluctuations in the intensity of various biological processes associated with change of day and night. That's why most people feel tired around two in the morning and energized after two in the afternoon. If you're one of them, plan to get everything important done before your activity level drops.
Another type is also known biological rhythms- ultradian rhythms. They are responsible for concentration, changes in pain sensitivity and a number of other processes that occur during the day and night in the human body.
In fact, every hour and a half, our brain goes through a cycle in which high levels of activity are replaced by low levels. If at the moment of peak activity you are busy with work, then the work progresses and brings satisfaction.
On the contrary, by acting contrary to your natural rhythms, you mindlessly waste your limited supply of willpower and, as a result, quickly “burn out.”
If the time of day is not “yours”, and there is still a lot to do, we recommend working in sets for an hour and a half, interrupting for a 15-20-minute rest between each of these sets.
Even more will
So, if you already feel that the knowledge you have acquired is just dying to be put into practice, here are some tips for you to get started immediately:
- Think about what aspects of health you should pay attention to: overweight, sleep quality, physical education. Don't take on everything at once, start with one thing.
- Evaluate the benefits of currently known assistant services, such as And . They work, we checked.
- Alternate between simple and complex tasks throughout the workday to stay on your toes.
- Critically analyze the organization of your workspace for things that steal your attention and time. And try the service .
- Identify your activity peaks and lows during the day or evening. Remember these time periods and start planning with them in mind.
- Think about what good habits you could adopt and what must-have items on your list you can plan ahead for.
We hope you are finally convinced of the inevitable success of all your planned events. It’s even better if an action plan has already begun to emerge in your head. We will be glad to learn about other effective methods of self-control and read your “winner story”!
“The imagination is the wheel by which astronomers can collect the stars of all galaxies. This creative energy is identical to the energy of light.” – Nicolo Tesla.
I think many of us have wondered: what is imagination? However, it was unlikely that a single answer would be found that would satisfy everyone.
But still what secret does the imagination hide behind itself: a mind game, an inner vision, or both?
Are there similarities between daydreaming and fantasy?
Does imagination help a particular person in his life or does it create significant difficulties?
Do you need to develop your imagination or learn to control it? Perhaps many questions will become clear after reading this article.
One way or another, imagination is like the water element, which can in an instant turn a calm into a nine-point storm.And all it takes is a whiff of a crazy breeze of thought.
“He saw a lot, but he was carried away even further; it seemed to him that magical countries full of amazing creatures were hidden behind the mountain ridges. And many years later he avoided those places, realizing that the dream would not survive the collision with reality.”Is this really as it is described? Arthur C. Clarke in Rendezvous with Rama»?
THE ESSENCE OF IMAGINATION
“What has now been proven previously existed only in the imagination” . – Blake.
No matter how we look at the imagination, it is an area in which it is hardly possible to put a full stop, only an ellipsis...
“Imagination is a powerful aid in every event in our life, acting on faith, and both of them are draftsmen who prepare sketches for the will in order to imprint them, more or less deeply, on the rocks of difficulties and obstacles with which the path of life is strewn.” – H. P. Blavatsky.
In this sense - this is nothing more than an inspiredly reflected image of the inner picture of the world, naturally inspired by various levels of human consciousness.
If we consider imagination as a high-quality tool for developing a certain image, then it seems important to note its boundaries: from dreams, fantasies and daydreams to extravagant outlines on the internal mental screen. And here the imagination can take all sorts of distorted and even painful forms.
“Half, if not 2/3 of our illnesses and ailments are the fruit of our imagination and fears. Destroy the latter and give a different direction to the first - and nature will complete the rest.” – E.P. Blavatsky.
And these statements are not a figment of the imagination of the great Theosophist, for they are being confirmed today.
“Fear of injury, loss, illness, failure, etc. sometimes it takes such hold of a person’s imagination that he subconsciously, despite all the efforts of his will, is drawn to the object of fear. Moreover, the feeling of fear activates the biochemical mechanism of stress, which weakens the thyroid and other glands, minimizing the body's resistance to infections, diseases and even “accidents”. By weakening the will, fear also affects the muscles; it also causes an imbalance between the two hemispheres of the brain, which in turn impairs coordination and performance.” – Dr. Paul Weinzweig.
Gradations of imagination do not have clear and established limits, and can vary depending on the individual talents of a person and his perception, as well as the ability of thinking to complete, produce or change reality.
By embellishing something, endowing this or that object with certain non-existent or not entirely appropriate qualities, we bring the imagination to supposed levels of illusoryness and ephemerality, which are not capable of becoming truly embodied or feasible.
And this is no longer just fantasy, but something else - the creation of a parallel reality, which, under certain conditions, can not only continue to exist, but also change the existing reality.
IMAGARIUM OR IMAGINATION AND FANTASY
Such a tool as control over the mental movements produced is very important and truly significant in light of the fact that building a deliberately false, unnecessary and dilapidated building of a mental image is not only useless, but also harmful. For, by leading us away from the necessary path of quest into the obviously deaf and impenetrable forest of daydreaming, we not only weaken, but also lose this strength imperceptibly and with a trick.
A dream takes us as far as possible, constantly changing, transforming and not staying long on one object. It scatters our aspiration, scatters conscious concentration, knocking confidence out of the saddle. Such daydreaming is a passive, surrogate imagination, never being realized in concrete life.
But this does not apply to a child’s dream, unobtrusive and deep, bright and rich, because it is already in And understanding the possible and 
actual future. In a child's dream there is no place for imagination in its indomitable and unbridled form. There is purity of motive and clear acceptance, deep feeling and direct consideration.
A child's dream is truly imagination in its original form with undistorted perception and a distinct image. This is a simple truth in the light, smoky cloud of children's imaginations.
We preserve the rudiments of a child's creative and lively imagination in hidden images of the subconscious and the bins of the unconscious. And given the current events and favorable life factors, these images can unfold with new strength, extraordinary brightness and enriched significance. And then, children's imagination and daydreaming will cease to mean nothing, but, on the contrary, will turn out to be the foundation of future creative fullness and feasibility.
According to the law of the reality of feelings, “all our fantastic and unreal experiences, in essence, proceed on a completely real emotional basis.”
We find this confirmation from the Russian philosopher E.V. Ilyenkova in his work “Dialectical Logic”: “The traditional understanding of imagination reflects only its derivative function.”
Famous Russian psychologist Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky believed, for example, that fantasy is the central expression of emotional response. With the intensification and complexity of fantasy as the central moment of the emotional reaction, its peripheral side (external manifestation) is delayed in time and weakens in intensity.
Thus, imagination allows you to gain a variety of experiences while remaining within the framework of socially acceptable behavior. Everyone gets the opportunity to work through excessive emotional stress, discharging it with the help of fantasies, and thus compensating for unmet needs. “Whoever is gifted with a strong fantasy and contemplates through it sufficiently can quickly do without reality, as well as without society.” A. Schopenhauer. New Paralipomena.
Spiritual/esoteric science also makes a distinction between imagination and fantasy: “In occultism one should not confuse imagination with fantasy, since it is one of the obedient forces of the higher Soul and the memory of previous incarnations, which, no matter how distorted by the lower manas (author - mind), is still always based on truth." - E.P. Blavatsky. Theosophical Dictionary.
IMAGINATION AS DREAM CONSCIOUSNESS
“How long is the night of endless time in comparison with the short dream of life!” - A. Schopenhauer.
Now let's focus on that part of the imagination that affects sleep. And in this case we are talking not only about the physical process, but also about the astral-emotional world of obsession or illusion, in which the majority of the planet’s population resides.
Under consideration dream- This night state / detached consciousness / night consciousness / noumenal state. In the case of lucid dreaming, the dream appears to us as light of night awareness.
How can the imagination be alive and reproduce with the smallest details and details something that you have never done?
As the great mathematician and philosopher stated Pythagoras: « Imagination is nothing more than the memory of previous births».
This statement now has many confirmations, thanks to the works of Michael Newton(“The Purpose of the Soul”, “The Journey of the Soul”), Yana Stevenson and his follower Jim Tucker(“Life After Life”), Genies Seminar(“Many Abodes”), 25 thousand readings by Edgar Casey, as well as 2,500 testimonies of children (from 5 to 8 years old), indicating the exact place of previous birth, the names of loved ones and relatives, as well as other details of the previous incarnation.
In addition, many children, up to almost 5-7 years of age, do not lose direct connection with the higher “I” through the channel of the spirit through spiritual impressions.
This happens through comparison and comparison of initial information - through dreams, good imagination and even etheric vision. This is how children compare what they saw and felt with the information presented by their parents.
As the presbyter wrote Origen: “The soul has neither beginning nor end... Souls come into this world, strengthened by victories or weakened by defeats of previous lives...”
Imagination, strengthened by the internal need for integrity, and the removal of the veil that hides the real and undistorted image of one’s own individuality is a necessary property that allows both adults and children to gain peace of mind and strong support.
Having once established contact with our invisible part, we perform a process of unity called
“The reason for a person’s inability to understand his own nature is his inability to get away from himself, to dispassionately, so to speak, from the outside, to evaluate his personal qualities. In an attempt to analyze and study the higher, he must use the very faculties that he has been taught for centuries to neglect, namely, imagination and intuition. He is like a fly crawling on his hand and convinced that the whole world is this hand.” – Theogenesis. Ancient Stanzas of Dzyan.
DEVELOPMENT OF IMAGINATION. UNDERWATER ROCKS
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited, while imagination embraces the whole world, stimulating progress, giving rise to evolution.” – Albert Einstein.
The development of imagination - as psychology describes it, is “a purposeful process pursuing the goal of developing the brightness of imaginary images, their originality and depth, as well as the fruitfulness of the imagination.”
If we step back from academic science and reconsider all views about thinking, reason, mental programming through fixed social images and stereotypes, then the following picture appears.
At first, the child is squeezed in every possible way into the “frameworks” and “norms” of the adult world of consumption, and then he himself, having matured, tries to revive primary abilities through self-memory, lucid dreams, intuition and other life catalysts.
“The idea of beating a child into a mold desired by a parent or teacher is a barbaric and ignorant superstition. This is selfish tyranny over the human soul. The growing soul must be helped to discover what is best in itself and to make it more perfect for valuable use.” – Sri Aurobindo.
In T. Ribot's theory of volitional processes we find the answer to the main initial postulate of our theory - everything in the acting profession begins in the imagination. T. Ribot considers volitional activity to be similar to creative activity and connects volitional action with creative imagination.
Ribot writes: “Which form of activity of the spirit is most analogous to creative activity? Volitional activity,” I answer without the slightest hesitation. Imagination in the field of intellect is equivalent to will in the field of movement.
Willpower is established slowly, progressively, and encounters obstacles. The individual must become master of his muscles and, through them, extend his power to other objects. Reflexes, instinctive movements and movements expressing emotions are the primary sources of deliberate movements... She reigns by right of victory, and not by right of birth, in the same way the creative imagination is not fully armed. The material for it is images, which are here the equivalent of muscular movements; creative imagination also goes through a period of trying. At first... it is always imitative and only gradually reaches its characteristic complex forms. This first rapprochement is not the most significant.
There are deeper analogies: first of all, the complete subjectivity of both the will and the creative imagination. Imagination is subjective, individual, anthropocentric. It strives from the internal to the external, towards objectification. Knowledge (intelligence in the full sense of the word) has opposite features: it is objective, impersonal, and receives material from the outside. For creative imagination
The regulator of life is the inner world, here the inner prevails over the outer. The regulator of knowledge is the external world, the external prevails over the internal. The world of my imagination is my world, opposite the world of knowledge, which belongs to all people. The will represents exactly the opposite. About it one could repeat literally word for word what we said about imagination. This repetition is useless. The fact is that the basis of will and imagination is our individual causality, which does not depend on our opinion about the nature of causality and will.
Will and imagination are teleological in nature, acting only in view of some goal, while knowledge is limited to stating facts. Every desire is aimed at something specific, important or absurd. They always invent something for something, be it Napoleon creating a campaign plan or a cook combining a new dish.
In its normal perfect form, the will leads to action, but in indecisive people susceptible to abulia, the hesitation never stops or the decision made remains unfulfilled, unable to be realized or realized. On the contrary, creative imagination in its perfect form strives to manifest itself in the external world, to express itself in a creation that would exist not only for the creator, but for everyone. On the contrary, among simple dreamers the imagination remains inside in the form of a vague outline, it is not embodied in an aesthetic or practical creation. Daydreaming is equivalent to flashes of will. Dreamers in creativity are the same as those subject to abulia in the sphere of will.
It is useless to add that the rapprochement we have established between the will and the creative imagination is only partial, and the purpose of this rapprochement is to clarify the role of the motor elements.”
In stage theory and practice, we more often use not the words “emotions or feelings”, but the word “experience”. As we have repeatedly repeated, in the psychology of an actor we are primarily interested in whether the actor experiences what his character experiences, whether he should experience, feel, experience the character’s emotions; how to achieve truth (or veracity) of an actor’s experiences, etc. In other words, are the actor’s experiences real or not, or repeated, or are his feelings
sympathy? On this issue there are both extreme points of view and moderate, so to speak, middle ones. Diderot answers this question in the negative, albeit with one very significant caveat, admitting actor's tears, but those that “flow from the brain.” And his followers believed that if the actor himself feels and experiences the emotions of the character, this prevents him from controlling his behavior on stage and the reaction of the audience. All supporters of the “experience” school believe that if an actor does not feel or experience the truly corresponding emotions of his character, he can only represent them, that is, formally show these experiences. Hence the requirement not to play, but to be, that is, to identify oneself with the hero. Mikhail Chekhov believed that the feelings of an actor are sympathy, empathy for the character. Or maybe there is some special category of “feelings”, experiences that are unique to actors? Why did Pushkin talk about the “plausibility of feelings”? There are many questions, how much is mysterious and enigmatic in this profession. On the other hand, in stage practice such concepts as the “emotional state” of the actor (psychophysical well-being), “nature of feelings”, “emotional atmosphere”, “emotional mood”, “emotionality” of the actor at rehearsal and performance, etc. are also important. And all these questions are related to such concepts as emotions and feelings, in other words, stage experiences.
Before we move on to consider such a special and specific category as stage emotions and feelings (stage experiences), we should dwell in more detail on the question of what human emotions and feelings are, as psychology understands them.
First, we would like to give generally accepted definitions in psychology.
Feelings are one of the main forms of a person’s experience of his relationship to objects and phenomena of reality, characterized by relative stability. In contrast to situational emotions and affects, which reflect the subjective meaning of objects in specific prevailing conditions, feelings highlight phenomena that have a stable motivational significance,
Emotion (from Latin Emoveo - shocking, exciting) is a mental reflection in the form of a direct biased experience of the life meaning of phenomena and situations, conditioned by the relationship of their objective properties to the needs of the subject. In the process of evolution, emotions arose as a means that allows living beings to determine the biological significance of the body’s states and external
influences. The simplest form of emotions is the so-called emotional tone of sensations - direct experiences that accompany individual vital influences (for example, taste, temperature) and encourage the subject to maintain or eliminate them. In extreme conditions, when the subject cannot cope with the situation that has arisen, affects develop. Emotions relate to the internal regulation of behavior.
Being a subjective form (Expressions of needs, emotions precede activities to satisfy them, motivating and directing them.
The highest product of the development of human emotions is stable feelings towards objects that meet his highest needs. A strong, absolutely dominant feeling is called passion.
Emotions can also cause changes in the general emotional background - the so-called mood.
The nature and dynamics of situational emotions are determined both by objective events and by the feelings from which they develop (for example, pride in a loved one, grief over his failures, jealousy, etc. can develop from love). The attitude towards reflected phenomena as the main property of emotions is presented in their qualitative characteristics (these include sign - positive, negative - and modality ~ surprise, joy, disgust, indignation, anxiety, sadness, etc.), in the dynamics of the flow of emotions themselves - duration, intensity, etc. - and their external expression (emotional expression) - in facial expressions, speech, pantomime. Human emotions vary in the degree of awareness. The conflict between conscious and unconscious emotions most often underlies neuroses.
Emotions also act as regulators of human communication. One of the means of communication is expressive movements that have a signaling and social nature.
Emotions are reactions to a situation, not to an individual stimulus. ...a person evaluates the situation created by (this) stimulus and reacts with the emergence of an emotion to this situation, and not to the stimulus itself.
Emotions are often early reactions to a situation and its assessment. ...a person reacts to contact with a stimulus that has not yet occurred. ... emotion acts as a mechanism for anticipating significance for animals and humans.
Emotions are a differentiated assessment of different situations. Here-
Unlike the emotional tone, which gives a generalized assessment (like - dislike, pleasant - unpleasant), emotions more subtly show the meaning of a particular situation.
Emotions are not only a way of assessing an upcoming situation, but also a mechanism for early and adequate preparation for it through the mobilization of mental and physical energy.
Emotions are a mechanism for consolidating positive and negative experiences. Occurring when a goal is achieved or not achieved, they are positive or negative reinforcement of behavior and activity (E. Ilyin).
A more realistic approach to understanding the essence of emotions, and for our “imitation theory” and more practical, is available in the so-called “Theory of Differential Emotions”. The theory of differential emotions gets its name from its focus on individual emotions, which are understood as differing experiential and motivational processes. This theory is based on five key assumptions:
The nine fundamental emotions form the basic motivational system of human existence.
Each fundamental emotion has unique motivational and phenomenological properties.
Fundamental emotions such as joy, sadness, anger and shame lead to different internal experiences and different external expressions of these experiences.
Emotions interact with each other - one emotion can activate, strengthen or weaken another.
Emotional processes interact with and influence drives and homeostatic, perceptual, cognitive, and motor processes.
The theory of differential emotions recognizes the functions of emotions as determinants of behavior in the widest range from violence and unintentional murder, on the one hand, and self-sacrifice, on the other. Emotions are viewed not only as a primary motivating system, but also as personal processes that give meaning and meaning to human existence.
Tomkins discovered that there are certain innate limitations of the emotional system and these, in turn, affect the degree of determinism of human behavior. At the same time, freedom is inherent in the very nature of emotions and the emotional system:
Compared to the motor system, the emotional system is difficult for a person to control. Emotional control may be more successfully achieved through facial expression and the motor component of emotion in combination with cognitive processes such as imagination and fantasy.
Emotions attached to drives and arising only thanks to them are limited in freedom, for example, as is the case when joy is caused only by food.
There are limitations to the emotional system due to the syndromic nature of its neurological and biochemical organization. When an emotion arises, all components of the emotional system are involved, and at very high speed.
The memory of past emotional experiences imposes another limitation on emotional freedom. Vivid emotional experiences of the past, represented in memory and in thoughts, can restrain or, conversely, motivate a person.
Another limitation on the freedom of emotion may be imposed by the nature of the object of the emotion, as in the case of unrequited love.
Emotional communication may be limited by some kind of prohibition, for example, looking at each other's faces, especially eyes.
Another factor limiting emotional communication is the complex relationship between language and the emotional system. We are not taught to accurately express our emotional experiences.
In the theory of differential emotions, facial expressions and feedback from facial activity play an extremely important role in the emotional process and in emotional regulation. However, when describing strong emotions, people refer rather to changes in the visceral-endocrine system (for example, they say “internal feeling”) rather than to proprioceptive and cutaneous impulses that arise during facial activity. There are a number of reasons for this.
More than a hundred years ago, Charles Darwin laid the foundation for research into the role of facial complexes in emotions. Based on his observations, it can be concluded that expressive behavior is either a sequence of emotions or an emotion regulator. Considering the regulatory function of expressive behavior, Darwin argued: “The free expression of an emotion by external signs enhances it. On the other hand, suppressing as much as possible all external manifestations softens our emotions.” This position of Darwin became a step towards the hypothesis about the role of reverse
no connection in emotions.
The theory of differential emotions and in particular the “feedback hypothesis” not only explains, but also removes the controversial issue in theatrical practice - when creating an image, go “from external to internal” or from “internal to external”, scientifically explaining the validity of both approaches. At the same time, it gives us the key to the practical application of the “imitation theory,” thereby answering our statement: by imitating the external expression of emotions (facial expressions, pantomime, speech intonation), an actor can experience the character’s real feelings, but under one necessary condition: inclusion creative imagination in the initial phase of the entire process.
We will consider issues of emotional expression in a special chapter. And this part of the teaching about emotions, like no other, brings us closest to the topic of stage experiences, movements and actions, expressive behavior, and understanding of the psychological mechanisms in the implementation of emotional reactions. We are primarily interested in facial and pantomimic ways of expressing emotions, psychomotor, i.e. directly related to expressive actions and movements. But before moving on to this practical part of the psychology of acting, let’s consider the connections between imagination and emotions (feelings).
Atlas, holding the rock, suddenly said loudly:You know, eagle, I sacrificed myself for a reason
This destiny is the voluntary choice of my spirit
And willpower - I get support from him.
Being an Atlantean in life, maintaining the balance of your own world, is quite a difficult task.
But, if you acquire certain skills, it is no longer so impossible.
So what is this magic formula in a nutshell? strength + will and in total acting like a missile strike or, conversely, maintaining complete silence and a calm wait-and-see position?Let's try to figure it out together.
PROPERTIES AND QUALITIES OF WILLPOWER
How often do we hear the phrase strength of will, and how difficult it is sometimes for us to control ourselves in order to do something very important or necessary if it requires some effort from us that goes against our desires.
Being strong and strong-willed or confident and persistent is not always easy. And the point here is not only about the presence of personal courage and self-control. We also need something else that stimulates and motivates us so much that we show readiness, which turns into volitional action.
Willpower is a property of the personality, integrated and guided by the soul.
Strength is a quality of personality, will is a manifestation of the soul.
Strength without will is a lazy lady who makes efforts only in the need to satisfy and indulge her own weaknesses, even if they are in a man’s body. Of course, this is the case with that power that lies dormant and is not used by a person, often called powerlessness.
At the same time, force is the potential energy of nature. Will is the energy of personality. Together with strength, will forms the dynamic energy manifested by a specific individual in action.
The quality of will is awareness and conscious direction. Wherein awareness- This insight + knowledge + responsibility. In its turn responsibility- a quality of the soul that becomes the property of a person when he begins to be guided by love-wisdom. But such responsibility is not obsessive or unconscious, but is the prerogative of a mature personality.
The opposite of responsibility is duty, as “obligatory responsibility” or more precisely, bound by the shackles of unconsciousness responsibility, which in itself is nonsense because responsibility is a voluntary and always conscious quality.
Thus, the will is always primary in relation to the force, as the soul is to the personality, while initiating the personality and giving it all the reins of control, and giving experience the executive role of leading dynamic energy. But this role is always conditional, because the personality is always led, regardless of the degree of its awareness of the governing and controlling role of the soul.
Willpower is a stable link or link in the chain of cause and effect, which a person calls fate or life. How it will manifest itself depends entirely on .
The more the personality is integrated with the soul, the more stable the willpower, manifesting itself as controlled energy: from dynamic and active to practically motionless, while maintaining a certain degree of balance.
When a person feels powerless or for some reason his strength is not able to overcome something, it means that his will is either asleep and not awakened, or the person ignores his volitional potential.
When we say that force is a physical quantity, we cut off its most important part - the spiritual one, which underlies any of its manifestations.
Without willpower, it is impossible to overcome any limitations and impossibilities. However, mental strength does not always have a direct relationship with physical strength, and there are many examples of this.
WILLPOWER AND CONNECTION WITH THE SOUL
The most difficult thing about willpower being a manifested active “agent” of a person is to be able to establish stable contact with the soul.
As evidenced by esoteric psychology , the connection with the soul is carried out through its two “threads” - the “thread of life” and the “thread of consciousness”. The “thread of life” is literally anchored in the heart, or more precisely, in its etheric counterpart through the thymus gland. The “thread of consciousness” connects a person’s soul with all his physical vehicles through the pineal gland.
Willpower in its best spiritual and personal harness is always consciously natural. Therefore, there is ease of perception distinctive feature along with an understanding of the necessity of the actions taken, no matter how impartial they may seem. And here will enters the arena as a motivating and creative force.
In such a duet there are no groans and doubts, for there is an inner understanding that sees and sees through O greater plan and purpose. And this, in fact, is an ideal combination of strength and will, if such a thing is even possible in principle.
As I noted earlier, willpower is a conscious, and therefore mental, action. Therefore, what comes to the fore is not so much the ability of thinking itself, but first of all the culture of thinking - culture cogitandi.
“Willpower represents the culture and skill of thinking, the ability to control your mental world by controlling the movements of images.” – Yu. M. Orlov.
In other words, a culture of thinking presupposes a developed mind/intelligence on the one hand - convergent thinking, as well as the ability for free, divergent thinking.
STAGES OF VOLITIONAL REGULATION
In order to understand how to develop and strengthen willpower, it is necessary to consider the act of will itself and its stages. There are only five of them:
- Incentive stage, which includes:
a) goal; b) intention; c) motivation); d) assessment; d) reflection.
2. Making decisions and taking responsibility.
3. Confidence in the correctness of the choice (declaring to oneself that “let it be so”).
4. Planning and organizing actions/activities based on the planned program.
5. Implementation of the program/activity.
One way or another, volitional effort and programming alone are not enough, because there is often a need to compensate for the lack of motivation to act in the absence of sufficient motivation, as well as the choice of motives, goals and types of action when they conflict.
In such cases, it is possible to change the meaning of actions, filling them with a more valuable meaning, which accordingly leads to both a change in motivation and a revaluation of the motive, borrowing additional motives for action, as well as anticipating and experiencing the consequences of an action through the use of imagination.
In other words, in this case the will finds itself in the same harness with the imagination. It’s no secret that will is a conscious act that accordingly changes consciousness through self-consciousness, and imagination has access to the depths of the subconscious.
It is the imagination that gives impetus to the will through the enormous energy contained in the subconscious through the involvement of the right, creative hemisphere, the place of synthesis of the external perception of the personality with its internal state. This is how the left - logical, concrete and rational - is harmonized with the irrational and creative right hemispheres.
Moreover, in the interaction of will and imagination, the role of the first violin belongs to the imagination, even if they are opposed to each other.
For example, if we have to walk along a board about ten meters long and 30 cm wide across a shallow pond, then we can easily cope with this task. But if we need to do the same thing over a yawning abyss, the imagination will turn on the mechanism/instinct of self-preservation, triggering the inevitable fall.
This ability to imagine and imagine is not subject to the will. Therefore, it is important to take this factor into account during any volitional effort, developing the ability both for positive thinking and working with the imagination.
“The power of imagination drives the power of attraction. When our imagination is captured by an idea, we are inexorably drawn towards it, despite the fact that our will may prefer something to the contrary” - Dr. Emily Cui.
As I already wrote, add to the imaginationand it paralyzes the will. That’s why working with the subconscious seems so significant., and other oppressive and destructive emotions.
DEVELOPMENT OF WILLPOWER OR VOLITIONAL REGULATION
Excerpt from the series “ SPIRITUAL EVOLUTION OF HUMAN” on developing willpower:
Millionaire in a minute. Direct path to wealth Hansen Mark Victor
Fifteenth aha: imagination is stronger than will
Almost 100 years ago, a French doctor expressed this profound thought:
“When will conflicts with imagination, imagination almost invariably wins.”
In other words, when your will (your rational, logical self) comes into conflict with your imagination (your creative self, your right brain), imagination always comes out victorious.
Imagination is the key to everything. Here's an example: a child is told many times that there are no monsters under his bed, but as soon as the lights are turned off, his rich imagination takes over. If you want to calm your child, you need to appeal more to his imagination than to logic. For example: “Don't be afraid, baby. The monsters that live among us are completely harmless. We only keep people here who take care of children.”
We adults are not much different in this sense, and the monsters we imagine seem no less scary to us. You have probably been held back on many occasions by the fear of rejection. We are all soft and fluffy inside. We want to be considered one of our own. We want to be loved. We crave it. And we don't want to look like fools.
Samantha nodded.
- This is the winner's speech. You can work with this.
“Great,” Michelle let out a sigh of relief.
“Yes, but that’s not all, Butterfly,” Samantha winked. “Now you must shout out everything you just said.”
- I'm sorry?
– Tell the Universe about this. Out loud and loud!
Michelle suddenly understood everything. She looked around the valley that lay before them, the distant Rocky Mountains. She extended her arms forward.
- I want…
- No! Talk like it's already happening Now.
Michelle took a deep breath and shouted across the valley:
- My children are with me!
She was even frightened when these words came back to her with almost the same volume.
Children... Children...
- Continue.
- We live on a big farm...
Farm...
-...where there are a lot of pets...
Animals…
– ...and we are as happy and successful as we could ever dream of!
She continued to stand, arms wide open, at the very top of the world, where only she and Samantha were, and listened to the last echoes:
Often in our imagination we imagine the worst that can happen. We see people reject us - they hang up on us or refuse to do business with us. We constantly put our thoughts into another person's head: "I bet she'll say she doesn't like me"
“He will probably say that my success is feigned and that dealing with me is risky.”.
Why not assume the best? Imagine your success. See how happy everyone is with you, how everyone likes your ideas, your projects, how they say “yes”. Imagine how nice that would be. Put positive thoughts in their heads: “They will probably need what I sell,” “Perhaps this is the very solution to their problems that they have been looking for for a long time.”
It's important to keep in mind here that imagination doesn't always work. Sometimes the worst really does happen. But when you imagine the best, the best still happens more often.
Because people really read your thoughts. What you “think” about is transmitted through air waves to your interlocutor. And he picks up your thoughts without realizing it. Therefore, since your thoughts are being read, try to give them something to read.
Imagine the best possible scenario. Project the best outcome into the heads of your interlocutors. This is what Enlightened Millionaires do.
Dream…
Dream…
Dream…
All week Michelle and Samantha stuck to the same daily routine: wake up at six, run to the Rock. Every day the path became easier for Michelle, so that on the seventh day she even overtook Samantha, running to the cliff by a good minute before her. Samantha was still making her way through the forest when Michelle, standing at the edge of the abyss, shouted her goals, raising her hands in the air, like Rocky on the stairs of the Philadelphia courthouse.
“Great job, Michelle,” Samantha said approvingly. Michelle suspected that she new girlfriend I succumbed to it, but was still proud of myself.
After resting for a few minutes and enjoying the majestic view in silence, Samantha shook her head towards the flat stone. Then she lay down on top of him, folding her hands behind her head and crossing her legs at the ankles, and sighed contentedly.
“It was not for nothing that Dr. Freud asked patients to lie down during psychoanalysis,” she looked at Michelle. - Come on, Butterfly, join us.
The sun pleasantly warmed Michelle with its gentle rays. The heat also rose from the heated stone itself. But she felt more than just physical warmth. She felt peace for the first time in her tormented soul - not only since Gideon's death; She had rarely experienced this before.
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