The recently laid-off are under tremendous stress, learning to make do with less. Many are coping with the psychological ramifications of feeling failure and disappointment at having lost their jobs and fortunes. In a society that flaunts wealth and perfection as emblems of success, adjusting to a less-than-perfect lifestyle is a major challenge.
But continually facing bad news and unfortunate circumstances offers a long-term benefit: resilience and adaptability, says Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar, author of The Pursuit of Perfect: How to Stop Chasing Perfection and Start Living a Richer, Happier Life. Confronting less-than-perfect circumstances, as many are doing now, will result in making us stronger in the long run. Hard times also force us to be open to change, making us more focused and even energized. As humans, we naturally seek pleasure and happiness and try to minimize pain. But an imperfect world offers us opportunities to fortify our immune systems and bounce back easier.
Author of The New York Times bestseller Happier, Ben-Shahar came to prominence with his Harvard University lecture series on the science of positive psychology. In his course, he addressed the pitfalls of pursuing perfection. Given that we live in such an imperfect time – with seemingly no place to go but up – his book warns of the dangers of placing unreasonable expectations on ourselves.
–Sent by Ann Pryor | McGraw-Hill Books
“Hard times also force us to be open to change, making us more focused and even energized.”
I find this idea flawed and somewhat disingenuous when presented by an obviously successful, PhD holding author. Some setbacks in life could very well be expected to help develop resilience and adaptability. However relentless professional and financial failure, and its ever-downward spiraling effects, which in the U.S. include a lack of health care, simply has the effect of grinding down the human spirit – possibly to the point beyond which it is possible for it to heal.
Yes, we must certainly reject the false, media presented life of endless material gain and transient material wealth, but to say that what is presently happening will be “good for us in the long run” is to fail to acknowledge the severity of suffering which many of us are undergoing.