Today’s meditation is part III of a series on reason and passion. In part I, we discussed the notion of The Elephant and the Rider, a metaphor made popular by psychologist Jonathan Haidt. And in part II, we explored The Discipline of Perception, inspired mainly by Stoic philosophy.
“Learn to become indifferent to what makes no difference.”
— Marcus Aurelius
Would any of your friends and family describe you as rigid, inflexible, or difficult? How would you rate yourself in adaptability on a scale from 1 to 10? If we are honest, we all have room for improvement in psychological flexibility. Being adaptable is crucial in finding a balance between reason and passion.
How to Be Adaptable
In A Liberated Mind (one of my favorite psychology books), author Steven C. Hayes (the founder of ACT, watch Ted Talk here) begins the book this way, “Life should be getting easier, but it’s not.” Although we are living longer, writes Hayes, it is difficult to make the case that we are living happier.
According to Hayes, psychological rigidity predicts anxiety, depression, substance abuse, trauma, eating disorders, and almost every other psychological and behavioral problem. Although psychological flexibility is not new, many wisdom traditions stress concepts like surrender, acceptance, and letting go.
“The art of being wise is knowing what to overlook.”
— William James
Hayes describes psychological flexibility this way,
“The ability to feel and think with openness, to attend voluntarily to your experience of the present moment, and to move your life in directions that are important to you, building habits that allow you to live life in accordance with your values and aspirations.”
