External Influence

Notes

External Influence is all the forces that are (allegedly) external to our own desires, beliefs, emotional state and core values, that try to impact and change those values.

It might be political views, Social Environment ,random negative events, economical corporations, anything that consciously or unconsciously, purposely or purposely tries to change who we are or what we think or feel, treating us as objects. Those forces are rarely physical, they don't coerce us to act differently through brute strength, but rather through Soft power, to be so embedded within a worldview that we couldn't even conceive of other ways of thinking or being.

It is not so easy to recognize what counts as external or internal since Human is a social being so our identity is often shaped through our interaction with others so much that there's no clear line between "me" and "them". Interpersonal Identity

Resisting these influences first requires a measure of Self Knowledge, the ability to distance ourselves from our circumstances, our culture and norms, to view it as an external observer, so that we could realize how we are affected by the forces around us. But knowing what to resist is only half the battle. It takes Emotional Resilience to withstand these influences and maintain our Agency.

Visual

Overview

🔼Topic:: behavioral psychology (MOC) ◀Origin:: 🔗Link::