Navigating change can affect the state of our mental health. In my Dad’s days, a photograph was absolute proof of an accurate recording of any event. How times have changed! I remember a song that went “The camera never lies”. Less than 2 decades after the release of this song, manipulations of photographic evidence became rampant.
My Dad used to go to the Dark Room to produce the black and white photographs prevalent in his time. The next stage were coloured pictures in the late 70’s that he missed out direct involvement in. Both of these processes involved laboratory work. Enter the era of digital photography and the integrity of photography soon went out the window as a faithful record.
We rely on constants to quickly aid us in making progress in our endeavors. From the known we launch into the unknown. When uncertainty comes into play, progress is retarded, and depending on how quickly we adapt, progress may be stifled. In my early career, I was unaware of the impact on my mental health when malicious activities in changing the foundations of important work I was doing occurred. When we do not expect changes , we do not factor them in our responses.
Presentation
Nowadays, with the advent of deep fakes in videography, we have a lot more to cope with when taking decisions. Integrity of the information we base our decisions on is essential. During the last Olympics, a number of friends were fooled about some of their favorite athletes winning medals by cunning voice overs from previous performances. Recently, there have been deep fake recordings of the unlikely combination of the UK PM and the world’s richest man supporting and investment scheme with limited access. The closer we get to the real characters in sight and speech, the easier it is to dupe people.
Perception
On a wider note, how conscious we are of our hierarchy of needs in every situation helps us to navigate change better. I soon learnt by experience to secure foundational needs before pursuing desires and aspirations at higher levels of need. Being aware of risks is essential in sustaining our progress. Some friends have gone through burnout by being extremely focused on their goals without realising the risks posed on their health and physical security. It’s too easy to focus on our points of view and desires at the detriment of other established needs we have gotten.
I am getting to understand the term “no leg to stand on” when describing actions based on false assumptions. Literally, you go up, only to crash disastrously.
More on this vein next time…..
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