"Jonah Plot" is a common psychological phenomenon for most people. Its term originated from "Bible" , and was first published by the famous American psychologist Maslow in "The Realm of Human Performance" It is proposed in that this book is Maslow's work on exploring the relationship between human nature and society.
"Jonah" is the concept of pigeon in Christianity. The work of pigeon is to spread information , which is the missionary and messenger we understand. But in the Bible, Jonah was a prophet from about 790-749 BC. He and other prophets of his time were sent by God to preach the message of repentance to people in foreign countries.
Jonah was a devout Jewish prophet. His heart was always eager to be reused by God. One day God finally sent him an important mission, but Jonah began to hide away. After repeated hesitation, Jonah finally Repentance completed this mission. After the mission was completed, Jonah hid himself, not allowing people to remember him, and directed everyone's attention to God.
Jonah complex: "People are not only afraid of failure, but also afraid of success."
Jonah complex is quoted in psychodynamic theory. It is an emotional state that hides oneself from opportunities and avoids developing one’s potential. Do you also Like Jonah, when he is about to reach the goal he wants, he wants to escape?
From the perspective of self-realization, Jonah complex is a psychological obstacle that prevents from achieving self-worth and discovering one's own potential .
Why do most people have Jonah complex?
Human psychology is complicated and strange, and the Jonah complex is a complicated psychological phenomenon.
will start from the origin of psychologist Maslow’s research on self-actualization:
"The beginning of self-actualization research, my investigation of self-actualization is not designed as a research work, nor is it started as a research work." — —Maslow
Maslow’s original intention of investigating was to try to understand the two teachers he respected and beloved. He was not satisfied with the simple worship of the two teachers, but tried to understand why these two were so outstanding and so distinctive. Different, the two teachers are Ruth Bendict and Max Wertheimer.
Maslow made miscellaneous notes for the two teachers, began to think about them, and recorded them in the diary. Through the notes, Maslow discovered a wonderful thing. When he summarized the characteristics of the two teachers, Discovering some common characteristics, Maslow realized that he was studying a certain type, not just two individuals. So Maslow followed this example to observe other people and found that he could indeed find it in others.
Maslow published his research results, and then made research from various angles, including existential value, transcendence needs and transcendence pathologies, behaviors that lead to self-realization, desacralizing and not just It is a simple copy verification.
Maslow's research population is wide, ranging from young people to the elderly.
Maslow found in his research that when most people at are approaching self-realization, when they are about to achieve their ardent pursuits and longing goals, they will turn on self-defense, refuse to grow, and refuse to take on greater responsibilities. Oneself , when this psychological factor appears, these people always make a choice in their hearts: "Go forward or backward? Should you leave or fully prove yourself?"
On the way forward, this psychological factor often hinders you from moving forward. stumbling block.
On the road to self-realization, everyone’s psychological factors will be different, and the impact of psychological factors on you is closely related to the education you receive and the family you grow up. In Chinese education, we have a saying that is called "the first shot is the best." ".
The thoughts that teachers transmit to students in school are also punished for making mistakes. In this way, many people planted the seeds of Jonah's complex when they were children. When facing their shining dreams, they were about to approach their goals. At times, they will also start to hide, even though that is what they have longed for.
Growing up families, with the increasing popularity of modern social psychology, a word that everyone can often see in the past two years is “native family”. Many psychological phenomena in our growth process have actually been changed when we were children. The family we grew up planted the seeds of germination in our hearts. If it is a strict traditional family, compared to a family with free-range free education, the children who grow up in the former will be more likely to have Jonah complex in the future, which will be caused on the way to pursue goals. Troubled.
People are not blank, everyone has their own unique characteristics, people have a self, and self-realization is to let this self be revealed and listen to their inner voice. However, most of us, especially children and young people, do not listen to our own voices inwardly, but listen to the voices of parents, authoritative experts, and traditional voices, but never really calm down to discover who we are. , What kind of person, what do you like, what do you dislike.
1. Overcoming the Jonah complex is a simple first step towards self-realization, and undefensive:
opens yourself up to yourself, which also means recognizing your own defensive psychology, and when you are approaching the goal you desire, you will escape in your heart. At this time, your defense mechanism psychology is working. You are trying to hide in the security fortress built in your heart. When the defense psychology is recognized, you must muster the courage to abandon it. This is painful, because Defensive psychology is a safe fortress that you build for yourself. However, it is worth giving up the defensive psychology. Only in this way can you truly move towards the goal you desire in your heart, instead of suppressing it and burying it in your heart.
2. The second step of self-realization is to look at the essence through appearance:
Maslow once invited his students to do a simple experiment in a study. A group of students faced a bottle of wine and were asked if the wine was good. , While the other group of students did not see the bottle and just tried to drink the wine with the glass. The results of the experiment were surprisingly consistent among the students in the first group, while the answers in the second group varied from person to person. However, most of us are often doing such things, being confused by the appearance of things, and pursuing the same answers as most people, instead of expressing our true feelings. Not afraid of being different from others, and bravely taking responsibility is another step in the process of self-realization.
If we regard life as a continuous process, then in front of every choice there will actually be a conflict of forward or backward. Sometimes we may choose to defend or escape, and sometimes we will bravely step forward, even if it’s just A small step, but among the countless choices in life, if you choose to take a step forward bravely, it will be a big step in your whole life. Self-realization overcoming the Jonah complex is a continuous process of development. .
