Sunday, August 5, 2007

Escapism

In childhood I had some really weird ideas about the calamities like Earthquake or flash floods etc.I even used to think about an imaginary sky high tower that would be sufficient to accomodate my family and me in case of any high-end contingency. Now when I have grown up,such kiddish thinking makes me laugh but at the same time it makes me ponder about one of the most crucial facets of human nature-Escapism.

Going to the roots of Escapism,I figured out a few things that may promote the tendency to get away. There can be a few kinds of Escapism.
  • Escapism with respect to stakes.
Escapist Tendency-Unwillingness for taking risks-Fear of getting unsuccessful-The lack of self-belief.
Lack of self belief can be due to many factors,the discusssion of which is not relevant here.
  • Escape from responsibilities
Quite frequently the tendency may also be driven by lazyness.
  • Escapism in human life or relations.
Take a remote control of TV and start surfing the news channels in particular. Most of them would depict the gloomy scenario of the society.
Its not surprising if you would wish to switch to something that's not unpleasent.

Another example is about frankness.If you are an Escapist you would let something happen which may not be appropriate.The reluctance to oppose may be due to
a) Desire of clash-free atmosphere.
b) Self-centered nature.
c) Lack of courage.

Its difficult to entirely put down the Escapist tendency.Some times its advisable to be an escapist rather than be a aggressor to save your time and efforts. High risk-high returns may be a well known principle but what matters is the question "What is at stake?". Golden mean between these two should be achieved according to the situation demand.

In my personal example I took nearly 18 years to confess that "I act as an escapist in many situations". I hope hereafter things can change. Because I could have easily "Escaped" this thinking process! But I didn't!