Something I’ve been thinking about for a long time now–the nature of energy tran

Something I’ve been thinking about for a long time now–the nature of energy transfer in social transactions twixt individuals. Here I’m working from the premise that most of us are analogous to a “battery with half a charge” and that we can be either enriched (“recharged”) or depleted (“sucked dry”) through our interactions with others, at the two extremes of the spectrum. This chart attempts to define some of these potential interactions across a range of possible outcomes from a “win-win” scenario through “neutral” interactions to a “lose-lose” scenario in which both individuals are depleted and neither benefits.This chart is necessarily a simplification, and I think it goes without saying that there are many other ways the equation can “balance”–not everybody is “half a battery,” and some people are such an overwhelming reservoir of positive energy that they effortlessly nourish and nurture others without themselves being depleted (in my experience such people are very rare). Conversely, it is almost impossible for two “empty batteries” to replenish each other, and such interactions are unfortunately all too common. I attempted here to illustrate what I see as the most likely scenario, where partially “charged” individuals interact. Any transaction where one or both parties benefit by coming away with a surplus of energy without victimizing or parasitizing each other is a positive outcome in this model.All credit for this paradigm lies with my old psychiatrist Dr. Donald E. Wilbert, the coolest shrink I ever had. To even further simplify things, he had a beautifully concise equation governing choices in social energy exchange:positive connection > no connection > negative connectionSeek mutually beneficial relationships, and avoid those that deplete you.www.flintofts.com/obituary/Donald-E.-Wilbert/Issaquah-Washington/1752659 -- source link

More pics about