Friday, July 25, 2008

The Greatest Problem In The Black Communtiy And How To Solve It!



I really hate to embarass miss houston like this but i wanted to make a point.


Our greatest problem is something called learned helplessness. Learned Helplessness is when we've been put through a rough situation in life and we think there is absolutely no way we can get out of it so we give up. Or this helplessness can occur when we've tried to solve a problem but we couldn't solve it so we think it cant be solved.





We have this problem in our relationships especially. Many of us don't believe that we can actually have a long happy relationship with the opposite sex. Many of us don't believe that we have the power to change our condition collectively for the better because we stay focused on our obstacles. Many of us don't believe that we have the power to change ourselves because it'll be too hard if not impossible.





This fear, this feeling of hopelessness hinders us from achieving our major goals in life and making our dreams come true. It encapsulates us in the cell of our own limited imagination to the point where we feel paralyzed and depressed every time we believe that what we really want just cant be attained.





It's a natural phenomenon though. Once a person tries something and doesn't succeed at it they shut themselves down and with each time they try, and failure arrives, they shut down a little bit more until they just stop trying. Some of us give up on the first try and some of us never try the first time.





When we get drunk and high all the time that's a clear sign we've given up and we are trying to find something to take away the pain associated with the agony of defeat. When we waist our children's college education money on worthless items at the mall, it is a means of trying to compensate for not having the confidence to do what it is right, so we need something to fix our ego, so we buy something to make us look good. It works temporarily but the feeling wears off and we continue this pattern untill we get hip to the game or until we run out of money lol. When we fight each other and blame each other excessively we've given up because anger is often a reaction to our helpless state. When we feel that we cant do something we might get angry at ourselves for not trying or for being a dissapointment. Often this anger is directed towards others that look like us and the Black on Black bullshit (like my little sister says) abounds.





So what can we do about it. We have to change our way of looking at our problems. If we try something and it doesnt work it could be realted to a variety things. The time might not have been right. We might not have said the right thing so we need to find something else that might work. The other person might be crazy lol. It could be a variety of factors that cause us temporary setbacks.





The major difference between the helpless person and the confident person is that the confident person uses the scientific method. The confident person takes a step back and assesses why it didn't work. They look at a lot of different scenarios that might have prevented them from succeeding. Then they say "how can i prevent these obstacles in the future" and they look for solutions from EXPERTS, not their momma or little brother. But from people who have been there and done that or at least studied the issues thoroughly. (And they also look to the greatest power that man has available to him,





HIS IMAGINATION)!





I know it's getting long so let me finish. This statement might bother some of yall but hey I'm used to bothering people so ill say it. Every problem that you face with women or men, with your own bad habits, with your community at large has at least 10 solutions to it. However you can't get to one of those solutions unless you realize that there is at least one out there with your name on it.





Quick example, look at what the white boy has been able to accomplish within the last 300 years because he always knew that there was an answer somewhere. Do you know how long man has been trying to create a flying machine to transport them from one distance to another? THOUSANDS OF YEARS!





The white boy never gave up and now we can travel across hemispheres and to the other side of the globe in one day. But if he gave up the first few times he tried or after he saw someone crash and die then we wouldn't have this luxury would we?





Look at the space shuttle! There is no significant proof to suggest that man has traveled into outerspace prior to the middle of the 20th century. The white boy said there must be a way and he worked on that mother sucker for years until he finally created it and sent other white boys out into space and planted his flag on the moon lol.





All of these things have been accomplished in human history and yet we believe that we cant fix a relationship lol. Or we believe that we cant loose 30 pounds.





Get over learned helplessness pleaaaaaaaasee!





15 comments:

nikki said...

Amen! What you speak of is lack of empowerment. However, I think part of the solution is recognizing self-worth. If a person doesn't believe he/she is worthy is worthy of success or smart enough to come uo with a successful solution, he/she won't consider changing how he/she sees the problem. Instead he/she will see failure as just due.

James Tubman said...

i see what you're saying nikki

i think that's called a self fulfilling prophesy

when you think something is going to happen so you prepare your mind mentally to accept failure

and even if there is a solution right smack dab in your face you still wont accept it because your mind has already accepted no other option but failure

that is a sad mental state for shizzle lol

thank you miss nikki:)

RealHustla said...

At first I was going in there for only one shot of vodka, now I need two.

Mizrepresent said...

lol@realhustla

But i hear you...we can change our dynamics.

Mizrepresent said...

lol@realhustla

But i hear you...we can change our dynamics.

Anonymous said...

It's easy to do really just have to go the opposite way of the world. There is so much bad around us if we just do the opposite we might make our way out of it.

All-Mi-T [Thought Crime] Rawdawgbuffalo said...

so u a pshchologist too?
learned helplessness Martin Seligman(1967)

Anonymous said...

Oh my gosh.. ur page didn't freeze on me congrats!

MsKayotic said...

I agree with you. Too many people feel like the problems they are having are neverending instead of having the strength and ambition to get up off they tail and turn things around.

You pray for strength and for God's mercy. People are more willing to help you if you help yourself. Don't go into benders and binges. Stand up. Move forward. That is what we should do.

Hell, I did it.

Chari said...

Nice post....but uh where does the picture of Ciara fit in? lol

Heru said...

Yo Tubs...excellent article. I sent you an email regarding the comment you made on my blog (urban village blog & commentary). Hope to here from you soon.

Peace

Heru

James Tubman said...

@real hustla... i know im late but

bottoms up lol

@mizrepresentalism... yes we do

@give us us freeman... that reminds me of a seinfeld episode where george did the exact opposite of what he would normally do and as a result got a girl, felt confident all day and get a job with the yankees

you might have a point there

@torrence... thanx for stoping by my brother

no lol

not a psychologist but i really love studying it
i think this concept is so key for explaining the condition that we're in

we hve to believe there is a soluion to all of our problems in order to solve them

@kdyme... okay

can i get a real comment or what

James Tubman said...

@kayos... the only thing that keeps us from making our dreams come true is the belief that we cant do it

if we truly believed that it could happen it would

@mys tery... lol

i wanted to find a picture of a celebrity breakup so that i could emphasize the fact that many of us believe that we cant solve our relationshp problems

maybe i didnt think hard enough lol

@heru... thanx

ill hit you back soon

Anonymous said...

ok Bit bro.. U know lil sis loves U...

MUAH!

is that a real comment now?

nah on the real...
If we set our mind to something anything is possible... it goes both ways for everything...

Anonymous said...

is that you in that first pic?