The Healthy Management of Reality - Stanford University

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We Are Meaning-MakersThe fourth level of internal reality management involves our personalphilosophy of life. Our philosophy of life is the way we see the world, the way wemake sense of life, the stance we take toward life. It is the product of all theinfluences we have had over the years. For some people, these influences arewoven into a coherent, conscious philosophy of life. For others, they are lessorganized, more a matter of habit than of choice.As long as our lifestyle leads to healthy outcomes for ourselves and thosearound us, there is little need to question our philosophy of life. But it is importantto realize that our philosophy of life is something that is under our control. Wehave the right to reconsider it, modify it, or make it even stronger.Our philosophy of life does not have to be “logical.” It does not have to bebased on incontrovertible evidence. It can be a matter of personal preference. Butit is not irrelevant or inconsequential. Our philosophy of life creates meaning forus, it places our experiences in a personal context, it gives importance to somethings and allows us to dismiss others as trivial.Knowing that we can change our philosophy of life can be very freeing. Inmany ways, the fact that we can do this is the ultimate freedom. Viktor E. Frankl,author of Man’s Search for Meaning, talks about how what he calls “attitudinalvalues” can provide meaning even in the most extreme circumstances. They canprovide motivation for taking on difficult and even painful tasks. They can bringus peace in the midst of tragedy.Being aware of our “attitudinal values” makes it possible to strengthen themor change them. These values include such basic things as the value of human life,of liberty, equality, love for others, compassion, and the value of work and effort.When applied to our own life, they provide us with direction, with reasons for whatHMOR.July2005.Muñoz.doc 82
we do. They can encourage us to take care of ourselves as we would take care ofloved ones. They can encourage us to seek to take care of our emotional health aswell as our physical health. They give us permission to look after spiritual as wellas financial resources.These choices are the area in which human beings have the most freedom.We choose how to prioritize these values. Even when we follow the precepts ofour culture, religion, or political institutions, we are making the choice to do so.We are choosing to assign meaning to the things we do. We actively engage inmaking meaning out of our lives. In this sense, the fourth level of internal realitymanagement is the most comprehensive, in that making meaning of our reality cantransform it. If we assign our lives and the lives of those around us with greatimportance, we become motivated to shape them into the best possible form. Thisinternal change can then influence external (physical) reality in massive ways. Forexample, deciding to love life can help us make our lives more fulfilling. Lifedoesn’t have to be perfect to be loved, but it must be loved to be perfect.HMOR.July2005.Muñoz.doc 83
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The HealthyManagementof RealityRica
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The Healthy Management of RealityCo
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Preface: The Origins of This BookEv
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serious depression. The course was
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Introduction: Sculpting RealityIn m
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The people of the Andes found thems
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Chapter 1On Managing RealityThe uni
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To continue with the example: If ou
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But, given that we are finite and l
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The objective environment refers to
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Throughout the book, we will addres
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Chapter 2Choosing a Direction"If yo
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Choosing a direction for one's life
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Few Christians would support the re
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The "healthy" aspect of "the health
Page 32 and 33: It appears, then, that there is a r
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Page 38 and 39: are what I mean by necessary suffer
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Page 46 and 47: past that we remember (that is our
Page 48 and 49: The objective past had not changed,
Page 50 and 51: The fact is that five years hence,
Page 52 and 53: - The meanings we have accepted or
Page 54 and 55: Molding the past of our childrenThe
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Page 58 and 59: your favorite book afterwards") the
Page 60 and 61: making sure that one's daily realit
Page 62 and 63: Change can move us toward a healthi
Page 64 and 65: Similarly, behaving in an exemplary
Page 66 and 67: Similarly, it is true that certain
Page 68 and 69: Learning which thoughts and actions
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Page 72 and 73: Tips on increasing the probability
Page 74 and 75: influence on us on one side and tho
Page 76 and 77: Being your own coach involves decid
Page 78 and 79: Beliefs and ConsequencesThe third l
Page 80 and 81: Aaron Beck, a psychiatrist who deve
Page 84 and 85: Closing the Loop: The four levels a
Page 86 and 87: To manage our reality optimally, we
Page 88 and 89: If you are feeling down or depresse
Page 90 and 91: PeopleThe social environment is at
Page 92 and 93: stimulation just as they need their
Page 94 and 95: In Chapter 2, I talked about choosi
Page 96 and 97: As we enter the twenty-first centur
Page 98 and 99: years. As I trace back my thinking
Page 100 and 101: what we both want.If we have a stro
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The Healthy Management of Reality - Stanford University

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