longer.blue

Dear Friends, This seems like a good time to take up writing again, since we stand on the precipice of a time where words no longer mean anything, so it would be wasteful not to use them while we have them. Other than words, my main wheelhouses are wellness and cognitive neuroscience (and making cyborgs, but that's of VERY limited use right now politically speaking), so I'm going to focus on cognitive, behavioral, and neuroscientific aspects of the current crisis, often with an historical slant for perspective. I hope that those of you who read what I write and find that it resonates will consider sharing. I want to start with a rallying cry for the small things, the daily acts that take only a few moments to reinforce connections in your brain. I want to suggest that things like calling your representatives on a daily basis, and leaving a voicemail if you can't get a live person, aren't about the EFFECT that they will have nearly as much as they are about building the speed and fluency with which you can speak assertively about the things that you are passionate about. I propose the cognitive framing that you are not making those calls as much to change the mind of your Representative or Senator, or even to let them know how pissed off you are, and how many people share that righteous anger at the desecration of our country. Making those calls is first and foremost a way to build assertiveness, a cognitive skill which is VERY different from aggression, but which involves the ability to speak up for what one believes even in the face of pressure to the contrary. Society tries to train us away from assertiveness, and it does so in a gendered fashion: it is significantly more strongly discouraged in women. That is part of why it is so heartening to see so many women in the public eye stand up and express it. But men can struggle with assertiveness, too. For anyone, it can bring up feelings that we are being unreasonable, or that we do not have the right to "rock the boat," that we should "go along to get along." By making the daily calls, you are flexing and strengthening your assertiveness muscles, building connections in your brain that will stand you in good stead in every aspect of your life, and learning to deal with the discomfort that comes with it. You are doing it for YOU, at the same time as you are doing it for your children, the future, and the planet. And even if you don't see results on the national level, and even if it's tempting just to give up, remember that it's not about immediate results, in the same way that going to the gym isn't about being ripped on day 3, or even month 3. It's an investment in practicing speaking your mind with poise, with conviction, and with fluency. All the best.