🎁✨The Nexialist #0038

The Perfectionism Trap | Normosis: The Pathology of Normality | Social Cooling | Solar Power | Artist Imperfection

Welcome to my (surpriiise!) weekly special content selection, The Nexialist

Well, guess who left a special Nexialist scheduled? I’m enjoying Amsterdam with my parents so I just left this here. I hope you enjoy this content, it seemed I was getting this message coming from all directions, so maybe it touches you too. Enjoy!

🤳The Perfectionism Trap

This incredible article my partner sent to me sparked my brain. The images are so beautiful as well. “Society bombards us with instructions to be happier, fitter and richer. Why have we become so dissatisfied with being ordinary?” Psychoanalyst and professor Josh Cohen walks us through the history of perfection, giving us some great insights, and hitting very close to home. I chose one part that stuck with me:

This weight of society’s expectations is hardly a new phenomenon but it has become particularly draining over recent decades, perhaps because expectations themselves are so multifarious and contradictory. The perfectionism of the 1950s was rooted in the norms of mass culture and captured in famous advertising images of the ideal white American family that now seem self-satirising.

In that era, perfectionism meant seamlessly conforming to values, behaviour and appearance: chiselled confidence for men, demure graciousness for women. The perfectionist was under pressure to look like everyone else, only more so. The perfectionists of today, by contrast, feel an obligation to stand out through their idiosyncratic style and wit if they are to gain a foothold in the attention economy.

Read: The Perfectionist Trap - The Economist

👁Normosis: The Pathology of Normality

A couple of years ago I heard about normosis, or how our society normalized the unsustainable status quo: patriarchy, rampant growth, inequality, etc. Save this one for later because it’s full of gems.

In this sense, normosis refers to an evolutionary stagnation. It's about people who didn't invest in human potential, per se. That's why I like to believe that the greatest discovery of the 21st century will the human being. Otherwise, the question is, will there be a 21st century for humans? That's exactly what is at stake: the future of new generations.

Einstein used to say that for him only two things were infinite: the universe and human dumbness. And Einstein added, "Regarding the universe, I'm still in doubt." But I need to say that I disagree with Einstein and Max-Neef, even though I respect them and consider that they're pointing not to the characteristics of the species, but to normosis. Human beings, by their nature, aren't dumb, on the contrary. We were born to be, to blossom, to serve.

That's why I prefer to think about Confucius, who said, about 2,600 years ago, that the difference between our species and others is the unfinishedness, the incompleteness. We are not born human. We make ourselves human. A turtle is born a turtle, you see? And goes to the sea. We don't. We are born incomplete. That's why, Confucius said, human beings need education. Have you ever heard about schools for turtles or tanajuras?

It's education, it's improvement, we're improvable. It's not only about cultivating the brain: since the 17th century it seems we just have to train the brain. No. It's about cultivating the dimensions of the soul, of the psyche. Developing emotional intelligence, relational intelligence, oneiric intelligence - related to dreams. Learning to read the book of the night. It's also necessary to develop consciousness literacy, to develop consciousness where ethical values from the heart come from.

Watch: Normosis: The Pathology of Modernity

Now… Consciousness Literacy gave me chills…

🥶Social Cooling

I found this concept when I learned about Tijmen Schep’s HowNormalAmI project. “Social Cooling is a name for the long-term negative side effects of living in a reputation economy. This is breeding a society where self-censorship and risk-aversion are the new normal.” I took from the website’s project the 3 social-cultural trends that also hit close to home.

1. A culture of conformity

“Have you ever hesitated to click on a link because you thought your visit might be logged, and it could look bad? More and more people feel this pressure, and they are starting to apply self-censorship.”

2. A culture of risk-aversion

“When doctors in New York were given scores this had unexpected results.
Doctors that tried to help advanced cancer patients had a higher mortality rate, which translated into a lower score. Doctors that didn't try to help were rewarded with high scores, even though their patients died prematurely. Rating systems can create unwanted incentives, and increase pressure to conform to a bureaucratic average.”

3. Increased social rigidity

Digital reputation systems are limiting our ability and our will to protest injustice.

Check out: Social Cooling

🌞Solar Power

My brain immediately took me to Lorde’s Solar Power. I always find this part of the lyrics charming:

And I throw my cellular device in the water
Can you reach me? No, you can't (aha)

I loved the translation in Māori, it’s different but might be the same:

I throw away all of my troubles
My mind is free

As I was looking for the lyrics, I came across a debate online about a non-Māori singing in Māori, and The Guardian had a thoughtful piece by Morgan Godfery (Te Pahipoto, Sāmoa):

English is the first global language. For reasons of empire, obviously, but also for reasons of culture: English is the language of Hollywood, the chief language of pop music, increasingly the language of science, and the preferred language of commerce and diplomacy. If the Māori language is to survive against it – and the forecasts are grim – we must allow non-Māori to speak and sing it. Children need a pop culture and a social media that speaks Māori. Lorde contributed to that, and under the direction and supervision of some of our greatest language champions. As a second language speaker I recognise that as a public good.

Also, I learned that the New Zealand Māori party launched petition to change country’s name to Aotearoa.

“Aotearoa is a name that will unify our country rather than divide it,” Waititi said. “Others are trying to use it is a divisive tool, but this is an inclusive tool, where our ancestors consented to us all living on this whenua [land] together.”

Read: Give Lorde a break. Non-Māori must speak Māori for it to survive

💃Artist Imperfection

In the first video I saw from Nathy Peluso, I thought: She's an Artist. This Spotify RADAR just made me love her even more. She is so confident and unapologetic in her imperfection.

Suddenly I realized I was allowed to be imperfect and that it has value and that was the right thing. I said: here I have a lot to learn, a lot to experiment with. It wasn’t a supreme goal that I had to fill stadiums, or to be a pop star or to be famous. Not at all. My only interest was to be in touch with the arts, learn about life from art and constantly nourish myself, sharing what I’m feeling with others.

❤️If anything made your brain tingle, click like and don't hesitate to share it with the world. It helps The Nexialist to reach more curious minds. See you next week!🦦

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🤙Call me…

If you like what you see here and your project, brand or business needs some ideas or inspiration from outside your bubble, maybe you need a Nexialist to help you out 🙋🏻‍♂️ I can participate in brainstorms and workshops, guide inspiration sessions, or provide you with creative research. You can always send me an e-mail to figure something out together.