Navigator or victim, which are you?
DEBORAH TIERCE: Do you approach problem-solving like a ‘navigator’ or a victim’?
4/30/2006 8:48:50 AM
Daily Journal
What is it that causes two people in the same circumstances to take entirely opposite approaches to solving their problems? One person faced with economic hard times sees it as an opportunity.
We call these people the “navigators.” They strike out on a whole new path, blaze a new trail, and try something entirely different. It is almost as though they gain a sense of excitement, exhilaration and energy by the challenge. By selecting a new path, they gain momentum and create a whole new opportunity for themselves. The end result is they have reinvented themselves, moved closer to what the behavior theorist, Abraham Maslow, called self-actualization.
Self-Actualization is defined as discovering the potential within. Navigators are likely to unearth their true potential by constantly engaging in self-analysis, self-improvement and self-direction.
Contrast that with “the victim,” who sees the same problem as a “conspiracy” on the part of the cosmic forces trying to keep them down. They were “born to lose,” or “can’t win for losing.” Circumstances are always out of their control, and they are victimized by bad luck, more powerful people or a bad upbringing holding them hostage to a life of doom and misery.
They do not see the problem as any sort of growth opportunity. No, that would require admitting they could do something about their circumstances. That would require taking responsibility for their choices and their actions. It just never occurs to the victims to change their thoughts, behaviors and/or attitudes. The end result for the victim is stagnation.
The sad part about victims is they never really identify themselves that way. They can certainly see it when others are victims, but don’t identify with it themselves. They have no awareness of the role they play in attracting these negative forces that seem to come their way over and over again. So the perennial question remains: What causes some to be navigators and others to be victims?
A colleague of mine came up with a term I find very useful in explaining victims. They are a victim of “The Rut Syndrome.” She said when a victim is in the rut of life, it saves them from the winds of life. To get out of the rut would be to risk being exposed. The rut is safe, even if it is defeating; it keeps the victims sheltered from exposure. To be exposed would be much more painful than the rut they live in. So they hunker down, make excuses and never admit their weaknesses.
This could also be called “The Infamous Comfort Zone.” To stay in the comfort zone is to deny one’s real potential. To deny it is easier than reaching it. Because again, reaching potential would require a change in behavior, and that seems to be what victims avoid.
June 27 2006 08:43 am | Education and Ramblings
June 27th, 2006 at 8:45 am
This is an article I found a few months back. I consider myself to be a navigator. I’m always trying to move forward and learn from the situation I am in.
June 27th, 2006 at 8:58 am
ruts are predictable. I wonder if navigators can choose to be in a rut or blaze their own paths at will.
June 27th, 2006 at 9:03 am
I don’t think navigators will choose the rut path, that would make them fall into the victim category. Being a navigator means moving forward, seeking better, and not accepting the rut life, meaning that if the navigator is not happy in the current situation then they seek to change it.
June 28th, 2006 at 8:56 am
This is a good article, but a bit over simplified. It is true that many people’s failure are due to lack of motivation. But it is also true that there are outside forces that do conspire to keep people “in the rut.” You are I are blessed by having been born in America which means we have a lot more opportunities available to us than had we been born into a peasant family in Central America or in India or Africa. The problem arises and we fall in a rut when we see our position as entitlements and work to keep ourselves on the top by keeping others down. I suppose I see this issue primarily through a theological lens. Everyone needs to work to better others as well as themselves, and to those whom much have been given, more is required. Thanks for sharing the article.