Create Your Own Reality: Understanding Self-Paradigms - Essay Sample

Introduction

The word paradigm has various meanings, one of which is how people perceive and interpret things. In this context, a paradigm controls the psychological status of an individual. Paradigms also function as a synonym for perceptions. People perceive themselves differently, and each understanding makes them see the world differently. Inappropriate opinions or ones that are not accurate make people view the world in an altered mode to fit their perceptions. Therefore, self-paradigms determine whether an individual will be limited to their abilities or, the best will come out from them. Paradigms are also responsible for how people also behave and the type of attitudes they bear towards life and other topics. Paradigms, therefore, vary in difficulty and duration required to change by different individuals. In this paper, I will discuss the paradigm and give my paradigm and how I can shift my paradigm.

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In Your Own Words, Explain a Paradigm Shift

A paradigm shift is a change in perceptions by an individual. A paradigm shift may also mean a difference in how an individual views the world. For one to be able to shift their opinions, an individual has to first change their attitudes and behaviours towards that particular subject in concern. A shift in perceptions might be instant-occurring or slow and gradual. It depends on the type of paradigm in interest or the urge for an individual to shift their attitudes. Paradigms may change by means such as surrounding oneself with things or people that build an individual. However, the first step towards changing paradigms is realizing the paradigm itself. An individual cannot change something they are unaware of exists or affects them.

Describe Your Paradigm Of Yourself

A paradigm of myself is that I consider myself as a reserved individual who cannot stand the presence of many people. I see myself as vulnerable and under constant attack from the world outside of myself. My attitude towards a group of more than four people is detrimental as I believe that they are irritating and intimidating too. Many people seem to me as manipulative and selfish as everyone is always fighting for themselves. This paradigm is directly related to my attitude towards class group discussions and projects. Despite how much teachers recommend the plans and studies, I view them as a waste of time and that my group members drag me down. This paradigm has resulted in my behaviours of secluding myself from people and learning to do everything on my own.

What Glasses Do You Tend to Wear?

The lens through which I view the world show me negativity from around. I believe that people do not want me around, and in that case, it is what I think, see and feel. The incomplete and inappropriate paradigms of myself bring out these lenses and create an insecure world.

What Can You Change in Your Life to Improve Your Perceptions?

This paradigm will take me some time to change as I have had this mentality for a long time. However, the first step towards shifting a paradigm realizing it the next step shall be to find suitable ways towards aiding my shift. First, a change in interests might contribute to a change in perceptions. A decisive event in group projects and discussions with my classmates may change how I see a group of people (Lumpkin et al., 2015). The second aspect that when altered, could bring change to my self-perceptions is to view myself as an active person who can withstand the presence of other people. This change may take a lot of time as it involves getting used to being at the presence of people and even socializing. I have to take time and learn how the social world operates and also be part of it.

The right people will also help me change this paradigm; these people include my parents and teachers. Advice from these individuals will help me overcome my fears and view myself as potential and able to live a social life. In this case, also the use of right activities such as sports, football, will lead me to the type of correction I am pursuing.

Conclusion

In conclusion, a paradigm is the type of perceptions by an individual or how they see and interpret the world. A paradigm is directly related to the kind of behaviours and attitudes by an individual. An individual will always know the world not as it is but as they modify it to be by their perceptions. Therefore, positive paradigms can bring out the best in an individual and result in success while negative paradigm can bring down an individual. A paradigm shift, on the other hand, is the change in perceptions or how people see the world. An individual may not be able to change their paradigms if they fail to realize them. After the realization of paradigms, interests and determination contribute highly to the shift (Lumpkin, Achen & Dodd, 2015). A transformation may be slow and gradual or instant depending on the type of paradigm itself and the duration of its existence. This differences in changes due to length exist since individuals tend to hold on to beliefs, they have had longer than ones they have had for shorter durations.

References

Lumpkin, A., Achen, R. M., & Dodd, R. K. (2015). Student perceptions of active learning. College Student Journal, 49(1), 121-133.

Oatley, K. (2017). Perceptions and representations: The theoretical bases of brain research and psychology. Routledge.