Today is an extension of last week's post on a flexible self-concept. I decided the first thing I'd do was explore the properties of a fluid, as a point of reference for this post.
I want to be a person who is able to touch a greater surface area than my solid, concrete self might have. I want to be in pursuit, able to move swiftly into and out of situations and seasons, a direct result of my fluidity. I would really welcome being less dense. The idea, also, of being prepared that I have some holes in me that may mean I'm less like a fluid and more like a solid, less like a fluid and more like a gas, is kind of helpful. It means I don't have to despair when I inevitably discover that I am not exactly who I thought I was, but someone else, when I realise that I am bull headed about something that really, it would improve my life to become less dense about. It would help me to realise that in some areas of my life where I feel like a part of me feels airy and widely dispersed, that is the way it ought to be - some parts sway more gaseous or solid than the fluid me. The thing I can control though, is the places that I travel, the temperatures, if you will, that I entertain, knowing the effect they will have on my state.
So, in this analogy, temperature is the input to change my state, and temperature is my environment. What temperatures are helpful or harmful? If the goal is to remain fluid, then I can't allow myself to become frozen. Sometimes people help one to become frozen, and sometimes, I think living in fear keeps me frozen. So, one guard is against this mental temperature - imposed by me, or on me: I won't be afraid to be. Likewise, being gaseous means I may have dispersed too liberally, and I may lose some of my consistency. I can't allow heat to disperse me beyond recognition. I think it is those crises seasons that represent heat, and your response to them is the level of dispersal. Have you maintained yourself at the end of crisis? In an argument, have you said exactly what you meant and maintained your values? Or, did you regret some behaviour? This is the heat and everyone's behaviour is bound to get a little gaseous in this situation. My theory is just that self-monitoring is important.
For the last two weeks I've been working with teams on being the change they'd like to see in the workplace. We've been talking about everything from the fact that occasionally you have to maintain vision even when people around you have lost focus, to the stressful role of leadership, especially visionary leadership to see what is coming before it is upon the masses, and I like this analogy in that example too. Now, where do you see yourself going? The fluid state is the one I pick for myself, because it is the state most receptive to its environment, by my understanding. I'm not saying be passive, and let life happen to you, but I am saying be available to the life around you. Take up as much space as you can in the world in the sense that you are influencing, that you are present and people experience you easily. Find your perfect temperature, and balance yourself. Believe that you have good inside of you and that the world would benefit greatly from your presence in a state that moves quickly, is vast, and that understands its own holes.
So, what I've gathered is that part of what makes something a fluid, is its density, its kinetic energy and the theory that there are spaces in the element, about the size of particles that influence the behaviour of the fluid (to be more like a solid or more like a gas). This is interesting for me in my little quest to be more fluid because a fluid has more kinetic energy, which means it can move faster than a solid (a concrete, unchanging self), a fluid can actually occupy more space at one time, and if the "holes" in the element (me) really do exist, then I can get excited about these as areas where I might be moving into another state (or may take on the appearance of another state, more solid, or more gaseous).Densities of Solid, Liquid, and Gaseous Forms of Three Elements
Solid (g/cm3) Liquid (g/cm3) Gas (g/cm3) Ar 1.65 1.40 0.001784 N2 1.026 0.8081 0.001251 O2 1.426 1.149 0.001429 The figure below shows a model for the structure of a liquid that is consistent with these data.The key points of this model are summarized below.
- The particles that form a liquid are relatively close together, but not as close together as the particles in the corresponding solid.
- The particles in a liquid have more kinetic energy than the particles in the corresponding solid.
- As a result, the particles in a liquid move faster in terms of vibration, rotation, and translation.
- Because they are moving faster, the particles in the liquid occupy more space, and the liquid is less dense than the corresponding solid.
- Differences in kinetic energy alone cannot explain the relative densities of liquids and solids. This model therefore assumes that there are small, particle-sized holes randomly distributed through the liquid.
- Particles that are close to one of these holes behave in much the same way as particles in a gas, those that are far from a hole act more like the particles in a solid.
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So, in this analogy, temperature is the input to change my state, and temperature is my environment. What temperatures are helpful or harmful? If the goal is to remain fluid, then I can't allow myself to become frozen. Sometimes people help one to become frozen, and sometimes, I think living in fear keeps me frozen. So, one guard is against this mental temperature - imposed by me, or on me: I won't be afraid to be. Likewise, being gaseous means I may have dispersed too liberally, and I may lose some of my consistency. I can't allow heat to disperse me beyond recognition. I think it is those crises seasons that represent heat, and your response to them is the level of dispersal. Have you maintained yourself at the end of crisis? In an argument, have you said exactly what you meant and maintained your values? Or, did you regret some behaviour? This is the heat and everyone's behaviour is bound to get a little gaseous in this situation. My theory is just that self-monitoring is important.
For the last two weeks I've been working with teams on being the change they'd like to see in the workplace. We've been talking about everything from the fact that occasionally you have to maintain vision even when people around you have lost focus, to the stressful role of leadership, especially visionary leadership to see what is coming before it is upon the masses, and I like this analogy in that example too. Now, where do you see yourself going? The fluid state is the one I pick for myself, because it is the state most receptive to its environment, by my understanding. I'm not saying be passive, and let life happen to you, but I am saying be available to the life around you. Take up as much space as you can in the world in the sense that you are influencing, that you are present and people experience you easily. Find your perfect temperature, and balance yourself. Believe that you have good inside of you and that the world would benefit greatly from your presence in a state that moves quickly, is vast, and that understands its own holes.
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