Circles, Circles... Life Has Circles

Recently, my friend and I were discussing various things on one of our outings; we were the few left in town with everyone else travelling on spring break.  He then used an analogy that I thought was "probably the most intelligent thing I've ever heard".  OK, it was more like the most intelligent thing in a while.  It particularly appealed to me because it used geometry (circles!).  I thought it's worth sharing.

 

It was about why some people are really petty, which can be socially toxic in hangouts with a large group of people of varying backgrounds and life experiences.



For the math or physics whiz, I drew a 4-panel explanation just for you!

The Analogy

 

The mind thinks in a circle.  Over time, the mind returns to the same point on that circle.  People can expand that circle by leveling up on life experiences, such as going out and meeting new people, getting exposed to different subjects and cultures, travelling and seeing new places, taking risks, etc.  By that logic, people who "go out and see the world" or "live life" would think in big circles.  Those who don't would think in small circles.

 

Let's establish several premises before we continue:

1. Everyone's minds start off thinking in circles of same size (diameter);
2. Each life experience is a singular event, with the same spacing between any two events;
3. Everyone thinks at the same rate;
4. Everyone's thinking never stops (in constant motion);
5. Everyone has bad experiences to which the mind eventfully returns.

For the sake of this analogy, each person has exactly one bad experience for the mind to return to.  Someone who thinks in big circles would take more time to come back to that bad experience.  Someone who thinks in small circles would come back to that bad experience faster.  This, in turn, makes him/her more easily frustrated and really petty, since he/she is thinking about the same bad thing more often.  In the long term, it may become the only thing on his/her mind...

  

I think this analogy holds an important life lesson.  Ultimately, I believe it's our willingness to expand our "mind circles" that drove us to give up our lives in the home countries and work overseas as ALTs.  You can argue that it's because you can't find a job at home after college or you have a bad home life.  But, you most likely meant you can't find a job that fits and pays appropriately for what you studied in school.  And if you're trying to escape, you can move somewhere closer that still speaks your native language, not hundreds or thousands of miles in a land of foreign speak.

 

With a little over a year now working in Japan, my honeymoon period here has long passed.  This analogy serves as a great reminder to continue the drive to explore life, thus never becoming a super petty person.

 

Thanks, Tim Villain, for the analogy.  Please check out his latest blog on working overseas.