Daily Brain Food.
Thoughts of the day
From a young age, we learn there is good and evil in the world. We learn, through history, through stories, that there is always a hero and a villain. There is always an enemy to fight against, someone to be defeated. Our predisposition to blame, especially when things go wrong, should come as no surprise.
"Blame is simply the discharging of discomfort and pain. It has an inverse relationship with accountability. Accountability, by definition, is vulnerability. Blaming is corrosive in relationships. It’s simply a way we discharge anger. We spend our energy figuring out whose fault it is. It’s one of the reasons we miss opportunities for empathy, because when something happens instead of listening to the story, we’re quickly making connections in our mind to figure out whose fault it was. It gives us a sense of control."
As Brené Brown points out, of course, we should not fall into the trap of blaming anyone. Sometimes, the biggest enemy is ourself.