dustypilot11 said:Sure, that's one way to do it. Personally, I'd rather get lost and find my way back than deal with the massive brain drain of trying to build mental maps. Plus, I can think of plenty of times where it just didn't work. I'll list two below.
Bottom line: carry ACTUAL MAPS if you aren't built for MENTAL MAPS. 😁
Yeah, it could definitely be some minor traumas (love that phrase 😬).
The worst part is when it's dark. You can't see anything, and there's zero light.
I actually got lost twice in a pretty short span. Once, I took the wrong exit on the interstate, and since there was no turning back, instead of pulling over to check a map, I just stretched it over the steering wheel to glance at it and slammed right into the SUV in front of me. I wasn't even driving my own car, so it was a mess.
The second time, I got lost in the dark on some backroads through the woods. A drive that should've taken 20 minutes ended up taking three hours because I totally panicked. Once I finally chilled out, I found the way out of the loop I'd been stuck in for hours.
Since then, I've been way more chill about it. If I miss a turn, I just take three rights to get back to where I started. If I can't, I just say "screw it" 😬 and wing it, man. 😁
I was reading this piece in the news recently that tries to argue everything comes down to genetic predisposition. The idea is basically that since men were the ones hunting and navigating the wilderness back in prehistoric times while women stayed home to look after the kids, those traits just stuck. But then again, you have to consider the cultural side of things—the way we’re raised from day one. I mean, girls aren't exactly encouraged to grow up to be like California, so they might end up getting disciplined more often for just wanting to wander off and explore. It’s probably not even about one single traumatic event, either. It feels more like an accumulation of stuff, you know? Like a slow build-up resulting from operant conditioning. If kids learn primarily through imitation and trial and error—which is something I’ve actually seen happen firsthand—it doesn't mean that "experimenting" won't turn into negative conditioning if the parents don't approve. It could be anything from a sharp lecture to a smack on the backside. It's all connected, I guess.
I guess if that theory actually holds water, there’s this idea that just by trying to find your way, you might be subconsciously inviting a kind of punishment for being lost in the first place. It’s like the very act of trying to build a mental map becomes too much of a burden to carry, so maybe, deep down, we just choose to stay lost. It feels like an attempt to outgrow some old childhood patterns—trying to gain control by rejecting authority—but then, by losing your bearings in the physical world, you end up right back in that headspace of pure frustration and total loss of control. It’s like the circle just closes itself.
I guess one way to stop those negative subconscious loops from hitting you over and over might be—well, just like a lot of other things I think about—focusing on building up some actual self-awareness. It’s not like we all walk around with the same internal compass or the same baggage, right? We’re all conditioned differently by how we grew up. Like, someone who was raised super religious might deal a massive internal shock or even develop a real neurosis if they see a different perspective that seems totally normal to everyone else. So, maybe instead of trying to tackle the heaviest, most intense emotional rollercoasters head-on—which sounds exhausting, honestly—we should try a bit of a detour. Maybe the goal is more about "re-training" ourselves through self-awareness by practicing how to stay calm and observant during the small, harmless stuff. If you can master those minor habits and little discomforts, you eventually build the muscle to bridge the gap over much bigger traumas, whether that's deep-seated inhibitions or whatever else comes up. The trick, if there is one, is basically doing things backwards. Just... flip the script on your usual habits. Try doing things the "hard" or creative way just for the sake of it. I mean, write with your non-dominant hand, try a weird new way of dancing, or experiment with how you talk to people just to keep your brain focused on your own presence. Even meditation, or any kind of practice where you try to stay aware of your whole body while observing yourself... it’s all about finding ways to maintain that sense of being an observer. But you have to start small. Really small steps. If you do this long-term, I think you eventually reach a level of self-awareness where you can actually outrun those subconscious impulses. You start recognizing them before they even fully manifest—you notice the subtle stuff, like the way you phrase things, a twitch in your face, or all those tiny nervous habits that don't really serve you. Once you recognize yourself in those moments, it kind of cuts their power in half. Eventually, you can even see how ridiculous they are, and finally, you just grow past them. You gain the willpower to move forward.
I guess people just get conditioned in totally different ways. It’s why some folks look at someone else's struggles—whether it's deep-seated trauma or just those specific work-related neuroses—and think it's all super trivial. They don't really grasp how intense those emotional associations can be, how they stick to you and shape who you are. Then, of course, there's this massive frustration when things don't work out because they keep trying to "run headfirst into a wall." They have this habit of tackling the complex stuff before mastering the basics, even though learning usually works the other way around—you start small and build up to the heavy lifting. A big part of the problem is that people listen to bad advice or spend too much time comparing themselves to others. They end up competing with people who either mock their issues or simply don't have any clue how to fix them. It just creates this feedback loop where frustration builds, and both sides end up feeling pretty powerless to actually change anything.
They say the brain basically dies off as we age, except for certain functions like learning and a few other things. If that's true, I suppose it’s actually a pretty good reason to try and relearn everything about ourselves. Personally, I’d say that whole idea of "self-work"—you know, searching for that inner peace that lets you stay in control during stressful or emotionally charged moments (which is obviously different for everyone)—could be a real remedy for a lot of mental struggles. It’s often explained through Zen parables and stuff like that, but I think it really opens doors to abilities we didn't even know we had.
