Rick’s Optimization
Rick can similarly engage in the process of Optimization and Polystasis. He takes action that is a bit bolder than that taken by Susan. He does return to his hometown during a vacation break. However, this journey back home comes with an agenda. Like Susan, Rick is asking some questions when returning to his hometown. He is assessing his own feelings and testing out the correlation between his own fantasies of living again in his hometown with the realities of this life (especially given his sexual preferences and lifestyle preferences). Rick checks in frequently with his own baseline regarding job and life outside of the work setting.
Rick will be making a more informed prediction regarding how he will do and how he will feel about a move back to his hometown. His baseline will inevitably change based on his shifting prediction. Anticipated income is likely to drop significantly (and there might even be an extended period of time when he is unemployed). Rick also adjusts his baseline regarding what is reasonable to achieve in terms of theater attendance, savoring a great meal at a fine restaurant, and finding friends who share lifestyle preferences with him.
Rick does a quick check on his own feelings. These might be the most important predictions that he will make. Does he feel less stressful than is often the case in New York City? Is this lower level of stress likely to remain if he moves back home. What does he predict? Is there a certain “glow” (squirt of oxytocin) when he meets with members of his own family and with Vermont acquaintances from his past life? Is there a lightness in his step when he does some shopping at the grocery store where he hung out as a much younger man? Does Rick predict that this glow and lightness will still be there if he moves back to Vermont? What does he predict regarding feelings associated with the loss of New York City cultural opportunities?
Two subsequent questions emerge. Can Rick trust his predictions—especially regarding his likely feelings? Can he accept the modified baseline that accompanies his predictions? Will he be sacrificing too much in order to find a new life in Vermont? Does an elevated baseline regarding comfort and joy (security and safety) make up for the predicted loss of income, great theater, and compatible friendships? As Barry Johnson recommends, Rick must spend enough time in S² (Home) to gain clarity regarding the upside and downside of this polarity. Rick’s predictions about life in an S² (Home) setting must be accurate and relatively free of reality-distorting biases.
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