One concept from chapter 12 that I really liked was the one about culture and goals. This section talks about how our culture defines our goal making decisions. In our culture many kids aspire to go to college. That is a common cultural goal in our American culture. In other cultures, school might not be a priority but making a lot of money might be the ultimate goal. It really depends on what is most acceptable.
I think we feel pressure in our culture to make certain goals for ourselves. According to our text, our culture follows the effort-optimism standard which is the belief that one will be rewarded for hard-work. Interestingly, this characteristic makes a lot of people feel over worked and burned out. Sometimes people become workaholics in order to achieve their goals. Other countries may not take work so seriously because they think that no matter what happens, God has the ultimate rule over their lives and it really doesn't matter how hard they work for something. Cultural goals can sometimes be a good thing but sometimes they can break people down. I think it's best to avoid letting our culture decide the goals we want to make.
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Hi CGH,
ReplyDeleteI myself also find it very interesting that our culture has so much power in our lives. our culture defines our decision making methods, our goals, and our beliefs. You mentioned that the effort-optimism standard is the belief that one will be rewarded for hard work, and this in turn makes people work so hard that they get burned out instead of rewarded. I agree that people will be rewarded for their hard work but I disagree with how people have applied this concept of hard work to life. I don't agree with working so hard that you lose sight of what's important. America needs to stress more on the importance of family and community rather than work and success. Because the American dream has emphasized on the hard work, people tend to forget their families and business becomes top priority. I am going to do my best to prevent that kind of thinking in my life.
Signing Out,
Events Dreamer