Using Systems Thinking on the Self-System

[melontonin]

Hi, I've been reading Donella Meadows' Thinking in Systems and it's my first proper dive into systems thinking. Does anyone have any insights and experience applying the systems lens to the self because even just from the small amount i've read I can clearly see how applicable and powerful it is for explaining my own behaviour, problems, and how to make changes. Obviously just by becoming more acquainted with it I'll be able to better see how to apply it but I was just wondering if anyone had any specific insights about using it for the purposes of internal transformation, growth and self-actualization. Any thoughts are appreciated

Peace and love

 

 

[LastThursday]

I think there is a lot of juice to be squeezed by thinking about the self this way.

There is a lot of talk on here about how the self is an illusion or a construction. To say that anything is a "construction" is to think about it like a system. In other words a construction is made up of interacting parts. 

The idea of parts of the self can be most clearly experienced when you can't make a decision about something. For example say I can't decide whether going to university is beneficial or not. Maybe one part of me wants to experience the social life and loves learning. Maybe another part of me wants to just start earning money and getting experience in the real world and get a head start.

Treating the self like a system of parts (sometimes conflicting with each other), can help resolve decision paralysis and other similar problems. The idea is to examine what each part wants and to come to some sort of common agreement or goal. This is a process of getting the parts to communicate better together. For example maybe you go to university, but take a year out in industry - both parts would be satisfied.

What happens in reality is that the system of the self is built up haphazardly over time without any real planning. It's like building a house with non-standard parts and no blueprints: it's possible, but it can lead to a dysfunctional design. 

Anyway, I'm sure the are many more ideas from systems thinking that can be applied to the self.

[melontonin]

@LastThursday Thanks for your reply, the points you've made are actually really helpful. I've only just logged back onto this which is why my reply is so late. Your point that "the system of the self is built up haphazardly over time... so it can lead to a dysfunctional design" is very poignant in my life, especially considering that like you're saying you have to come to an agreement between these different parts that seem to all be pulling me in different directions. The main thing i'm struggling with is how many different parts there seem to be pulling me in entirely different directions. Another thing I've been thinking about is how trauma is a part of the system as well you have to include that in the agreement or otherwise it's really gonna be that that's really gonna be directing the behaviour of the system cos of it's strong gravitational pull. Thanks again for your reply.

[Ulax]

Yes!

Internal Family Systems Therapy expressly uses systems thinking