I’ve started lately to be (even more) picky with the language my students use. My student will say “Of course, the computer makes me slump,” and I will counter by saying “That naughty computer! It must be very clever to make you do anything. Are you sure it was the computer?” At which point they will relent and agree that they chose to slump at the computer.
Or my student might say, “my shoulders like to come forward.” After some gentle ribbing from me, the student will eventually change their statement to “I like to bring my shoulders forward.”
You see? Picky.
So why does it matter how my students talk about their issues?
It’s a question of responsibility.
If the computer is doing it to you, the only way you can fix it is to change the computer. But that involves time and expense, and if it’s a work computer, it may simply not be possible. And what if the next computer is just as bad?
If your kids make you cross and that causes your headache, then you will have to wait for the kids to change. Again, that could be a long time coming!
The first and most vital step on FM Alexander’s journey was that issue of self-responsibility, when after he had ruled out all medical causes for his throat trouble, he asked if it was something he was doing while using his voice that was the cause of the trouble.*
It’s not the computer, it’s how you use it.
It’s not the kids, it’s how you decide to react to them.
It’s not your shoulders, it’s how you choose to use them in activity.
An experiment.
This week, try this experiment for me. See how many times you can catch yourself handing away your responsibility for yourself with the way you frame your speech. Can you change the way you talk? Can you change the way you think?
* FM Alexander, The Use of the Self in the Irdeat Complete Edition, p.412.
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