PSYCHOLOGY BUSKING a la wordswords: October 2018

MY BOSS, IAN

MY COLLEAGUE, REBECCA

As we ramble through our lives, for the most part, we are functional and we are fixed in our ways. And this attitude and condition for which most of us endure is called FUNCTIONAL FIXEDNESS, the practice of repeatedly using the same “go-to” strategy for repeatedly particular situations. This behavior of being biddable, this functional fixedness, results in a kind of cognitive paralysis, so to speak. I shall explain.

Functional Fixedness reflects the cognitive bias of having the tendency to see objects as only working in a particular way. For example, to play your chess pieces in the same opening strategy again and again would be falling into the trap of functional fixedness.

Factoid: Most people settle and pass within 100 miles of where they were born. Even those that moved several times average no more than 750 miles from their birthplace, the only significant outliers being those that switched either coasts or countries.

Living a quiet and unassuming life has the qualitative benefits of peace of mind, but living as such makes for a delusional cockaigne of contentment. Quaint and idyllic peace makes for great local neighborhood awareness, but offers one a very limited inquiry and reflection of national or international affairs. Residing in the same home for thirty years, working the same job for thirty years, and hanging with the same coffee klatch for thirty years, is a perfect example of functional fixedness.

Fundamentally there is nothing really wrong with being afflicted with functional fixedness. Neither is there anything untoward ethically or morally being trapped in a lifestyle of functional fixedness. Continual behaviors such as watching Monday Night Football, gathering with the gang for Tuesday tacos and Wednesday wings, every Friday eating fish 'n chips, hanging at the bar every Saturday, and dressing Sunday go-to-meeting for church. There is nothing too disturbing about going on the same annual Mexican vacation, and it is certainly within the realm of reality to meet with the same ol' buddies for a morning java or a round of weekend golf.

To me, the only real torment of functional fixedness is the real fear of falling into a dull and diluted lifestyle.

Functional fixedness, to me, means living the dream in a very vanilla-like construct.

I must take a moment now to make a literary move toward a metaphorical game of chess. For my daytime contract working with young offenders, this time around I’ve added Pawns and Punches, chess games in the morning and Muay Thai boxing in the afternoon (see my blog entry, PAWNS AND PUNCHES: THAT’S LIFE, SEP 23-2018). All chess nuts know that chess is as much a game about psychology as it is about strategy. It is a game of psychological warfare, one that is played more with the mind than with the pieces. (I cannot say the same for Muay Thai.)

Factoid: Life is not a game and, therefore, when I compare it to a game of chess; I am essentially reducing the worth of any life while availing the value of chess. Almost ashamedly then, because of the endless replications and my elevation of chess thereof, still, there are certain common points that benefit both chess and life.

For example: In chess, letting emotions guide your game can only lead to disaster. Nobody likes a poor loser and few people, not even the majority, will applaud a trumpeter. Just as certain, nobody appreciates the rage of the unruly.

The BIG fix: Keep calm and carry on.

Another example: Moving the same chess piece more than once in the opening is failing to see the forest for the trees.

The BIG fix: Make a concerted attempt to grasp the importance of the main issue rather than waste your energy on excessive attention to details.

Another example: Thinking and thinking and thinking about your chess pieces and maneuvers.

The BIG fix: Don’t overthink, just do it.

And yet another chess example: No center play is a strategy for losing.

The BIG fix: At your center you have your answer. Know who you are and know what you want. (Lao Tzu) Treat yourself with the greatest of respect. Your body is the only place you have to live and you’re only issued one model, and with the proper care and nutrition, that model can last up to 100 years.

Pushing too many pawns in the opening moves is a really bad chess strategy.

The BIG fix: Avoid overextending yourself. Learn to say no. There were years in my life when I overextended. During the weeks I would work all day and would do my grad studies all evenings. Come the weekends I come to hate Saturdays, because on my scheduled recreation time on Saturdays, I used to coach two elite soccer teams (as a volunteer) and teach a swimming class at the YMCA (also as a volunteer). Since those yesteryear Saturdays, I’ve learned to say no and learned to focus on only the few things that are truly joyful in my nature – mainly guitar busking and portrait busking.

Now I’ll offer some BIG fix psychological tips for winning in chess and in life and in all things betwixt:

Monitor your reactions to early mistakes. When you lose a crucial piece of anything, keep cool and keep playing YOUR game.

Recognize the time factor. Some people rush, some people dawdle. If you want an advantage, or rather not want to be on another person's clock, know that you have the power to speed up or slow down. You are the one in charge of your game.

And what would a busking blog be without posing some busking examples of functional

fixedness!

Strumming and singing on the same quiet and unattended street corners hoping for that big windfall.

Strumming and singing the same tunes over and over again.

Strumming and singing at the same times over and over again.

For the longest time in the months of winter I sat at an indoor mall, sketching no one, my big sign stating: PORTRAITS $20. My new sign states: PENCIL PORTRAITS – PAY BY THE MINUTE. YOU PICK THE PRICE!

Avoiding the trap of functional fixedness has improved my sales! (Yes, I am a mercenary busker!)

To close, here are some rules from chess that I have inductively applied to my bildungsroman life, in my continuing effort to escape my functional fixedness: