THE BIG PICTURE OR COMPARTMENTALIZATION?

By: Joel E. Gordon

“In order to properly understand the big picture, everyone should fear becoming mentally clouded and obsessed with one small section of truth.” –XunZi

In psychology, compartmentalization is defined as a defense mechanism where someone suppresses their thoughts and emotions. It is not always done consciously, but this can often justify or defend a person’s level of engagement in certain behaviors.

There are serious disadvantages that come with compartmentalization such as becoming disconnected, isolated and emotionally unavailable. And compartmentalizing is often a tool used by individuals who engage in deviant behavior or actions outside decent and acceptable norms.

Can there be benefits to compartmentalization? Yes … A law enforcement officer, for example, may have a family that depends on them at home, but they must rush into life-threatening situations without hesitation. Being able to compartmentalize those two realities is what facilitates the ability to perform under intense pressure.

I believe one of the biggest problems facing our society today, however, is the compartmentalized thinking that we are seeing on a regular basis which is done without regard to how our decisions impact the bigger picture.

Look at all of the negative consequences of police defunding, such as lowered morale and the overworking of our brave men and women through tunnel vision for “reimagining law enforcement” in the name of social justice. Crime rates go up and safety takes an unnecessary nosedive.

COVID-19 shutdowns have largely contributed to business failures, increased rates of unemployment or underemployment, depression, substance abuse and suicide. Did the risks of shutdowns justify themselves through lower transmission rates of this serious illness during this pandemic? There are many schools of thought on this but it has certainly been a hefty price to pay.

Where did all of this limited thought begin? I have witnessed within our educational system the tendency to isolate subject matter so that it stands on its own without a complete view of cause and effect. Too many have been indoctrinated into a compartmentalized way of thinking, and now they as individuals seem truly oblivious to the reality of so many resulting unintended consequences.

In this day and age of specialists and professional specialization, for example, many only are able to focus on a singular area of expertise. Rarely do practitioners see the problem within their specialty as a symptom of a larger problem, making it virtually impossible to see the big picture.

Sometimes this ridiculousness is truly absurd. While general manager of the Alpine Lake Community atop Snaggy Mountain in snowy Terra Alta, West Virginia, I once had a discussion with a resident who was a nuclear physicist by profession and was involved in the design of nuclear power plants. He was complaining about icy roads within the resort over a particular winter (40 miles of roads traverse the 2,500-acre resort and residential community). Terra Alta routinely experiences 200” of beautiful white snowfall annually and even recorded two inches of snow one year on the fourth of July! I found myself attempting to explain the process of melting and re-freezing to him with temperatures above freezing during the day and snow melt re-freezing overnight. I finally said that my then-5-year-old daughter understood taking an ice cube out of a freezer, letting it melt on a counter, and then putting the liquid back into the freezer would create ice. I don’t believe he ever understood what I was telling him. A common sense thought process lost? How scary is it that this man was designing nuclear power plants and failed to understand a simple concept outside his way of thinking?

As we continue moving forward, if we can open our minds to the bigger picture in the world around us, I believe that bad decisions and injustices will be difficult to come by. If we can just stop compartmentalizing thoughts, we can improve our lives and livelihoods as we work toward the common good. Let’s all reflect on moments in our past and current experiences, as it would behoove us to identify how we ourselves compartmentalize.

As we move into 2021 and beyond, it’s time that we all work to see the big picture.