Human Condition
humans view reality in their lives. People's maps are the lenses that they see through in
their lives. When the lenses are cloudy, dusty, or scratched we can not see the full picture.
Similarly, when our maps are wrong or out of date we are not able to live life to the fullest,
because our maps are wrong. Instead of making an effort to revise our maps, we neglect to do
so. Consequently, we are living life with a map (view of reality,) which is an old "out-of-date"
version that is no longer relevant to us. When we take our old map and use it in the present, M.
Scott Peck calls this "transference." Transference is the way we respond to the world that was
developed in our adolescence and was appropriate at that time, but when we take that same view
or way of thinking and use it in the present inappropriately.
A moment of transference in my own life is when I hardly had to study in grade school to
receive good grades. My study habits were very poor and I, in a way, coasted through my
younger years. I came to SLUH with that same attitude at first. I continued to have the same
ideas and ways of thinking about studying as I did in grade school. Over the years, I have
started to get away from my old ways. I realized that I must study in advance to excel. Merely
doing the bare minimum is no longer an option. However, I still sometimes find myself slipping
into old trends. Sometimes, I get lazy and don't feel like doing the work, but than my grades
suffer. Therefore, I must realize that the transference of my old bad study habits must stay in
the past and I shouldn't utilize my old ways in the present.
