The concept of “spontaneity” is used in the modern world in a negative way and is personified with unpredictability, lack of control, and impetuosity. But quite recently it meant harmless suddenness and unexpectedness of actions. A spontaneous person arouses suspicion, distrust and a condescending attitude among others, caused by the fear that at any moment he might do something out of the ordinary. According to the unanimous opinion of society, it is impossible to rely on such a person due to his reckless unpredictability. Is spontaneity so dangerous, and how to identify this “dangerous” quality in yourself?
Is spontaneity good or bad?
In psychology, spontaneity has historically been explained in different ways. In some sources, a spontaneous person is a person who finds the strength and courage to act according to his inner impulses, ignoring external influences. In others, it is the inability to regulate one’s behavior, a complete lack of awareness of the actions being performed. Thus, spontaneity was first placed on a pedestal, and then rather rudely asked to vacate the wrongly occupied place. The concept of free personal expression fought against lack of control, and vice versa. Both concepts are quite interesting, because the spontaneous personality has long been a source of either admiration or contempt.
Spontaneity: The Most Underrated Psychological Health Resource
Author: Spontaneity is a psychological resource that provides access to deep energy sources within our psyche; it is a characteristic of processes caused not by external influences, but by internal reasons; initiative, the ability to actively act under the influence of internal motivations. In this article, we'll look at why spontaneity is so important.
Spontaneity presupposes a person’s ability to be himself, to feel in touch with himself, to express himself naturally in different life situations. The concept of “spontaneity” comes from Lat. sponte – free will.
Spontaneity is always associated with creativity, intuition, play, and the ability to improvise in new situations when what is happening is born before our eyes. Spontaneity is the highest expression of a person's individuality.
Advertisement Spontaneity has to be discovered, or better yet, rediscovered, because when you were a child you were spontaneous. You have lost your spontaneity because too much of the artificial has been implanted in you - discipline, morality, virtue, character. You have learned to play many roles; so you have forgotten how to just be yourself.
Spontaneity is joy, it is play, it is dance, it is anticipation and exciting uncertainty. This is love, creativity, inspiration, pleasure from daily actions.
Creativity is one of the great practices of spontaneity. There are many techniques for developing spontaneity.
One of the most famous researchers of spontaneity, Moreno, described independent forms of expression of spontaneity: dramatic form (revival of already completed actions, thoughts, feelings, words); creative form (creation of new ideas, behavior, works, etc.); original spontaneity (giving a new form to an existing one); adequate response (correctly chosen behavior in terms of time, form, direction and intensity).
Spontaneity is a resource
Alas, spontaneity, like sleep, is a resource that does not accumulate.
Spontaneity does not accumulate or persist; it appears to be spent “here and now”, giving way to subsequent manifestations. Spontaneity can find a way out or be suppressed. The goal of training is the release of spontaneity and its simultaneous reasonable integration into the holistic structure of human life. If there is barely enough spontaneity to complete a task, but there is no longer enough for joy, the person is serious, collected, tense. For some people this happens sometimes, and for some all the time, and the tasks of the latter are not always more global; often they simply do not know how to relax, enjoy life and exist in harmony with the world around them. Lack of spontaneity means almost no enjoyment.
Spontaneity is not impulsiveness
At the same time, one should not confuse impulsiveness and spontaneity, these are completely different things!
The internal impulse away from what is necessary is called impulsiveness. Spontaneity is an internal activity that enriches patterned behavior. Those. If you are furious and suddenly break a pencil that you were twirling in your hands, then this is impulsiveness. And if you start drawing with this pencil without knowing what you are drawing, this is spontaneity.
Spontaneity, in fact, is when all this also finds its optimal form in this world, in a given situation and at a given moment in time. It may also turn out that at a given moment in time and in a given situation, the most optimal and most spontaneous thing would be to be patient and wait for a more opportune moment (just not for long, of course). True spontaneity is always voluntary, which is what distinguishes it from involuntary impulsiveness.
Your level of spontaneity
You can roughly find out your level of spontaneity using this scale.
The Spontaneity Scale measures an individual's ability to spontaneously and directly express their feelings. A high score on this scale does not mean a lack of ability for thoughtful, purposeful actions; it only indicates the possibility of another, not calculated in advance, way of behavior, that the subject is not afraid to behave naturally and relaxed, to demonstrate his emotions to others. Spontaneity Scale:
1.
I feel no remorse when I am angry with those I love.
2.
I almost never have the need to find a justification for my actions that I perform simply because I want it.
3.
I don't always try to avoid grief.
4.
I often make spontaneous decisions.
5.
I'm never afraid to be myself.
6.
It often happens that expressing your feelings is more important than thinking about the situation.
7.
I trust the decisions I make spontaneously.
8.
Perhaps I can say that I live with a feeling of happiness.
9.
I often show my affection for a person, regardless of whether it is mutual.
10.
I almost always feel empowered to do what I think is right, regardless of the consequences.
Why do you need to develop spontaneity?
Why does modern man need developed spontaneity?
He knows the route from work to home and from home to the bakery; he lives mechanically, because he lives comfortably and in a civilized manner. He doesn’t need to hide from a tiger or spend the winter in the tundra. However, the peace and comfort of modern urban civilization are deceptive and deadly. They lull a person to sleep, turning him into a mediocre (uncreative) and unviable (not spontaneous) layman, in whom all skills atrophy from such a life, except the ability to consume.
Thanks to spontaneity, a person is able to react flexibly in new, non-standard situations, think and feel in the “frame”, not hide behind various “social masks”, stereotypically relying on the “crutches” of learned skills, phrases, imitating authorities, concepts of success and happiness.
It is important that spontaneity is a basic resource, “prepersonal” of the psyche. Only after spontaneity and the restoration of the locus of control should one begin to restore self-esteem.
Energy
Spontaneity is a source of energy, it is the ability to act in conditions of uncertainty and effectively cope with stress.
Spontaneous people's lives are many times brighter, more beautiful and filled with inspiration and love. Remember that spontaneity is a source of vital energy that cannot be forced, coerced, or subdued, which comes on its own and goes away on its own. There are no rules or protocols on how to strengthen it.
While it is still possible to work with awareness according to protocol, we have to speak very vaguely about spontaneity. Look at the children: they are full of energy and enthusiasm, spontaneous! With age, spontaneity becomes less and less, because duty displaces pleasure, morality displaces feelings, and reason displaces sensations, because resources are not pumped and are gradually frustrated.
Adaptation and spontaneity
Spontaneity is a quality that helps our survival and adaptation.
Spontaneity is a willingness to change. Remember that you are only as alive as you love change? In modern man, the sense of spontaneity is much less developed than any other important function of the central nervous system. Hence the complete failure of modern man when confronted with the unexpected, and most often this reaction of evil.
Violations of spontaneity lead to the development of neuroses and loss of energy. If a person always behaves approximately the same way, be it “life in a rut,” or constant shocking behavior passed off as spontaneity, this is automatism.
Ease and play
Developing spontaneity enables a person to ultimately become more vibrant, confident, expressive and light-hearted.
An accomplished and successful person must be creative, creative and spontaneous. Every person needs spontaneity, everyone who would like to feel confident and happy in their personal and professional lives, everyone who would like to go beyond the usual, established patterns of behavior and try themselves in unusual roles, who would like to develop the ability to express themselves brightly and expressively. express yourself, enjoy the energy of improvisation, self-expression.
Spontaneity, of course, is needed by those who would like to achieve some heights in this life. Achieving spontaneity is always associated with a feeling of great pleasure, a joyful feeling of life.
Developing spontaneity is not the path to perfection in the usual sense, it is the path to naturalness. Moreover, the desire to achieve ultimate perfection increases the obstacles to achieving free spontaneity.
Relationship
Spontaneity is also very important for those who would like to improve their partnerships. Often women and men are dissatisfied with their behavior in relationships with the opposite sex or do not understand why their partner refused them, not realizing that their behavior is stereotypical, regardless of whether the person is outwardly very active and talkative, or, on the contrary, closed and conservative.
Personal development
It has been scientifically proven that it is spontaneous thoughts that help us understand our own beliefs.
This leads to increased self-esteem. Spontaneity is directly related to how we show ourselves in the world around us, how we present ourselves, how we present ourselves to other people, how we look in the eyes of other people. Often we strive to “polish” a skill, perfecting our manners, body movements, voice, trying to memorize the correct texts, and every time we are in fear of making a mistake or not pleasing someone.
However, we often forget that in fact, we can do a lot, but we cannot demonstrate our full potential, or we can demonstrate ourselves impeccably only in a very narrow range of possibilities (“dance from the stove”).
We do not deny the need to develop various self-presentation skills (voice, body plasticity, smile, use of certain words and expressions, construction of phrases, ban on the use of certain words, etc.).
Thanks to spontaneity, “I as a woman” become more interesting for a man, and a man becomes more interesting for a woman. You can consider yourself a very well-mannered and cultured person, or you can consider yourself a “cool informal”, and at the same time show yourself in a stereotypical way.
Thanks to the development of spontaneity, each person will be able to show their individuality not only through external attributes, but also through internal qualities. The ability to be in touch with one's spontaneity gives a person greater charisma.
Life is unpredictable and every time presents new and unexpected situations where memorized rules and words do not apply; it is necessary, in a sense, to “forget” everything that has been memorized and re-create meaning, movement, and themes.
Spontaneity allows you to find a resource hitherto unknown to a person and express yourself in a non-stereotypical, creative way, generating something completely new, filled with meaning, depth, and an idea.
A brief moment of triumph of spontaneity
The scales in psychology continued to tug spontaneity in one direction or the other. Some argued that a spontaneous person is a dangerous and unreliable person, because he does not know how and does not want to control himself, while others praised individualism and the ability to be oneself. The end of this protracted discussion was put by the teachings of Moreno, Jung and Fromm, who boldly declared that the phenomenon we are considering is one of the driving energies of human existence, and the ability to show spontaneity is a sign of a real personality. According to their concept, this personality quality is considered a huge force that pushes a person towards self-realization and freedom of expression.
The spontaneity in their mouths became a challenge to established foundations and stereotypical behavior. It has become fashionable to “be yourself”, “decide to take your own path” instead of the usual “everyone does this, so I should too”, “be like the rest”. Spontaneity was finally established on the pedestal and was proclaimed “the road to self-development.”
General formulation of this definition
Spontaneous behavior means that a person does only what he wants at a particular moment in time, and nothing more. This is characteristic of animals and children, which is why we all admire both. With age, such “sharpness” and immediacy in behavior disappears, and it is replaced by advance planning, subordination to a schedule (one’s own or someone else’s), and this, as psychologists say, destroys us as individuals. They compare the extinction of spontaneity with the psychopathology of everyday life, and this term is used here not in a medical sense, but more in a social one. That is why it is important in your adult years to “remember” how good it was for you in childhood, when your feelings and actions were guided by spontaneity. That it was the most accurate and true reflection of yourself and your inner world, untainted by social principles.
Our days. Being spontaneous is not in fashion?!
Years passed, the masters of psychological sciences, who managed to restore spontaneity’s good name, have sunk into oblivion. And again she fell out of favor with the people; she was assigned such negative qualities as lack of control, impulsiveness and unpredictability. In the modern world, a spontaneous person is an infantile, irresponsible and immature person, unable to keep his irrepressible self in check. To be spontaneous - alas! - only children can.
The dynamically developing world has crushed us and taught us to follow responsibilities, schedules and stereotypes. Moral duty, education, social restrictions tied our hands, but we did not resist, confident that this was the way it should be. Even spontaneous speech is not held in high esteem these days - everything must be thought out, verified from all sides and presented through a sieve of stereotypes. And only a few of us find the strength to follow our inner convictions, without hearing the indignant cries of society, to move towards the freedom of our “I”. But we still can’t decide for ourselves who they are – outcasts of society or real individuals?
How and why spontaneity is suppressed
At a very young age, our parents and kindergarten teachers teach us what is good and what is bad. We are forbidden to be late, not eat enough porridge, forced to make our beds and wear specific things that we most often do not like. At the same time, the slightest disobedience on the part of the child is punished in every possible way, and this, in turn, leads to the development of fear. It is this fear that stops the development of that very true personality in us, due to the fact that it blocks spontaneity. Doctors learned not too long ago that this is bad and that children cannot be raised this way. However, there are many nuances in this issue, since each of us is part of a society where there are rules and principles, and if everyone fulfills their momentary whims, the world will go crazy. However, this is already philosophical reasoning, and now we will try to become a little freer ourselves, based on what we have.
Make way for spontaneity!
Constantly living in a world of standards is hard and sad. Every person has the right for a brief moment to fall back into childhood and feel free, let off steam and return to normal life again. For spontaneity, like all good things, must have a time and a place. How to achieve such a state?
- Turn off your phone for a day.
- Order dishes in a cafe that you have never tried.
- Walk around your neighborhood aimlessly.
- Go visit friends you haven't met for a long time.
- Get on the bus and drive around the streets.
- Wear something you've never worn before.
- Go to the cinema to watch any movie.
Such actions will give you a charge of positive emotions and energy. You will be able to feel like a free, spontaneous person.
No matter how much this topic develops, each person has the right to answer the questions about whether a spontaneous person is good or bad, whether spontaneity is a danger to society or a form of self-expression, based on their own vision of this concept. However, you should not cut off your oxygen if spontaneity is a source of joy, movement and life for you.
SURPRISE YOURSELF
Now there are several areas of psychological and near-psychological practice that directly work with spontaneity. And at the same time, regaining the ability to act spontaneously is a by-product of any psychotherapy.
Playback theater
In the previous issue of the magazine, we talked in detail about this new direction of art, which appeared at the intersection of theater and psychodrama. Let us remember that here the actors are acting out on stage a story that the audience has just told them. Any participant in the playback theater “transfers the rights” to his spontaneity to the actors, who reveal the story to him from different sides and show it from a new angle. The ending is unknown and unpredictable. There are no rehearsals or readings of plays, there is no director. Each improvisation is performed only once in the presence of the author-storyteller. The theater has its own ritual. First, the author sits on a chair and tells his story, then actors are selected from the group, together with the presenter and musicians they tell the author’s story. Then the author shares his impressions and discoveries from what he saw, and the actors play the ending. During one playback theater performance, several audience stories can be played. Well, actors are ordinary people (without special education or experience) who united in a permanent group under the leadership of a presenter and “played” before starting to work with the audience.
Contact improvisation
This is a search for your bodily spontaneity and liveliness, a dance in which every movement is born within and reflects content, not form. The dancers seem to “flow” from one movement to another, roll over each other, fly, slide, push and pull. This is an improvisational dance, at every current moment the dancer listens to his body and the body of his partner and moves in accordance with himself, with gravity, inertia, with the logic of his own and others’ actions. Performed solo or in a duet.
Dance relieves tension, allows you to discover and change your bodily patterns (habitual ways of responding to touch, for example), helps you realize your own motor needs, and provides space for self-expression. Surprisingly, much can be accomplished through the body even with a skeptical, fearful, or resistant mind. And one of the results of practicing contact improvisation is freedom from constantly looking at “what people will think.”
Intuitive drawing
Here you draw, leaving behind all fear and unnecessary doubts about your own artistic competence. You pour out your feelings on paper and express yourself. This is a way of understanding oneself and the world around us, immersing ourselves in the depths of one’s own unconscious, which speaks to us in vague images. The main criterion that everything is going right is the pleasure that the painter experiences from the process. There is no task here to draw something beautiful; no techniques or techniques are used. Often, a drawing is created without brushes or pencils, simply with fingers immersed in liquid paint. Intuitive drawing allows you to go beyond the boundaries - at least beyond the boundaries of the sheet (by sweepingly covering both the sheet and the substrate with paint), and realize all their conventionality. It is unlikely that his goal is to teach technique, composition and color combinations. The emphasis is on self-expression, spontaneity, naturalness, and attention to needs.
Spontaneity is about childhood, about freedom from other people's judgment and expressing yourself in all available ways. If your inner child is locked in a cage of “impossible”, “indecent”, “shameful”, “scary”, your life is certainly under your strict control. But it is insipid and immobilized, because it is the inner child that is the source of joy, strength, and movement. This is our battery, an energy charge. Cutting off your oxygen with your own hands? No, excuse me.
