Some American psychological traits [Part 2]

Relaxed - Americans don't mince words when talking to superiors. The American mentality of rising up starts with loving yourself.

An American family. (Source: williampeaceblog)

Relaxed - Americans do not change their words when talking to superiors, and can always use slang. They dress freely. They sit comfortably in chairs, lean their shoulders against the wall, and put their feet up on the desk. But there are limits. At home, you have to sit up straight, and you tell a judge not to use slang. A boss sitting with his feet up on the desk in the staff room shows equal intimacy; but if the staff does the same, it is too much. When teachers are comfortable with intimacy (telling students to call them intimately like: Call me Janet = just call me Gianit) but not students can be casual.

Some researchers have commented that Americans are the opposite of the Japanese: Americans appear very “open” and friendly on the outside, but are closed on the inside. Every American says they want to live comfortably.

In reality, they sometimes do the opposite. They clean their houses carefully, have dinner at 6 o'clock sharp, and do not receive strangers. Whenever they sit still, their limbs itch and they have to do something. A group of Italian journalists who lived at a fast pace in the US for six months lamented: "Oh my God, we don't understand how Americans can continue with such nonstop activities."

…Comfortable but planned, everything is planned in advance (including career, children, retirement), weekly and monthly calendars are full of plans (personal can be more than social communication).

The Growth Mindset – The American growth mindset begins with self-love. Due to the fiercely competitive atmosphere that leads to not achieving what one wants, many people suffer from nervous breakdowns, especially women.

Foreigners often think that Americans create their own problems. They eat well, have jobs, what more can they ask for? They don’t realize that wealth creates special problems. “Money isn’t everything.” Although many Americans know this, they still think that if they had a little more money, they would be happier. Perhaps there is a problem with American culture: the focus on individual advancement has led to the neglect of important aspects of life.

Ways to cultivate oneself - Popular psychology in America produces a series of books to prepare “personal happiness”, teaching the right way of thinking to succeed in life. Americans are quite selfish, yet those “philosophical” books still teach about “thinking about yourself”, such as: How to refuse without worrying, No longer dependent on each other, Women who love too much.

For half a century, the best-selling manual has been Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People . Weekend classes in this and many other formats teach techniques for becoming happy, wealthy, sexually…

Therapists - In other countries, when people are mentally unstable or anxious, they often seek out friends and relatives. In the US, people seek out therapists (psychiatrists, psychologists, university graduates with a degree in family therapy or social work). They believe that these professionals have deep expertise and are therefore effective. They are willing to pay $80 per hour for psychotherapy. It is not certain that the treatment is effective, but they certainly feel better, for some people, there is no other way.

Exercise - Some people treat or prevent illness this way. After a few generations of driving cars and living in one-story houses, Americans may lose their sense of physical well-being. A decade ago, doctors discovered that post-industrial civilization had created people who were not physically fit; Americans had bad hearts and muscles; it seemed that American men were dying suddenly.

To cure these defects, people do aerobic exercise (increase the pulse for a period of time to force the heart to work fully, stimulate the brain to produce sedatives) and many other methods: endurance running, stationary cycling, swimming, dancing...

Diet - Half of American women consider themselves overweight. In a country where people eat a lot and want to look slim, never label an American as overweight. Americans, especially women, follow diets to lose weight and then lose weight again. There are two best-selling books: one about cooking and one about dieting. The rate of potbelly in America is quite high. People have a wrong stereotype about potbelly: it is a metabolic problem, not a result of overeating.

Worship of youth - In a young country, people believe in youth, thinking that young people have many new ideas and new techniques. There are young people who have a few gray hairs and immediately dye them. In the subconscious, there is a concept that "new" means "better". There is a talented editor who is disappointed in her career, just because she is 40 years old and has not been appointed as editor-in-chief; she thinks that it is difficult to have another opportunity because most newspapers are looking for editors-in-chief who are 35 years old or younger.

Anti-aging and surgical facial rejuvenation have become popular among the middle classes. Skin care companies sell millions of dollars worth of anti-wrinkle creams with questionable effectiveness. Gray hair is rare because so many people dye their hair. Old people don’t wear miniskirts, but they still wear bright colors. Everyone wants to be complimented on how young they look.

Old age is seen as the end of contribution. In a society that values success, those who have ceased to contribute are not given much attention. Yet there are still old people who contribute, who go here and there, who take action.

There are people who are admired by young people for their life experiences. American society will have to take care of many old people who have no money and no health.

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