Whether the venue be a classroom, a forum, or a sporting event, embarrassment is nearly always the greatest separator of the talented and the lame. When faced with a moment of embarrassment such as the announcement of a poor test performance before a room full of peers and classmates or a defender's ankles being ''broken'' on the court; the recipient of such mortification is presented with two options: improve of refrain.
Obviously improvement is not possible for everyone all the time, for example, at six feet in height, I am unlikely to improve my abilities as a jockey to any semblance of respectability, but if I study the required material for Spanish class more than I currently have been, it is likely that I will improve my proficiency in the use of such substance, at least to a point so to improve my grade if no level of fluency is achieved.
Choosing one option of handling self-conscioussness over the other is a matter of personal choice that if chosen incorrectly could result in further embarrassment. To re-use the previous examples, if I were stubborn and chose to stick with my hobby of jockeying despite having never sat in a saddle in my life, I would most likely exhibit an ineptitude unparalleled in any field of jockeys, and if I choose to tranfser out of my fourth year of Spanish class, which my skills have earned me membership to Sociedad Honoraria Hispanica (Spanish Honors Society), because of one publicly-announced poor quiz grade in favor of an entirely new language of different origins, it is safe to say that I would incur some difficulty in honing the expertise needed to speak this entirely new idiom. Personally, I would rather spend a few more moments each evening studying "prefijos y sufijos" than striving toward greatness at Chuchill Downs.
Through the experimentation of various interests and abilities, especially in front of others, one can learn firsthand the Infallibilty of Embarrassment.
Obviously improvement is not possible for everyone all the time, for example, at six feet in height, I am unlikely to improve my abilities as a jockey to any semblance of respectability, but if I study the required material for Spanish class more than I currently have been, it is likely that I will improve my proficiency in the use of such substance, at least to a point so to improve my grade if no level of fluency is achieved.
Choosing one option of handling self-conscioussness over the other is a matter of personal choice that if chosen incorrectly could result in further embarrassment. To re-use the previous examples, if I were stubborn and chose to stick with my hobby of jockeying despite having never sat in a saddle in my life, I would most likely exhibit an ineptitude unparalleled in any field of jockeys, and if I choose to tranfser out of my fourth year of Spanish class, which my skills have earned me membership to Sociedad Honoraria Hispanica (Spanish Honors Society), because of one publicly-announced poor quiz grade in favor of an entirely new language of different origins, it is safe to say that I would incur some difficulty in honing the expertise needed to speak this entirely new idiom. Personally, I would rather spend a few more moments each evening studying "prefijos y sufijos" than striving toward greatness at Chuchill Downs.
Through the experimentation of various interests and abilities, especially in front of others, one can learn firsthand the Infallibilty of Embarrassment.
Whenever I'm embarrassed Mr. Thrasymachus, I always say "D'oh!" It makes people laugh with me, and not at me. At least, I hope...
ReplyDeleteYou make an interesting point; it seems as if embarrassment really is an essential check on our behavior... to basically ensure that we don't do anything outright stupid and to try to better our own selves through the experience.
ReplyDeleteI tend to be a very self-conscious person and that's probably, in my case at least, for the better; I can preserve at least SOME of the dignity I have! :)
And, Phil, I've always wondered this and now see the opportunity to ask again... how do you pronounce "d'oh"? I see that word and never know how the heck to imagine it being said... "Duh"? "Duh-oh"? "Doooe"??