The Value of Discomfort

One good thing about communication and working in the profession, both as a practitioner and instructor, is that it is a field in which many others take a great deal of interest. Perhaps because communicate is something we all do, communication as profession, act, and area of study continues to remain foremost on the minds of many. For instance, as our nation we are in the beginning stages of the presidential election season. The result is a great deal of interest in how effectively the array of candidates are connecting with potential voters. This will remain a source of fascination, particularly among political pundits, for months and months to come.


Another aspect of communication that has generated interest recently is the level of communication that occurs among college students. Specifically, in the September, 2015, edition of The Atlantic, a list of recently-identified communication-related disorders was examined. These included assuming one knows what others are thinking about them without any evidence ("mind reading");  believing what has or will happen will be unbearable ("catastrophizing"); and letting one's feelings guide their interpretation of reality ("emotional reasoning"). These and other "cognitive distortions" that were identified represent an aspect of communicating that currently exists.


Looking at them collectively, they represent serious barriers to honest communication. When one involved in an interaction has a distorted view of reality, without question this gets in the way of any positive exchange that might otherwise occur. Also, it speaks to a larger picture of the rise of so-called political correctness in which people avoid making any provocative or controversial statements to avoid possibly making others uncomfortable or offending any one. Particularly at institutions of higher learning, uncomfortable perspectives should be welcomed. With that comes uncomfortable or challenging exchanges. And with that, potentially, comes intellectual growth.