ACRO-073

ubcsong

ACRO-073 Following one's instincts

The advice to act naturally or follow one's instincts can,admittedly,be helpful advice for someone torn between difficult career or personal choices in life. In most situations, However,folllowing this advice would be neither wise nor sensible.Following one's own instincts should be tempered by codes of behavior appropriate to the situation at hand.
  First of all, doing what comes naturally often amounts to impulsive overreaction and irrational behavior, based on emotion. Everyone experiences impulses from time to time,such as hitting another person,quitting one's job,having an extramarital affair,and so forth.
People who act however they please or say whatever is on their mind without thinking about consequences,especially without  regard to social situation,may offend and alienate others. At the workplace,engaging in petty gossip,sexual harassment,or back-stabbing might be considered "natural"
,yet such behavior can be destructive for individuals at the receiving end as welll as for the company.And in dealing with foreign business  associates,what an American might find natural or instinctive,even if socially acceptable here,might be deeply insulting or confusing to somebody from another culture.
   Second,doing what comes naturally is not necessarily in one's own best interests.The various behaviors cited above would also tend to be counterproductive for the person engaging in them." Natural" behavior could prove deadly to one's career,since people who give little thought before they act cannot be trusted in a job that requires effective relationships with important clients,colleagues,and others.
  Third,the arguer seems to suggest that you would be yourself,then act accordingly-in that order. But we define ourselves in lardge measure by our action. Young adults especially lack a clear senseof self.How can you be yourself if you don't know who you are?Even for mature adults,the process of evoling one's concept of self  is a perpetual one.In this respect,then,the arguer's recommendation does not make much sense.

  In sum,one should not follow the arguer's advice universally or too literally.For unless a person's instincts are to follow standard rules of social and business etiquette,natural behavior can harm others as well as constraint one's personal and prefessional growth.