SERE is an acronym for a program that provides U.S. military personnel with training in evading capture & survival skills; it stands for Survival, Evasion, Resistance & Escape.
So what does this have to do with anything? Well, I’ve found that this idea of “evasion & survival” often applies to most of us – specifically in response to taking responsibility for unpleasant challenges that crop up in our everyday lives. In our case, however, perhaps a more appropriate acronym is DDD, which stands for Deflect, Divert and Distance.
DDD describes our (unfortunately) common responses when we have both the need & responsibility to face unpleasant thoughs, feelings or associations.
Deflect – We often deflect our attention from an unpleasant thought, feeling or association to “anywhere else!”: “Oh boy, look at that dust buildup, I’d better get on that right now!” Etc.
Divert – We often divert our focus from an unpleasant thought, feeling or association to “anything else!”, such as daily tasks, routines, busywork, etc…..anything to keep our minds occupied by keeping the rest of us occupied.
Distance – We often distance ourselves from an unpleasant thought, feeling or association by evaluating or judging it: “That’s so dumb! Wow, how stupid of me! This is ridiculous!”; this way we can point to the source as something outside ourselves i.e. not our responsibility.
Not pretty, but these are three very real ways we tend to avoid the responsibility of our challenges – be they real or perceived.
Don’t feel bad if any of these resonate with you – we all rely on them at one time or another. But maybe, having come to understand how we fall prey to these mental habits, we can gradually overcome them, and in doing so stand up and regain more control over our fates as Individuals worthy of the moniker.
For my money – totally worth the effort. 🙂