While driving to work this morning, my typical digest of Tim Ferriss resulted in an interview with Dr Phil Zimbardo during podcast #226. I really enjoyed this one way more than I expected. I found myself being challenged in a way that I thought would be great to surface here.
Knowing nothing of the psychology field, I had never come across Dr Zimbardo's work but I'm sure many of you are aware of The Stanford Prison Experiment.
Anyway, the one quote from that really stuck with me was to "...practice mindful disobedience", first question what someone is telling you to do and don't just go along with it (harder in practice!). I can't articulate this as well as Dr Zimbardo but in my own words, we don't do a good job of identifying/validating people of authority and that's how we are raised - if someone 'looks' like an authority, we do as you're told. Rather, challenge authority by asking why. You don't have to be a jerk about it and don't arbitrarily be disobedient but rather be mindful about who you take orders from.
The whole conversation was very interesting and one that I not only considered for myself but also my kids. One of the largest considerations for me is how to I give my kids the advantage of the learning that I'm doing and give them a couple-decade leg up! As a parent, we often find ourselves saying "Because I said so" which ties right back to doing something because someone of authority told you. It's a slightly different case because my kids obviously know me to be a figure of authority but at the same time, how can I incorporate 'mindful disobedience' into their daily life?
Food for thought :)
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