Social Psychology, Psychological Self-Help - General & Miscellaneous, Coping & Healing, Eating Disorders - Self-Help

The Power Struggle

Name: The Power Struggle
Author: William T. Shannon
ISBN: 9780306454066

by William T. Shannon

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Overview

The Power Struggle: How It Enhances or Destroys Our Lives maintains that our naivete about internal power, and how it should modulate the need for control, allows us to expect that external power - the attempt to control people and things in our environmental through force, intimidation, or even persuasionwill resolve our problems. In actuality, what we need to do is further develop our sense of internal power, a divine force based on our ability to control our "natural" internal impulses. Dr. William T. Shannon, a noted social psychologist and management consultant, skillfully explains how our need for power and control is the basis of our self-concept and, as Nietzsche states, "(is) the common denominator which, more than anything else, explains all of man's activities." This remark echoes the author's belief that the need for power is fundamental to human behavior in regard to social problems (e.g., prejudice and aggression), relationships, and dealing within a professional milieu. Just as there have been numerous perspectives on power, there have also been many attempts (most of which were unsuccessful) to define its nature. Dr. Shannon shrewdly points out that people can improve their awareness of what constitutes internal and external power. Basic and complex techniques existsuch as relaxation, meditation, attitude, and lifestyle changesto focus our sense of internal power as well as activities that we can do individually or collectively to achieve a balance between internal and external power.