For those in the media giving Bill O’Reilly slack for his interview on 60 Minutes last night discussing his newest book; ‘Killing Jesus’, as a Psychotherapist I say; shame on you and you are barking up the wrong tree from a psychoanalytical perspective. The holy spirit picked Bill, spoke to him and told him to write this book – is in essence the angle that some of the media is presenting in a less than positive light. Spinning Bill’s articulation as to why he wrote ‘Killing Jesus’ as seeming narcissistic or crazy is just ridiculous. It disappoints me as a mental health and wellness expert who believes in the importance of following one’s passion, and the importance of taking action on one’s inner voice and drive to excel – to see some of the media depicting faith as inspiring one’s actions as twisted or negative. It dismays me to see some of the media depicting the drive of a person who takes actions on one’s passion in a negative light. As an expert in understanding human behavior – specifically why we do the things that we do, it is my contention and analysis that Bill’s commentary is; a) not narcissistic, b) symbolic for why he is successful, and c) positive from a role modeling perspective as to what can be learned for children and adults. You will find my 4 talking points below in further discussion.
Talking Points:
- Night-time/Dream Theory: One’s theory of why thoughts come to one’s self during the night plays a significant part as to whether a human takes action or inaction on those very thoughts. People fall into 4 main camps of night time/dream theory and depending on which camp they fall into increases or decreases the odds as to whether they will take action on those very thoughts had. Camp #1: Deity. If you believe thoughts that come to you during the night/in your dream state come from a higher power then you are most likely going to take action on those thoughts. Camp #2: Processing thoughts that are of significance and of meaning but cannot put a conclusion to in the day time, and thus the night hours in one’s sleep state offers a relaxed safe place to process and draw conclusions. For those who fall into this camp, they believe that they are too busy or overwhelmed by day to come to conclusion about what is on their mind in their conscious/awake state. Thus, during the night time when their mind is at rest, is the place where they can clearly have a vision on what actions they need to take as they are not blurred by the many thoughts in their head that plagues them during the day. Those who fall in this second camp may take action on their thoughts, as they recognize their thoughts are of significance. Camp #3: Creative thinking which could easily have come during the day or night, but night time thinking is more creative than day time thought. Those who fall under this camp are far less likely to take action than camp #1 and camp #2. As their night time thoughts are not considered from their perspective significantly more special than their day time thinking. But, there is still a possibility that they will take action, as they do recognize the creativity of the sleep state. The likelihood though of taking action is markedly low for taking action, as it is seen simply as just that- creative thought, and likely just as likely to think of by day, and thus does not stand out in one’s mind of something of grand significance. Camp #4: Night thought has no significance, it is just a thought as is any other. Those who fall under this camp will take no action on their thoughts, as it has no significance to them.
- The successful follow their passion – they hear and listen to their inner voice – they are the do-ers among us: Whether a person defines one’s inner voice as coming from self or coming from one’s god, it is the hearing and following through/taking action upon one’s voice that brings about success. The do-ers among us are exactly that, those that do, those that take action. Action, consistent action of one’s passion is a significant feature of successful people. Without passion, without action of listening to one’s inner voice – there is no success. With passion, with listening to one’s inner voice and taking action – with that there is success. It is the consistency of that where we see ongoing success for the particular individual.
- Positive self worth and recognizing one’s gifts is not narcissistic: As a Psychotherapist it concerns me greatly the label we place upon successful people who are proud of their accomplishments and are successful as – “narcissistic”. Taking pride in one’s self and one’s actions, having a healthy sense of self, having positive self worth – these are the very qualities we would hope for – for our children – and for ourselves. Bill reported during his interview on 60 Minutes that he tries to use his “gifts in a positive way”. This is to be respected and great for many to learn from/role model after, not pounced upon by some of the media. Discovering one’s passion and experiencing professional fulfillment is the very concept I educate clients about and will be discussing at the upcoming Massachusetts Association For Marriage and Family Therapy conference, entitled; ‘Professional Fulfillment Is Success’.
- Don’t chase the money nor the passion, rather live the passion while having a strong work ethic: This is the bottom line message to receive from Bill’s interview, and his actions as we the public see them to date, as I analyze it to be. This is the message I believe far too many are missing in our current cultural climate.
What did you get out of Bill’s interview? My analysis is; faith and passion inspires action. Is this not a therapeutic message? It is.