Example Of A Paradigm Essay

In my mind, a paradigm is how i choose to percept the world around me. I would be lying through my teeth if i said that I have never had a negative paradigm about myself. It’s a seemingly natural part of being a teenager. However, i think that it is the types of paradigms we hold in front of our eyes that make all of our viewpoints so unique and valuable. However, the majority of teens share certain paradigms like “Math is an asian thing” and “Football players aren’t good at academics”. I assume that this is how cliques separate in school, they can connect with each other through the paradigms they share. I really like how Sean Covey uses the analogy that “Paradigms are like glasses” and i could not agree with that more. Back when i used to wear glasses, i

had routine eye appointments. One of the tests i did there was to see what my power was. To do this i tried on many different lenses to see which one was the best fit for me. The thing with that is that some lenses made my vision so blurry my head started to hurt immediately. On the other hand, some lenses made my vision clearer than i could ever imagine. These lenses are a lot like paradigms, they can really impact that clarity in the way you visualize the world.

I suppose you could see paradigms as superpowers at a more exaggerated perspective. I suggest this because like powers, paradigms can be both good and bad, for yourself and others. For example, the author Sean Covey explains the story of King Louis and how the paradigm he had of himself prevented him from succumbing to society’s want for him to not be successful. On the other hand, an example of a negative paradigm would be one i had of myself last year in math class. Being surrounded by children whose level of intellect in the field far surpassed mine, i felt more insecure and i began to tell myself that i would always be below my peers in math. For months i kept this same mindset but eventually came to the realization that thinking those thoughts wasn’t going to make any better. Soon I began to see these students as inspiration to make myself better, i tried to see what they did to be so successful. I applied the thing i saw them do, and i saw that my grades dramatically improved. This brings me to the point that despite the presence of a bad paradigm, it is still possible to replace it with a good

one. So whether a paradigm is permanent or not, is all up to you to make the distinction and decision between the two options. Paradigms strongly impact how you view other people. For example, in Taylor Swift’s music video “You belong with me”, I like how the director appealed to our paradigms of other people when designing the characters. For example, the mean girl fit just about everyone’s idea of the typical “popular mean girl”. She had everything from an expensive car, to short skirts, to being the cheer captain. Even with the nerd, she has the typical glasses and was holding a book in one of the scenes. However, with the nerd, the viewer experiences a paradigm shift when she shows up to the dance with great makeup, beautiful hair, and a stunning dress. In our minds she goes from being a nerd to a beautiful confident woman.