Reduce Psychological Distance to Avoid Joining Millions in the World Who are ‘Strangers to Others and to Themselves’
Dale Carnegie’s book “How to Win Friends and Influence People” was first published in 1936 and over 30 million copies have been sold worldwide to date. Since then, thousands of self-help books have been published and there are hundreds of coaching classes on that subject and other related topics. Priests, monks, and other wise persons have also been giving sermons on ‘love thy neighbour’ and ‘know thyself. And yet, various surveys by reputable organizations reveal that millions of people find themselves to be strangers not only to people that they know but even to themselves. What could be the reason for such a colossal failure in such an important aspect of life, career and happiness? The key reason appears to be ‘psychological distance’. The APA Dictionary of Psychology defines psychological distance as “the degree of a person’s detachment or disengagement from emotional involvement with one or more other people”. One more definition of psychological distance is “a cognitive separat