Why does the word displacement always have a negative connotation? Displacement is the moving of something from its original place or position. Throughout my short years of experience with life, I have also encountered many awkward situations where I not only felt a level of discomfort and helplessness, but also felt I did not belong. I can guarantee that most of us experience this on a daily basis with different degrees of conflicts. It could be that you see yourself as the worst on your athletic team, or the less effective employee at work, or you have recently transferred to a new school and don’t seem to fit in anywhere, or even feel stuck between making a controversial decision; whatever the circumstance is, you should always know that you literally have the freedom to choose how you will react to such conflicts.
Until recently, I never really took that into account. I would endlessly find myself blaming situations and people for unwanted outcomes, mistakes, and even my emotions. However, after learning the fundamental truth of my ability to choose how I wanted to feel and react to situations, I realized that although I would still be influenced by the conditions, I am more than able to make a value-based choice or response to that situation. Eleanor Roosevelt once stated, “no one can hurt you without your consent.” To get back on topic, displacements are often misinterpreted and given a bad connotation however, like many authors and characters we discussed in class, I strongly believe that it is situations in life like these that transform and shift our mentalities and paradigms. The next time you are experiencing displacement, whether emotionally or physically, know that you are responsible and “response-able”. The way we see the problem is the problem; if we want to improve our situation, we can only work on the one thing we have control over – ourselves.
