DISTINCTION: Externally-corrected vs. Self-correcting

A system that requires outside intervention in order to fix it can be referred to as externally-corrected. If a car breaks down, it won’t fix itself. It needs an external agent to diagnose the problem, then take action to put it right. As the name suggests, a self-correcting system is one that corrects itself. It requires no external intervention. A self-correcting system merely requires the right conditions and enough time to resolve any issues. The primary condition needed for a self-correcting system to find its way back to balance is simple: an absence of external interference.

There are over 400 different psychological approaches or methodologies being used today in the worlds of business, personal development, coaching and therapy. Some of them are based on theories, others on heuristics or “rules of thumb.” Almost every single one of them is an application model, relying on the change-worker to externally-correct the client’s thinking (or the client to externally-correct their own thinking). The external-correction can take an infinite variety of forms; mental rehearsal, guided visualization, affirmations, techniques, psychoanalysis – they’re all applications, and they’re all working “downstream” from an understanding of the principle of THOUGHT. The worlds of business, personal development, coaching and therapy are awash with application models, attempts to externally-correct a self-correcting system.