ARE YOU AN INTERVENTIONISTA?
I see this all the time, in very well-meaning individuals. It is very often found when people give advice to a friend. (And don't we humans love to give advice!!!!!)
Iatrogenics is also what I call "The Effect of the Pebble in the Pond." When you throw a pebble in the pond, your intention or goal is that first ripple. It's obvious. But there are second, third, and so on unintended consequences (potentially both positive and negative) that will occur. Every action we take will produce ripples and we must be willing to live with the last ripple. For example, is helping that person really helping in the long run? OR What negative effects may result from you giving your advice to a friend?
Instead, when someone asks you, "Hey, you got a minute? Can I get your opinion about something?" You respond with, "What's up?" They continue, "What do you think I should do ...?"
That is when I listen and then respond with, "That's a great question. What do you think you should do?" Or "What have you done that has worked? Great keep that up. What have you done that hasn't worked? What's the benefit of continuing? What might be your others options?" And then I lead them through the process of answering their own question or getting their own advice. I don't want them to be dependent on me, relying on my advice all the time. I do want to give them the tools, skills, and mindset to fix this problem and future problems. It builds confidence. And besides, if your advice is taken and they act on it (without really giving you all of the necessary information to make the decisions, which they fully know) and it backfires, you will get blamed for giving bad advice. My way, I'm helping you make decisions and live your own consequences.
(Read this article to take a deeper dive into this idea. I did consider the second and third ripples in this advice that I am giving, and I believe it is possible. However, I just don't know."
"Iatrogenics is when a treatment causes more harm than benefit. As iatros means healer in Greek, the word means “caused by the healer” or “brought by the healer.” Healer, in this sense, need not mean doctor, but anyone intervening to solve a problem. For example, it could be a thought leader, a CEO, a government, or a coalition of the willing. Nassim Taleb calls these people interventionistas. Often these people come armed with solutions to solve the first-order consequences of a decision but create worse second and subsequent order consequences. Luckily, for them at least, they’re never around to see the train wreck they created. (click on link below to read more from Shane Parrish).
https://fs.blog/iatrogenics/
