Fear of change, the unknown, and loss often causes immobility and rigidity. We may not know what we'll gain by letting up of what we have or who we think we are, and common sense says "a Well, it's better than two, you'll get it!".
Rousseau believed that we fight change by using our “preservation instinct” to protect our achievements and “self-love” by preserving ourselves.
To survive physically and mentally, we must be consistent with ourselves and our environment. In animals, the instinct of self-preservation ensures the species' reproduction by repeating specific behaviours.
In humans, we see both this tendency for conservation and a desire for growth, which allows him to engage in a creative relationship with the world. Death Drive (preservation urge) and Life Drive (growth drive) are the Subject's Drive poles.
Creative and adaptable, humans are born unfinished with a non-specialized brain that may be changed by experimentation and study. As the most "in the image of the Uncreated" species, man has free will to live his life as he pleases. Thus, humans may be “naturally” gifted for change.
Can we conceive a skier who would freeze his legs and trunk "a priori" before the race and retain it during his descent? “I skied that way yesterday, so I won’t change it now!” He wouldn't last 10 metres! Because the skier's capacity to adjust to terrain and snow quality keeps him stable and on the slope.
To stay invigorated and efficient, we adapt daily to the objective reality of the frameworks in which we evolve (social and natural laws) and to the subjective reality (who we are, our history, our talents, and our limits, and how much we can develop them). However, we adapt to Reality (the unpredictable). Thus, natural disasters (tsunamis, fires, earthquakes) will lead to new construction standards and rules that will help us during future shows.
When do we allow ourselves to be exiled from this innate potential for adaptation and remain frozen? We can either complain and blame others (e.g., blaming others for our problems) or fight back with certainty in the face of uncertainty.
In the first example, the victim enjoys mobilising their small universe and getting maximum energy from it. Second, the person "stops thinking" and leans on his ideology, Great Man (thought master), or deity (Great Other), who dictates his facts and gestures. She confidently attacks everyone who approaches her. In both circumstances, avoiding the worry (and responsibility) of choosing her life and the questioning that allows her to move forward is beneficial. Both instances risk creating a symptom since this fear of the worse ultimately prevents us from living our lives.