# Impossible Social Demands Create a Double Bind by Bryant McGill > “Alan Watts described a social double-bind game. Society asks people to "be natural" while also controlling themselves, creating impossible demands. Making peace with these contradictions eases anxiety.” > **— Bryant McGill**, *Opening Your Genius Through Language, Abstraction, and Manifesting - Livestream (Jan 2016)* ## Sources and Context - **Authoritative developed source:** [[livestreams/Opening Your Genius Through Language, Abstraction, and Manifesting - Livestream|Opening Your Genius Through Language, Abstraction, and Manifesting - Livestream]] — the Reminder reproduces the complete marked quotation object without alteration. For this workflow, the developed livestream document is the source authority. - **Interpretive context:** The command to be spontaneous becomes self-defeating when spontaneity is demanded and monitored. Naming the contradiction reduces the pressure to satisfy both incompatible instructions. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Simple Reminders|Simple Reminders]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Ramanujan Mathematical Universe|The Ramanujan Mathematical Universe]] - **Article:** [[articles/Thinking a Little Weird Without Murdering Its Strangeness|Thinking a Little Weird Without Murdering Its Strangeness]] - **Article:** [[articles/simple reminders/Your Future Begins with Your Next Thought|Your Future Begins with Your Next Thought]] - **Livestream:** [[livestreams/Opening Your Genius Through Language, Abstraction, and Manifesting - Livestream|Opening Your Genius Through Language, Abstraction, and Manifesting - Livestream]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Double Bind|Double Bind]] - [[wiki/Social Control|Social Control]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “Alan Watts described a social double-bind game. Society asks people to "be natural" while also controlling themselves, creating impossible demands. Making peace with these contradictions eases anxiety.” — Bryant McGill, Opening Your Genius Through Language, Abstraction, and Manifesting - Livestream (Jan 2016) https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-bryant-mcgill-social-demands-double-bind ```