What does time and self brainwashing have in common?
Time as we know it is an amazing part of our lives. It has the power to distort and heal painful emotional events – but only from the past. The tomorrow we anticipate abruptly stops when we close our eyes at night and a new day starts again.
Time is a blur seemingly to continue in meshing one day into another. It leaves a deep impression as this is ” how I have always been” in one way or another. Yet each day we grow older.
Our youth flies by oblivious to change and aging. Yet we hold on to events that influence our lives forever – unless we learn from them and let go. Time doesn’t care. It just moves us forward or leaves us behind trying to capture the moments.
Tine doesn’t hold us back from exploring new adventures or innovating something new. Our emotions and personal histories do – even aging.
I heard Zig Ziglar say once “Repetition is the mother of learning.”
There may be negative life experiences in the past that when recalled , stimulate emotional associations and behaviors. It’s these associations and feelings that trap us unto believing we can’t do something we’ve always dreamed of doing.
The practice of repeating these experiences over and over again (looping) in your mind is in effect “self brainwashing”! Because aren’t you repeating he failure scenario – whatever that was – over and over again in your mind?
But time keeps going and before you realize it, you’re in your 60’s and wonder – where did the time go?
I love windy days. And I know why because I associate windy days with my first, incredibly, romantic kiss at dusk on a brisk, beautiful Fall evening. Every time there is a windy day, the sound of rustling leaves, my hair blowing gently across my face, I feel not only wonderful and blissful, but remember the “kiss” as well. I repeat, ”relive” the memory and the feelings triggered by windy days.
Then I snap out of the windy trance and realize it was so many years ago ….
Now, advertisers know how important repetition is:
- Repeating a phrase 3x is the magic number in an ad for consumers to remember
- Email 7 or more times to be remembered
- Associate emotion with an ad to be more effective and remembered
- Use humor to be remembered
Hey, wait a minute … is this brainwashing ?
So how is it advertisers can use repetition and emotions to get you and me to buy products and things we don’t need?
How can you use this same information to learn new behaviors, healthier mindsets about yourself? How can you believe you will achieve your goals, dreams and more? How can you stop self brainwashing and use POSITIVE repetition instead of negative ones.
How to stop “brainwashing” yourself
- For every “I can’t” immediately replace it with “I can”
- There is no “failure” only feedback
- ALWAYS recall your successes
- Change your routine
- Be consistent – keep doing the positive stuff, never give up
- Set small achievable goals to ensure success
- Change the word “failure to “feedback” – if something didn’t work out, try a different way and see what happens
- Question where negative feelings about yourself come from. From a memory? Memories are just that. But, they have the incredible power to hold you back. So, is it true for you now, today, in the present moment? If not, see if you can let it go …
Zig is right, “Repetition is the mother of learning”. Start using positive repetition in your mind to reinforce the good things happening in your life and do it consistently – watch what happens
Ok. So these are actions you can take now. But what about time? Here’s the absolute truth about time. It’s mystery. When we’re young we ignore it. But as grow older we become more aware of the passing of time. So here it is:
Live and experience life one day at a time
Simply because today, the current moment, is the only real experience we have. It’s the only time when TIME is with us! It’s the time we really know and feel because when we close our eyes at night, today becomes a memory.