The question came. There was silence in the training room. No one knew where it was coming from. It was like everybody was shocked.
“The basic purpose of NLP is to be in control of your mind, isn’t it?”
Silence in the group.
The participants were stunned. What kind of a question is this? We are in control of our minds, aren’t we?
Well…are you? Are your beliefs, values and attitudes really yours? Did the question ever occur to you that maybe, just maybe your beliefs and values and attitudes which you hold to be true are borrowed from somewhere else?
Who’s controlling your mind? I wrote elsewhere that either you control your mind or somebody else will. Who? Anybody. When your mind is passively and unquestioningly accepting “how things are” you are in a state of passivity. You have no say. No decision. No choice.
I like it when our students begin to think for themselves. They seem to find solutions for their life problems where before there were none. They start thinking outside the box. They begin to think again as individuals. They conceive of their existence different from other members of society. They take the reins of personal responsibility and power back into their own hands.
For the rest of the people… hmmm… they love to complain when the results are not to your liking. How is it working for them? Not good.
Here is a little story to illustrate the idea.
The PR person started the meeting with the board of directors. She said: “Let’s remember this very important point as we engage in considerations over this campaign today. Our goal is to sell these lies and to increase the bottom line. We know they’re lies. We know that we’re selling a made-up, concocted and fictional illusion. Yes, we all know that. We might as well say it out loud. But ultimately, what we are selling here is inertia. We want passive acceptance of our product. What we don’t want is any questioning or inquiry. That’s how we sell the most.”
The board of directors although surprised by the boldness of the statement agreed with nods of approval.
The chairman asked, “What about the other project?”
The PR person answered: “We’re now working on the project Soft Mashed Potatoes.” That’s our goal. Acceptance of our products in a soft, mellow “mashed potatoes” way.
One of the members of the board spoke next.
Are you insane? Are you falling victim to your own strategy? You’re asleep all of you!
What makes you believe you’ll ever be successful in this way? Do you really think people will accept the “mashed potatoes” strategy? It is too over the top!
Oh, don’t worry, the PR person said. People prefer to be told how it is. They don’t want to think. Virginia University and Harvard university studyhas proven that people would rather get an electric shock than think by themselves. We have the science on our side.
The board of directors suddenly woke up. This is massive! Their brains started working… This time, instead of arguing for more profit, for the first time in their lives they started…thinking. And they were seized with fear. What if people refuse the “soft mashed potatoes” strategy? What if people start thinking for themselves? Can we still sell them our junk?
Finally, bumping into each other, arguing and stumbling out of the room, they left the meeting one by one.
The PR person did not get the campaign accepted that day. She went home and thought and thought. Long and hard. In the evening she took a new decision.
She drew an outsized poster which she put on the wall atop of her desk:
INDIVIDUAL THINKING ALLOWED!!
She put a big smiley face next to it. It felt good.
Until next time, be well.
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