Believing what you hear can be damaging

Tweet A properly crafted message, slogan or jingle can make or break a brand.  And you know the ones that I am talking about.   Call to mind the sound of the duck quacking about supplemental insurance, "How will you pay your bills?  Af.......", Complete this one;  "Red Robbin......".  Or "5 Dollar, 5 Dollar ______  _______"

And of course, our local fav, Rosenberg's, Rosenberg's, _ _ _ _ Tu-lane.  This one shows your heritage and age.

These jingles, slogans and messages are designed to hook us and stick in our minds.

So, if our brains unconsciously absorb these sounds and can create an uncontrolled recall, then think about the thousands of sounds and sayings and wives tales that we have heard throughout our lives.   Like, "that will put your eye out" or "dry your hair or you'll catch a cold" or "if its sounds to good to be true, it probably isn't"  or "don't invest in the stock market" or  "if you keep doing that you'll go blind", oops, too much.  

These tales, myths, beliefs and sayings exist in every culture and are often so pervasive that we sadly and blindly take them as the truth.

But what we don't realize is the affect these sayings have on the development of our personalities and the way we see life and ourselves.  We could be unconsciously creating negative thoughts that are holding us back and not even realize it.  We may not have taken the risk to buy an investment property because Uncle Lou  said real estate is a bad investment.  Or the family adviser who said "you can't start a business unless you have a lot of capital".  While that may be good advice, it may have stopped you completely from moving forward with your multi-million dollar idea. 

And my all-time personal favorite:  "Einstein said, 'the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result".  I love this one because, as it turns out, Einstein never said this....Einstein.  If you google it, you will find the real quote, from an unexpected author, Rita Mae Brown, on an unexpected topic from her book Sudden Death in 1983.
Think about it.  Einstein would have done an experiment over and over again, and would have expected a different result.  That would be the definition of experimenting!  Thomas Edison is well known for doing something over and over again until he got it right.   Most great inventions and successes came from repeated attempts expecting a different result.

The power of these beliefs is amazing.  This one, incorrect "Einstein" statement, that has been passed down and spread like a malicious virus, actually made me question myself.  Was I actually insane?  Am I trying to build a business by going to work everyday and expecting a different result like more sales, or am I delusional?   Do people think I am crazy?   They are telling me that I am.  I mean by "definition" I am doing the same thing over and over again, every day trying to make it work.  They must be right.

The revelation about this saying came from me actually googling it.(how sad).  Once I realized that this saying had no basis, the chain of fear that I might need therapy was suddenly gone. I laughed out loud, I mean LOL.  I could not believe that I fell for that ridiculous statement. 

Then pity set in for those who had been telling me this and I could see their chains that were holding them back from their true potential.  And yes, a few who ironically might actually be insane, according to Webster's real definition.

We hear these sayings like we hear the commercial jingles.  If we are not careful of how we process this information, it can sneak in to our consciousness and become reality.  Think about all of those sayings and opinions that we carry with us through out life.  If only we could learn the true definition of these debilitating tales earlier, how much anguish could we have saved ourselves.

So simply remember, "believing what you hear can be damaging".  Lets hope this statement gets spread around and becomes a reality.

Well, you know what they say;  Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.  Wait, is this one true?

©Mark Subervielle 2013