Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Our Feelings Dictate Our Actions...

If you are like most people (including myself), you probably have brand name toothpaste or soap in your bathroom. Although we both INTELLECTUALLY know that generic toothpaste is basically the same as (and less expensive than) Colgate, we pay more for the brand name, because we FEEL that it will provide us with "fresher breath and whiter teeth."

Advertisers trick our emotional selves into feeling good about their product over their competitor's or generic, often causing us to CHANGE OUR BEHAVIOR to spend more for their product.

How can we use this basic "Psych 101" principle to our advantage, in order to empower ourselves to create our own positive change?

2 comments:

idoexist said...

Becoming comfortable with ourself, who we are at the core, seems to be the real question. Your point that advertisers dictate our feelings, plays on one's self-doubt. Instead of searching WITHIN, we have learned to search OUTSIDE ourselves to find this answer. Just as the media floods the airways with what they deam important news, while placing little emphasis on what would nurture the state of the soul and enhance our existence.

So, what then is the answer? How does one begin the process of looking within when it seems the answer is without?

iamjerry1 said...

Your comment is an excellent extension of the notions within this post. I believe that hope can first be found within this type of awareness. As Jean-Paul Sartre said, "Freedom is what you do with what's been done to you."

Just because we have been indoctrinated with these manipulative messages does not mean that we need to continue to be governed by them. Finding peace and balance can help each of us to find renewed confidence in our own judgment. Using some of the meditative exercises, offered throughout my website, can be a helpful place to start.

This approach will no doubt lead one on a journey that extends beyond psychology, and into philosophy, theology, and spirituality.