Ever since I was in high school, whenever I buy sneakers I buy New Balance.
I knew somebody back then that got me a pretty steep discount in his shoe store, and I’ve been loyal ever since.
Once or twice I’ve tried other brands, but I always seem to come back to NB.
I’ve got this friend who is a Coke Zealot. Maybe you know the type?
When we go to a restaurant, and he orders a Coke, sometimes the waitress says, “We only have Pepsi, is that OK?”
She says it like it’s no big deal, which for most people it is. But my friend seems to take personal offense.
How dare they not understand how different Coke and Pepsi is!
The thing about us humans is that once we get into the habit of doing something, it can be pretty hard for us to change our ways.
Even with small things, like the order you do things in the morning, or the types of dishes you always seem to order at certain restaurants (which we seem to go to again and again.)
On a biological level, this makes perfect sense. Every time we do something, we’ve got to think about it. Choosing an unknown always involves risk, which requires more brain processing power to contemplate all the possible outcomes.
In choosing the familiar, we use hardly any brain processing power.
Safe, effective, and predictable.
Of course, this can be used against us.
Politicians and advertisers have known about this for years. People like me who always buy the same brand over and over again, without much thought, and people who vote for the same political party over and over again, without much thought.
Usually, this isn’t such a big deal. But it can be helpful to stop and ask yourself why you’re doing what you’re doing, just to be sure.
On the other hand, if you’re trying to get others to accept your idea, whatever it is, it can be extremely effective to show them that in accepting your idea, they’re doing the same thing they’ve always done.
That way, whatever you suggest will seem like a no brainer.
Since you’ve read this far, you’ll definitely understand how you can use this, and many other mind triggers like this, to both defend against abuse, and help others make the best decisions.
To learn more, click the link below: