Indoctrinate, condition or brainwash
I remember hearing a story about a woman who went to the butcher to buy meat. She asked for a ten-pound roast, but she added that she wanted a couple inches cut off one end. When the butcher asked her why she wanted this, she replied, “I don’t know. That’s what my mother always ordered.” Her curiosity led her to ask her mother why she ordered meat like that. Her mother replied, “I don’t know. That’s just what my mother did.” Finally, the two of them went to see Grandma to ask her why she would order a ten pound roast and then she would ask the butcher to cut the tip off of it. Grandma replied, “My toaster was too small.”
Many times in life we do things without knowing why we are doing them in a certain way. It may be because we are following the example of a father. Perhaps we learned how to do something in school and have repeatedly followed the lessons learned. Perhaps we have held on to things that worked for us in the past without being open to new ideas.
I remember a few years ago when my children asked me why I only accepted cash or checks in my office. I explained that there were four banks on the next corner and it was easy for customers to get cash and for me to make deposits. They encouraged me to set up a system of debits and credits, but I resisted a lot. I knew my system was working and I wasn’t sure if a change would be a good thing. Finally, they convinced me to try the new system for 30 days and I have never looked back. They were right and I had been a fool.
Are there things in your life that you do without thinking about why you do them? Are you reluctant to try new methods (even for 30 days)? Have you done your research to see if there are any ideas or tools you can get that will save time and be more efficient?
Indoctrinating, conditioning, or brainwashing a person involves programming them to think, do, and feel a certain way repeatedly, without hesitation. The American BF Skinner is known for his work in the field of behavioral conditioning based on stimuli, rewards and punishments. Just as animals are trained, so are humans through our social inputs, such as family, television, the Internet.
We may not realize it, but there are probably many things that we accept without hesitation.
Perhaps it is time to be more open-minded about our prospects.
Are you willing this week to think about why you do things a certain way? Or hold on to beliefs you hold dear?