The tone of any communication will eventually be met with a reciprocal tone. It is difficult to provide anything other than a reciprocal posture. Often people reciprocate immediately. Sometimes they reciprocate after a prolonged, persistent tone. When you go on the offense with someone, it makes it difficult for them to respond any other way… Continue reading The Law of Reciprocal Postures
Category: Positive Thinking
Quit on a High Point
From Stanford Research Institute – International, p. 173: Traditionally, learning of a new skill concentrates on rote repetition, reiterating the skill a large number of times until it is consistently performed correctly. But recent developments in learning theory, which have been applied with particular success in sports-training methodology, indicate that the rote repetition concept tends… Continue reading Quit on a High Point
People Live In to Your Expectations of Them
A long time ago I worked in a photo lab. One of the secretaries used to remark to me about a particular customer: “I don’t like her, she’s dour, she never smiles, she’s antisocial”. Sure enough, this person didn’t smile, didn’t chat, was very perfunctory. So I said, “I’m gonna do an experiment. Every time… Continue reading People Live In to Your Expectations of Them
Motives Matter
Recently a friend was discussing the topic of timeouts for children and she described them as “abandonment”. Are timeouts really abandonment? Our lives are filled with things that can be used “for good or evil”. Are knives violent? Are cars murderous? Clearly, the answer in both cases is no— intent separates a useful knife from… Continue reading Motives Matter
A Scientific Basis for New Age Bullshit
If you’ve spent any time around New Agers, you’ve probably heard something like: You get more of whatever you think about. Bullshit, right? We have no problem taking credit for all the good in our lives (my job, my house… my hard work!); we are less inclined to consider any causal relationship between our thoughts… Continue reading A Scientific Basis for New Age Bullshit
Difficult Times
Yes, things are difficult. Relationship, job, economy, planet… even hair is difficult. But look what can come from difficult times. When our founding fathers left England, surely times were difficult for them. What did they do? They created The Declaration of Independence. (Thanks, Nancy McMoneagle) Plants grow better in the presence of shit. When shit… Continue reading Difficult Times