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I totally believe in carrots and sticks. But, in your article, you seem to imply that a person should somehow convince themselves that a stick is really a carrot. And, you seem to imply that that can be done with a pros and cons list. And I just disagree with that.
And there’s no several methods both won’t work, or a combination of the two.
I’d say it’s more like: within almost every every action is a carrot and a stick. But by focusing on the stick and ignoring the carrot, you refuse to take action. The trick with this is to magnify the carrot and minimize the stick.
Think of your friend trying to convince you to get sushi (or whatever).. he’s like “come on ude.. think about that delicious, awesome california roll” and all of a sudden it’s more salient.. and you’re like “okay, screw it.. lets get sushi. Nothing about the objective situation has changed, just your perception. It’s still the same sushi it was 10 minutes ago. Only thing that’s changes is your focus. Same with advertising. Same product buy depending on how it’s presented, likelihood of purchase changes.
The Pros/cons list is the simplest of perception techniques and again, there are more advanced techniques.
Which is exactly why that association needs to be changed.They impulsively and subconsciosly believe that today's carrot is more important than tomorrow's stick.
The ideas behind this article is core to my technique:
Want to stop smoking?... By the time you finish this article, you'll be ready to stub your habit | Daily Mail Online
For instance in his book, the reason he kept smoking? He associated it with being a rebel. He liked the idea of being the naughty, rebellious doctor (carrot.) Once he broke that association, there’s no reason to smoke any longer. He could have reprogrammed “Smoking makes me a rebellious cool doctor,” (carrot) with “smoking makes me a smelly bum.” (stick).... there’s a lot of leeway and subjectivity in rewards and punishments. The trick is to use that to your advantage.
This is exactly how Allen Carr’s Eastway to Quit Smoking book works too. It takes all the smokes “Pros” of smoking, and shows the reader why they’re bull.
Without any of those mental “pros” the problem literally disappears effortlessly. That’s exactly what happened to me. I smoked for 10+ years, read the book, and i just lost any desire to smoke.
Same thing with anything else. He has Easyway to Quit Smoking, Easyway to quit drinking, Easyway to quit gambling. They all work. I read all those books and just reverse engineered the technique. It just so happens that CBT uses similar techniques.
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