We often want to assist people by telling them what to avoid. Upon analysis, however, you will discover that so often when you tell a person what to avoid, the opposite results. The reason is that the brain does not envision “don’t” or any other negative-type word. The brain envisions pictures, illusions, visions, and images.
Here are some examples:
- Don’t think of the color blue. What color did your brain envision?
- Think of any house pet except a little white kitten with a bright red bow around its neck.
- The park sign, “Don’t walk on the grass” is less effective than “Please use walkways.”
- The teacher who tells the student not to look at his neighbor’s paper is having the