Sunday, April 3, 2011

Power of Assosciation.


Ahh, it's nice to have my beloved laptop back in use.

Good Evening folks. After relentless banter, packing and unpacking and a night spent in a car, I have finally moved into my new apartment! Seeing as this is my first accommodation bought outright, I feel rather elated. Seeing as I've only unpacked two of 9 boxes of stuff, and all my furniture lies in disassembled heaps, I have much work to do tomorrow. I am also lucky enough to have moved right next to a Thai restaurant and general chinese shop. I love St Lucia already.

Above: The grand total of furniture assembled in my flat.

Anyway, enough about my excruciatingly mundane life. Tonight is a night for adventure into the depths of the human mind. Not really, but we can learn to trick ourselves into feeling good when exposed to certain things. A common occurence is when we feel sexual thrill with certain women, or when our stomachs twist when we hear of gruesome death. Our mind learns from experience, and with this, we can train it to create certain associations and forget old ones.

Similar to false memory implantation, an the old string-on-the-finger trick, association helps our sub-conscious remember what it likes and what it dislikes. I'm sure you can make an educated guess as the where this post is going. However, mind over, well, mind, is not such an easy task. As is more often than not the most powerful way to overcome a task, subtly is required to trick yourself into a better mood.

Anyone who has ever suffered from minor insomnia or sleep deprivation will know of the constant exposure strategy. Leaving small notes around the house reminding you to sleep and what not will plant seeds of fatigue within you. This tactic can be implemented for a number of problems such as minor eating disorders, lack of discipline, memory loss or for simply learning things. I'm sure we can all recite the dominoes pizza number by wrote, but how many of us sat down and tried to remember it? Lines from movies, prices for food, street names and locations, these are all generally due to constant exposure. Which is why you'll find that locals know much more than you do. I can barely find my way out of the suburb and yet, fellow students could find their way to a packet of noodles blindfolded.

Strict diet? Then why add fuel to the fire. By playing your favourite music, putting on a movie or simply enjoying the scenery, you may find that your mind wanders from the taste of endless salads and connects the green goodness with an enjoyable activity. Turning routine to habit is the key. It should come to the point where if you hear your favourite track, you automatically reach for an invisible apple, or call up information from the depths of your knowledge.

Physical reminders are, I find, the most potent associative tool in your arsenal. Whether it be a wristband put on for the sake of a promise, or a necklace worn to remind you of self-discipline, the constant physical reminder serves a great purpose in keeping us aware of our obligations. Again, you will find repetition a powerful ally in creating external memories.

If you're interested i the science behind fake memories, a quick search will render many informative sites which show evidence for either which way. Associative Psychology is a course in it's own and cannot be summed up in a simply blog post by a mere student. However, I hope this has helped you create the oppurtunity to overcome forgetfulness & lack of discipline.

A trained mind is not a caged one, rather, it is free of servitude to impulsive notions and desires.

Have a great day. I mean it, this blog brings me happiness and I am warmed to simply be able to share my ideas with such audience.

- Oscar.

32 comments:

  1. I fully intend to use some of these strategies in my emerging fitness routine. Portable mp3 players really are amazingly useful for this sort of thing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. "students could find their way to a packet of noodles blindfolded"...Me at 3 a.m.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Good stuff mate, very interesting

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thank you for sharing this with us. I really like that picture btw.

    ReplyDelete
  5. not bad, nothing like having your own place.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Awesome post. Glad you managed to get into your apartment :B

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hope you settle in your new place. Mattress on the flor, that takes me back.

    ReplyDelete
  8. very interesting read, thanks for sharing

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks Oscar, this was a nice read! +1 fan.

    ReplyDelete
  10. wait leaving notes around the house saying "sleep" will make you go to sleep easier? i did not know that.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I'm glad you feel good after being able to share all this with us friend - Waiting for your next post

    Mike.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Wow, that's some really good tips. I'll try to associate healthy eating with something enjoyable from now on.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Nice to see you now in your apartment :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. congrats on the successful move! Now you can let the blogging begin

    ReplyDelete
  15. glad to see your settled in! And I wear the fleur d' lys symbol around my neck almost everyday. It's a special symbol to me and holds some personal meaning, and I almost always assiocate the symbol with my own meaings..

    ReplyDelete
  16. Do you live in Australia, per chance? :3

    ReplyDelete
  17. Wow this could really help me out, cheers.

    ReplyDelete
  18. An own place is necessary for your well beeing ;)

    ReplyDelete
  19. Just about to move myself, great post :)

    ReplyDelete
  20. Oh yeah, I'm definitely going to try out the note pads for sleep. I always end up staying way later than I should and end up suffering for it. Thanks a lot!

    ReplyDelete
  21. You're an incredible writer! - Following for more!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Note pads? Personally, I wish they would help with waking up. :P

    ReplyDelete
  23. I'm moving soon too, I really hope it'll be smooth (as it's right across the entire country).

    ReplyDelete
  24. Gratz on new apartment, nice bed :)

    ReplyDelete
  25. I've never had problem sleeping, so I cant relate.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Looks like a lot :P hope you like it and good luck.

    ReplyDelete