I heard Zig Ziglar say once “Repetition is the mother of learning.”

I’ve been reading a lot of wonderful blogs discussing the nature of why some people succeed and others “fail” in business, or being an entrepreneur, etc. If you are familiar with Neurolingustic Programming (NLP) there is no failure, only feedback.

But we’re not taught this growing up.  You failed an exam. You didn’t make the cheerleading club, and so on. You and I learned by repetition good or bad. If you practiced a task, heard a song enough times it’s cemented in your brain – just like learning how to “ride a bike”.  It’s the same with your perceived “image” of self. If people said negative things about you enough times, you grew up believing it.  “I’ve always been poor at math”, “I’ve always been this way”…

There may be negative life experiences in the past that when recalled or remembered, stimulate emotional associations and behaviors.  It’s these associations and feelings that keep you from taking action to move forward in life.

The practice of repeating these experiences over and over again (looping) in your mind is in effect “brainwashing”! Because aren’t you repeating he failure scenario – whatever that was – over and over again in your mind?

I love windy days. And I know why because I associate windy days with my first, incredibly, romantic kiss at dusk on a brisk, beautiful Fall evening. Every time there is a windy day, the sound of rustling leaves, my hair blowing gently across my face, I feel not only wonderful and blissful, but remember the “kiss” as well. I repeat, ”relive” the memory and the feelings triggered by windy days.

Now, advertisers know how important repetition is:

• Repeating a phrase 3x is the magic number in an ad for consumers to remember
• Email 7 or more times to be remembered
• Associate emotion with an ad to be more effective and remembered
• Use humor to be remembered

Hey, wait a minute … are they brainwashing us?

Watch this video …

So how is it advertisers can use repetition and emotions to get you and me to buy products and things we don’t need?

How can you use this same information to learn new behaviors, healthier mindsets about yourself? How can you believe you will achieve your goals, dreams and more?

How to stop “brainwashing” yourself

• For every “I can’t” immediately replace it with “I can”
• ALWAYS recall your successes
• Change your routine
• Be consistent – keep doing the positive stuff, never give up
• Set small achievable goals to ensure success
• Change the word “failure to “feedback” – if something didn’t work out, try a different way and see what happens
• Question where negative feelings about yourself come from. From a memory?  Memories are just that. But, they have the incredible power to hold you back. So, is it true for you now, today, in the present moment? If not, see if you can let it go …

Zig is right, “Repetition is the mother of learning”. Start using positive repetition in your mind to reinforce the good things happening in your life and do it consistently – watch what happens.

If you’d like to make a comment, please do. Thank you in advance.