Sunday, April 15, 2007

Ever Lost Your Car Keys?

Have you ever been rushing around your home, getting ready to go out, go to work, go pick the kids up from school, go put the pet in the car in order to take it to the vet, etc..., and you KNOW that you put your car keys - RIGHT THERE, (where you usually do) when you last came in from driving the car?

Have you checked THREE TIMES in the same place - the usual place, and the keys are just GONE?

Yeah - the keys just got up and walked away, huh?

WRONG.....STOP THINKING ABOUT THE USUAL PLACE
Stop thinking about the picture of YOU in your head, placing the keys in 'the usual' place because:

Either YOU DID NOT DO THAT - as usual when you came in last time
OR
They have been MOVED!

Most people will run the scenario, complete with picture in their minds' eye for several minutes while they're feeling like they're "LOSING IT," trying to find their keys!

All this is doing is IMPRINTING a STRONGER MESSAGE that:

"THE KEYS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE THERE, IN THE USUAL PLACE!"

Instead of.....

"Look for where the keys might be."

While your eyes are actually searching around, your mind isn't actually connected with the eyes anymore because YOU ARE SO FERVENTLY CONCENTRATING on the wrong picture and your mind can't function at its best. You will likely even SEE YOUR KEYS BUT NOT RECOGNIZE THEM while you're running the thoughts about "The keys are supposed to be in the usual place," through your mind!

Ever finally FOUND your keys in the most OBVIOUS PLACE RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU after about 10 minutes of looking, being frustrated, and almost pulling your hair out?

This is because it took you passing by your darned keys with your eyes about a gazillion times before your brain finally told itself to stop listening TO YOU and just SEE THE KEYS for what they ARE and for WHERE they are sitting!

The impressions you had of insanity and the slight nervousness you might have had - and brief thoughts of 'Am I going CRAZY? Why can't I find the damn keys???!!' are from DISSONANCE in your brain while it tries to sort out why on Earth you are telling the eyes to look for an image set in your brain. The brain is actually going a little 'loopy' because YOU KEEP LOOKING at the USUAL PLACE with your mind - and the KEYS ARE THERE....but when you physically look at the usual place with your eyes, the keys AREN'T THERE. Your mind, for several minutes is expecting, just like you are expecting - that if it looks in 'the right place' then you and your mind will find the keys!

The solution is:

Make your mind 'blank' - you already know what the keys look like and that's all you should be looking for! Think of the keys - but not of the setting - and just 'start to look for the keys.' Don't look for the 'keys on the hook,' or the 'keys on the telephone table,' or the 'keys on the corkboard,' or wherever the usual hanging place for your keys is. Just find the keys!

Very subtle 'braintricks' occur all the time in humans. If we learn to STOP doing these things to ourselves, our lives can become more productive and less frustrating.

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