Another typical Sunday at the Zanzibar household. I am working with my boys on our weekly clean the house chores. As I am moving kid stuff from the living room (which the boys think is thier closet) to thier rooms, my eye catches something in my youngest sons pile of paper work.
A sticker that read "No Violence is GREAT!"
One the surface this seems perfectly fine, even good. But something came to my mind that made me think of the phrase "The road to hell is paved with good intentions".
The intention of this little sticker is wonderful. Nobody condones violence. But here is my thoughts on the matter.
I have done a LOT of reading and personal reflection on how our minds work. How we process information, how we establish habits and all that fun stuff. There is one thing that I have read over and over again from many different sources. Our subconscious minds do not understand negatives.
What does that mean? It means that to our subconscious minds, the phrase "No Violence is GREAT!" actually translates into "Violence is GREAT!" Talk about unintended consequences!
This concept, btw, extends into many realms of our everyday lives. Many people work from the position of "Don't do this" or "Don't do that". I like to work from a position of "here is what you CAN do!". I try and deal with my boys that way also. I do point out things that they should not do, and why, but I always alway try and point out what the CAN do! It would seem to me that a life centered around "CAN" is much better than a life centered around "can't".
If you are involved in any sort of compaign, or think you might be in the future, think about this. Instead of telling people what they "shouldn't" do, try and find a way to convey your message in a way that is about what they "should" do.
I think the Beatles stated it in the simplest terms. Instead of "No H8t", maybe it really is "All you need is LOVE".
Happy Sunday Everybody!
A sticker that read "No Violence is GREAT!"
One the surface this seems perfectly fine, even good. But something came to my mind that made me think of the phrase "The road to hell is paved with good intentions".
The intention of this little sticker is wonderful. Nobody condones violence. But here is my thoughts on the matter.
I have done a LOT of reading and personal reflection on how our minds work. How we process information, how we establish habits and all that fun stuff. There is one thing that I have read over and over again from many different sources. Our subconscious minds do not understand negatives.
What does that mean? It means that to our subconscious minds, the phrase "No Violence is GREAT!" actually translates into "Violence is GREAT!" Talk about unintended consequences!
This concept, btw, extends into many realms of our everyday lives. Many people work from the position of "Don't do this" or "Don't do that". I like to work from a position of "here is what you CAN do!". I try and deal with my boys that way also. I do point out things that they should not do, and why, but I always alway try and point out what the CAN do! It would seem to me that a life centered around "CAN" is much better than a life centered around "can't".
If you are involved in any sort of compaign, or think you might be in the future, think about this. Instead of telling people what they "shouldn't" do, try and find a way to convey your message in a way that is about what they "should" do.
I think the Beatles stated it in the simplest terms. Instead of "No H8t", maybe it really is "All you need is LOVE".
Happy Sunday Everybody!
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