Human communication model – motivation direction

Here, we consider some important background on how human beings process. This is not meant to be a detailed cognitive psychology course nor, to be honest, too much on the NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) perspective – there’s plenty of material in books and online for those of you particularly interested in the detail. I just want to extract some of the fundamentals here to help understand why GAINMORE works at all.
 
So let’s start with a simple example:
Don’t think of a pink tree.
 
Obviously, you are trying to not think of a pink tree, and in order to not think about it, you have to think about it!
 
Simply put, the unconscious mind cannot process negatives – the unconscious (or sub-conscious if you prefer), follows commands. There is no evaluation, judgment, it does not rationalise, considier, review, weigh-up or assess right or wrong – it is filtered (the potential complexity of your own filters we’ll come back to – that is the job of the conscious mind). Yet the conscious mind relies on the unconscious to process the command before any evaluation can take place. Make sense?
 
Thus, to not think about a pink tree, your unconscious mind has to process the command to not think about a pink tree!
 
Let’s consider a golfing analogy again: For example, as you address the ball on the tee, you might tell yourself to NOT hit the trees? ?Don?t hit the trees, I will not hit the trees etc etc?. What are you telling yourself?
That?s right? hit the trees!
The UNConscious command is to not HIT THE TREES! And the Unconscious is very very very good at following commands! It will arrange to achieve through your muscles, body etc, whatever is necessary, to follow your command.
It?s a little like your conscious mind is the Royal Sergeant Major, and the unconscious is your platoon of squaddies! They follow your orders! It doesn?t matter how daft the order is, how harmful. The Unconscious mind follows orders. Fortunately, when the orders threaten the unconscious (e.g it?s continued existence), there are some safety mechanisms in place.
 
What has this to do with motivation then?
Essentially, our motivation direction leans either TOWARDS the value we want to satisfy, or it is AWAY-FROM a value we do not wish to satisfy.
 
Some people are fairly balanced in their motivation direction and, hopefully, you are able to use both. Most of you, I suspect, drive a car: When you drive a car you want to get somewhere – you intend to move TOWARDS your destination. Some people will get in their car, drive as quickly as possible to get to their destination in the shortest possible time. Others, want to get to their destination but are hesitant and very careful, slowly driving as safely as possible and forever concerned about NOT being in an accident. The latter are demonstrating ‘AWAY-FROM’ behaviour, the former ‘TOWARDS’.
 
Consider an alternative example, Many people have a desire to become wealthy (or financially independent or ‘better off’), others are driven away-from being poor (or in debt, or dependent).
 
The problem with AWAY FROM motivation is that issue with the unconscious mind being unable to process negatives. I do not want to be poor. I do not want to slice this tee shot. I do not want to be in a car accident. See the problem now?