Don't trust, verify.
Don't trust, verify.
“Selling is essentially a transfer of feelings.” ~ Zig Ziglar
I know a young stud named Kyle. Kyle loves to ride his motorcycle, really fast. He’s gotten it up to 180 mph on the highway. But Kyle hates to fly, because he distrusts it. And that’s due to the fact that while sitting in a plane, he’s not in control.
There’s no logic to Kyle’s feelings. Flying is, statistically, much safer than driving, especially at extreme speeds and on a motorcycle. But that information is irrelevant to Kyle, because his feelings are what filter his perceptions and direct his reasoning.
That behavior isn’t unique to Kyle. Just about everyone’s reasoning is driven by their feelings, even though—and most likely because—they’re largely unaware of it. And, like Kyle, one of their most powerful feelings is a desire for a sense of control.
It’s hard to see, but it’s everywhere. For example, it turns out that we don’t really care about the subject of gossip. What we care about is what the information means to us. In essence, we use gossip in an attempt to feel in control and secure about our futures:
“Individuals use evaluative information about others (i.e., gossip) to improve, promote, and protect themselves.”
We do the same when watching the news or scrolling through social media. We identify with particular ideas and groups, so that we can relax in our collective “knowing.” Consequently, this sense of connection and belonging provides a feeling of control.
Most of us have the human mind and motivation all wrong. We think that people are moving through the world trying to understand “reality,” in the hopes of making it better for themselves and for others. We’re not.
Instead, we’re rapidly screening and interpreting stimuli, searching for information that we believe can improve, promote, and protect ourselves. Or, more precisely, information that can improve and protect our images and ideas of ourselves.
Identification with gurus and groups is one of the most compelling sources of that information, and the people offering that panacea are acutely aware of it. They also know that “selling is essentially a transfer of feelings,” logic and consequences be damned.
These are extremely noisy times and we are facing serious problems in our interconnected world. Now is not the time to trust your feelings, and verify. Why not? Because you’re being fed information to verify those feelings at every turn.
So for everyone’s sake and for the sake of the planet, stop being sold. Pause and interrogate your reasoning intensely before you decide to follow your feelings, no matter how deeply those feelings may run.
In fact, the deeper the feelings, the more skeptical you should probably be.
Happy June!
☀️ Random information for the month of June
* “Top Gun: Maverick” broke Memorial Day weekend box office records. The blockbuster sequel starring Tom Cruise raked in $156 million in just four days, even without an opening in the Chinese market.
* If you type the word “askew” into the Google search box, the entire page will tilt slightly.
* Competitive M&M stacking has a new world record. Ibrahim Sadeq of Nasiriyah, Iraq, has managed to stack seven of the slippery little candies.
* Pollinating the seemingly endless fields of almond trees in California requires 85% to 90% of all honeybees available to pollinate in the U.S. Bees are trucked into California from across the country.
* Using Hubble Telescope data, NASA scientists found the expansion of the universe happening at a quicker clip than estimated in previous calculations.
* A Brazilian made the Guinness Book of Records for staying at one company for 84 years. Sales manager Walter Orthmann has been working at the textile manufacturer Renaux since he was 15.
* The lucrative perfume ingredient ambergris is formed from a secretion of the bile duct in the intestines of the sperm whale.
* A million seconds is over 11 days. A billion seconds is just under 32 years.
* A dog’s personality has little to do with its breed. In a new study, geneticists found that only 9% of a dog’s temperament can be traced to its heritage.
* The supercomputer race heats up. The US-built Frontier has outstripped Japan’s Fugaku as the world’s fastest supercomputer, ending its two-year reign.
* A luxury umbrella drew ire on Chinese social media. The Gucci-Adidas collaboration costs 11,100 yuan ($1,653) but isn’t even waterproof.
* According to a 2015 study, less than half the world's cultures kiss romantically.
* Scientists have found that fecal transplants were able to reverse key signs of aging in rodents.
* Using human urine in fertilizer could reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help plants thrive.
* Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant once heard a community radio station doing fundraising, and the DJ said for $10,000 the station would promise to never play “Stairway to Heaven” again. Robert called in, and paid the amount.
* Traffic jams are just a math problem. The average driver spends three days a year stuck in traffic, but an Israeli AI firm says it doesn’t have to be that way.
* Argentinian scientists discovered a 30-foot “dragon of death.” The recently discovered pterosaur may have ruled the skies 86 million years ago.
* The ancient Maya practice of gluing gemstones onto teeth may have been for more than bling.
* The bark of Eucalyptus deglupta trees peels off throughout the year, creating a rainbow-like effect as it reveals the fresh, bright green bark below.
* The so-called hanger reflex was first reported in 1991 and in a 2015 study, researchers studied 120 people between the ages of 19 and 65 and observed head rotation in 95.8 percent of subjects. Try it and judge for yourself.
👁 Take a look
Kevin Costner honors Ray Liotta with a perfect “Field Of Dreams” tale. Click here.
🎭 Think about this
“Society is a masked ball, where everyone hides his real character, and reveals it by hiding.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
“We are so accustomed to masquerade ourselves before others that we end by deceiving ourselves.” ~ François de la Rochefoucauld
“Tear off the mask. Your face is glorious.” ~ Rumi
☝️ And don’t forget
I’d love to hear from you. (I read all messages, and try to respond.) Reach out to me with any recommendations, recipes, questions, complaints or comments, or simply to say hi: hello@tomasacker.com (or use the contact form).
Until next time, hang in there. And when the time feels right, go for it!
(Note: Turn up the volume. It’ll give you chills!)
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https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25344294/