Shifting the Balance
16 Dec
{Excerpt from Shifting the Balance}
The Structure of the Balance
When you act, you do so because you believe more good (pleasure) than bad (pain) will come of it. The complexities of each situation faced may vary greatly, but in the end this statement effectively encapsulates the essence of behavior.
As a simple example of the balance in action, offering you ten dollars to drive across the country would most likely result in inaction; too much pain would be associated with the idea of investing so much time, energy, and capital into the task. But upping the offer to ten thousand dollars might just tip the scales toward action because of an increase in perceived pleasure–more money.
Whichever side wins the internal tug of war–pleasure or pain–determines whether or not action ensues.
However, to truly grasp the power and potential of the balance, a more thorough examination is needed. Pleasure, while initially appearing as a wholly positive facet, is actually composed of two distinct elements: an incentive that compels you forward and a deterrent that holds you back.
The same is true of pain. While it might at first strike you as a negative in all cases, when used properly it can serve as one of your most valuable tools for change. How can this be? The examples below will help to demonstrate.
The feelings and sensations received from eating the last piece of chocolate cake, smoking a cigarette after a long day at work, and spending time away from the books to socialize are pleasurable to most, yet they stand in the way of progress when the goal is to lose weight, quit smoking, or improve one’s grades.
These types of examples fall into the negative aspect of pleasure, representing desirable experiences, personal qualities, or resources that hold men and women back from attaining their true goals and ambitions.
When approaching a crowded intersection, what is one of the first things you do? Chances are that you look both ways before crossing. But why? Why do you and so many others take this action? The reason stems from positive pain.
While you could look left, right, and left again because you find great pleasure in abiding by the rules of childhood, it’s relatively certain you do so to avoid injury. Put another way, you wish to avoid pain.
It’s the same reason you avoid arriving late to work each morning or investing your life savings in a questionable investment opportunity–you’re instinctively compelled to avoid the pain such experiences would bring into your life.
So you see, the potential pain of certain actions–or inactions–provides the incentive needed to follow a particular path.
Consider the following:
A young man wishes to improve his health. In particular, his personal target is to quit smoking. For years he has struggled with the habit, stopping and starting more than a dozen times. However, after visiting his father in the hospital, it all changes. From a single experience, he is able to quit and never relapse.
What caused the change? Positive pain. His father shared his habit of smoking, and after a lifetime relationship with cigarettes, his health was quickly declining. This was pain our smoker wished to avoid, so much so that he quit that very day.
This example clearly demonstrates the value and impact of positive pain. The potential loss, regret, or price you could pay for giving in or giving up on your goals and ideas is a pain that will forever drive you forward, ensuring the life and experiences you desire eventually come to pass.
With these traits in mind, we find a total of four unique aspects of the balance: the positive and negative side of pleasure as well as the positive and negative side of pain, leaving you with two powerful incentives to act and two equally powerful deterrents. It’s these elements that determine which actions are taken, which are avoided and, in turn, the course of your life.
Now let’s see how you can easily control each one…
{End of Excerpt}
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