Would you like a “Magic Pill”?
There is no doubt we live in culture of rapid change, technological and medical breakthroughs seem to happen every few weeks.
Advertisers know that on average people’s attention span is shrinking and they are tailoring their advertisements to suit. They know they that you want instant quick fixes to the problems you face in your life.
So that’s what they’re promising…
… and that’s what most people are buying!
Their messages appear plausible for a least two reasons:
1. Every now and again someone really does “get rich quick” with a lottery win or some other lucky break. (Most of these people lose it all again pretty quickly but that’s another story)
2. As human beings our brains are wired to follow the easiest path and react to short-term cause-and-effect.
But the bottom line is that deep down most of us don’t want to pay the price of making those changes in our lives, somehow it just seems easier to believe in a quick fix!
This “Magic Pill” thinking is amazingly common despite the fact that it goes against universal deeply held natural wisdom.
I come across “Magic Pill” thinking again and again with people when they first contact me for coaching around taking control of their life. They sometimes seem surprised that I don’t have a magic wand to wave to cure all their ills.
The good news is that those who decide to continue are even more surprised at how easy change can be when you build small consistent habits with a through time commitment.
What do I mean by deeply held natural wisdom?
One of the metaphors that I like to use around this area to help people get out of this quick fix mentality is to get them thinking about gardening 
You might like to think of it this way
If you want to improve your health and save money by eating your own fruit and vegetables, would you just expect to be able to plant the seeds one week and then eat your feast the next week?
No, we all know that would be crazy!
If you want to harvest a good crop of healthy food from your garden then you have to plant the seeds months ahead of harvest. You would have to spend time nurturing and watering the seeds of protecting them from weeds and pests.
You might choose to use of pesticides to minimise your work but that begins to bring in the hints of “Magic Pill” thinking too, don’t you think?
In fact, in many ways good gardening is a great metaphor for life and really helps nurture an understanding of how success comes from small actions sustained over time.
If you’re someone wants to develop the habit of taking small-sustained actions over time to make a huge difference in your life - then maybe you can start by planting a few seeds and nurturing them?
If you choose to do this not only will you be installing into your unconscious mind the patterns of universal success, you’ll also end up with a good meal too :o)
As a final thought if you want to help inoculate your children against this epidemic of “Magic Pill” thinking, why not get them involved in planting their own seeds.
There are a lot of potential benefits to this but maybe the biggest benefit is the seeds you’re planting in their minds.
Bye for now,
Anth.
November 23rd, 2008 at 5:54 pm
Would like to say thanks for putting out such positive energy into the world(dont you love the net and it’s positve benefits) and keeping it simple. This principle you speak on can be found in the Word of God, which it seems the majority doesn’t believe in or act upon any more . Going back to the basics and recognizing that a microwave mentality with the wrong motives pushes us further back into a weaker mental states and ways of thinking. I’ve been getting your emails I believe for a few yrs and read every now and again but today I am making a decision to check daily and forward and pass on this motivating and inspiring knowledge to other’s that are in need of some good mental food. I wish you much success in all of your positive endeavors. Thanks for help and insight.