3 ms·

To ameliorate that you could find external mantras that resonate with your idea of who you want to be. I feel like the biggest weakness of this system could be

To ameliorate that you could find external mantras that resonate with your idea of who you want to be. I feel like the biggest weakness of this system could be that, if the mantras don't jive with your conception of a better person, you'll never be able to stick to the schedule.

tobtoh 16y ago
Totally agree. It can be it's biggest weakness, but it can also be its greatest strength depending on what you are trying to achieve. If you are trying to improve a specific aspect of your behaviour/life, then a specifically tailored set of mantras would be appropriate. If you are seeking to generally improve, then a 'preset' set of mantras could be as good, and may even be better (based on the principle that you can't improve what you don't know needs improving). I guess an analogy being the reason I like reading HN - it covers topics that I didn't know I would find interesting until I read about them. If I only read web pages specifically covering my interests, I'll never grow as a person as I would be forever stuck in my limited worldview.
araneae 16y ago
Even worse- it won't work if you don't believe it won't. It's a clear placebo effect type of situation. I'm one of those weird people that thinks medications- even ones given to me by a doctor- won't work. As a consequence, even biologically active drugs often fail to do anything for me. It's called the nocebo effect. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nocebo http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nocebo Anyway, for me, I'm so skeptical about things that self-help books are as helpful to me as being hit on the head with a frying pan. I actually did get the 4-hour work week out of the library but my eyes spent so much time rolling out of my head they started to hurt, so I threw it across the room.
- rapind 16y ago
  You should totally download my eBook which covers all of the intricacies of properly selecting self-help reading material. Free for an unlimited time: http://rapin.com/self-help.html http://rapin.com/self-help.html
  - eru 16y ago
    More subtlety would have helped.
- araneae 16y ago
  Wow, apparently Hacker News is filled with people who believe in stupid shit created by Indian mystics! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantra http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantra If you believe this, perhaps you'll also believe I have psychic link with my cat... I swear, I know what she's thinking. It involves mice, so I know it's true.
  - alexophile 16y ago
    The practice of Mantra recitation is only one application of a trait of the human brain and how it functions. Namely, that reciting something aloud speeds up the process of internalization. Have you ever had a music instructor that made you sing your part instead of playing it? Same concept. If you associate certain ideas with each other over and over again by force, your brain will start to perceive the association as correct. "Mantra" has sort of become a linguistic shortcut for referring to this effect and its application.

tobtoh 16y ago

Totally agree. It can be it's biggest weakness, but it can also be its greatest strength depending on what you are trying to achieve. If you are trying to improve a specific aspect of your behaviour/life, then a specifically tailored set of mantras would be appropriate. If you are seeking to generally improve, then a 'preset' set of mantras could be as good, and may even be better (based on the principle that you can't improve what you don't know needs improving). I guess an analogy being the reason I like reading HN - it covers topics that I didn't know I would find interesting until I read about them. If I only read web pages specifically covering my interests, I'll never grow as a person as I would be forever stuck in my limited worldview.

araneae 16y ago

Even worse- it won't work if you don't believe it won't. It's a clear placebo effect type of situation. I'm one of those weird people that thinks medications- even ones given to me by a doctor- won't work. As a consequence, even biologically active drugs often fail to do anything for me. It's called the nocebo effect. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nocebo http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nocebo Anyway, for me, I'm so skeptical about things that self-help books are as helpful to me as being hit on the head with a frying pan. I actually did get the 4-hour work week out of the library but my eyes spent so much time rolling out of my head they started to hurt, so I threw it across the room.

rapind 16y ago
You should totally download my eBook which covers all of the intricacies of properly selecting self-help reading material. Free for an unlimited time: http://rapin.com/self-help.html http://rapin.com/self-help.html
- eru 16y ago
  More subtlety would have helped.
araneae 16y ago
Wow, apparently Hacker News is filled with people who believe in stupid shit created by Indian mystics! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantra http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantra If you believe this, perhaps you'll also believe I have psychic link with my cat... I swear, I know what she's thinking. It involves mice, so I know it's true.
- alexophile 16y ago
  The practice of Mantra recitation is only one application of a trait of the human brain and how it functions. Namely, that reciting something aloud speeds up the process of internalization. Have you ever had a music instructor that made you sing your part instead of playing it? Same concept. If you associate certain ideas with each other over and over again by force, your brain will start to perceive the association as correct. "Mantra" has sort of become a linguistic shortcut for referring to this effect and its application.