Information: Overload

Today I was in LifeSkills class taught by Doris Wurtz and i came upon an observation. One student did a speech mentioned the clearly obvious and overstated fact that exercise is important. It’s true. But then I though about all other such facts: Smoking is bad, so are hamburgers and sitting in front of the TV for very long times and gaming and…and…and.

I also thought back to past times when someone told me one of these facts and I realized that i dont care if they are bad for me. I grew up hearing these facts almost daily and they just float over my head. They don’t strike me and inspire me to change any habits.

But now look at how we listened when we were told that drinking out of old reused plastic water bottles was bad for us. (maybe not everybody listened) All of a sudden we all had this repulsiveness when drinking out of an old plastic water bottle.

What inspired us there???

I think that it’s the ‘SHOCK’ that the news carried. We ’suddenly’ became aware of the apparent harm we were doing to ourselves for such a long time till then. And remember it was a one time deal-for most people.

SO…if you want people to listen, keep the bad news scarce and expose everybody to a good dose of it only once in a while.

Another general example is my mother and all the women on the colony. They hear this tiny bit of ‘bad health’ news and they go all crazy. Yet are not willing to listen to some age old ‘bad health’ facts.

I just find it interesting how the brain works

While everything here may be not agreeable.. i think i have a point.

~ by kellyhofer on March 20, 2009.