What Influences an Individual? Pt I

Short note: This is not some mishmosh of principles by prominent individuals like Robert Cialdini or Richard Bandler.

This is an aggregate on factors, including those that are psychological, genetic, spiritual, cultural and scientific in nature.

Modern "science" has excluded important factors to consider when it comes to the influence of an individual. This is primarily in the failure to separate politics from science. One thing the founding fathers should've accounted for centuries ago. The five high-level categories to consider are:

- Genetic
- Cultural
- Spiritual
- Psychological
- Informational

First I will cover examples of these individually, then we will see how these things can be interdependent or complimentary to each other. Finally, we will run through some of my hypotheses

Genetics

The Blank Slate

There's a theory out there named "The Blank Slate" or "Tabula Rasa". It basically theorizes a child is born with no built-in mental content, and all knowledge is accumulated through experience or perception.

While I do agree experience and perception are essential in the development of a child's understanding of the world, I fundamentally disagree with a generalized definition that, even with genes mutating constantly, no built-in mental content isn't given to the next generation.

Let's think about this for a moment: You can all agree there were kids at the age of 5 who easily detected things other kids couldn't. Instincts that they had even as a very young child. There were some kids that were naturally good at learning English.

It's possible that their developed mental models through experience contributed to that, but if so, why did their twin (hypothetically speaking) not possess the same ability, even though they went to the exact same school and the exact same curriculum with the exact same teacher?

I've known multiple identical twins. Each are very different.

You can think through this all you want, but ultimately this alone invalidates the concept of tabula rasa.

I do think that there are certain types of information that can only be achieved by experience, but this is where tabula rasa falls short. It's too general.

Alright, so off of Tabula Rasa. Let's talk about how else genetics contribute to influence.

-------

Chemically-induced influence

I've said that the information an infant possesses, based on its acquired genetic expression, plays a part in this influence. Here's another component: Chemically-induced factors (Chemicals naturally released by the body).

Ever wondered why there's more violence that happens in Southern US vs the northern one? The two primary factors here are: Culture and genetics.

What separates the north from south? Simply put, the north has more of an English presence while the south has a more Scottish one. What does that have to do with anything? A lot.

Whenever someone provokes you (In an angry manner), there is a chemical that's released in your brain. The longer the chemical lingers, the more likely you are to start something (Get in a fight, pull a gun, etc). In an Englishmen's brain, this chemical lingers for a very short time. Whereas for a Scot, the chemical lingers for about 6 times longer.

You see a northerner talk some smack to another Northerner and they laugh and shrug it off. You see a Southerner talk shit to another Southerner? It's on...

The south's culture is a culmination of many things, which includes its history, spirituality, but most importantly, its gene pool. This honor culture manifests from the previous three things mentioned.

-------

Gender Influence

Finally, let's talk about gender. No, man and woman are NOT alike. Men and women don't manage the same, speak the same, walk the same, make the same gestures, don't define happiness the same, nor are their sexual fantasies even remotely similar in comparison.

If you find this offensive and sexist, I don't care. It's a fact. If you come at me with that "Gender is a social construct" bullshit, let me remind you that's a cultist opinion, not a scientific fact.

And if you tell me you believe in genetics but don't believe in the differences between man and woman, then I'd simply tell you to check your blatant contradiction.

Women tend to be more grounded in emotion rather than logic.

Logical women exist, but they still have the motherly instincts attached to them, therefore the emotion affects their judgement.

Women LOVE rhetoric dialog. I've seen very few women that can follow dialectic dialog. Reality TV shows and Netflix run rampant with cleverly crafted dialog, hence why they enjoy it so much as their pastime.

Understand this is not gender wars crap I'm writing, but the point being here that if a woman doesn't understand it, it can't influence her.

Therefore, the communication medium that typically works best as a gender-neutral approach is rhetoric. Reserve the dialectic dialog for those super objective male friends of yours.

Men tend to be more convinced via logic or things that conform alongside beliefs of theirs, whereas women do not comprehend logic in the same way. You have to make them FEEL the story. Hence why stories and analogies can work well for general audiences.

Think about the last ten advertisements you watched. Where did they put the information content? In tiny letters on the bottom of the screen. The story that made you feel bad for the dying dog was what made you think about buying the product.

To Be Continued

Molon Labe.

Antonius.

The Magic of What You Say

"I don't think so..."

"I don't think, so..."

Look at the two phrases above.

So simple, yet a very different meaning is portrayed.

Language is one of those things often misunderstood today. We focus all too often on using big words and sounding fancy, yet most can't write a simple email to save their life.

When it comes to what you say, there are several things to consider:

1. Interpretation

You may think that someone will think just like you, but they're not you. For example, you might enjoy using metaphors or you try getting technical to use big words because you think it'll make you sound 'wise'.

Let's be realistic: The majority of the population is not a poetry major, nor are they all-knowing of technical fields. The failure to consider your audience here is a big one, and your frustration with getting them to understand your message has nothing to do with their naivety, but instead your failure to understand your audience. How do we understand our audience? What are the best methods of getting our point across? Here is a few things to consider.

A. Tell a story

People love stories. At the same times, most people don't want to try and comprehend an intrinsic message wound into the story. Keep the message simple, and the story's vocabulary simple. People will resonate with that

B. Leverage the analogy

Analogies become very useful when you're trying to explain a topic the audience isn't familiar with. Things like AI, mathematical formulae, and epigenetics are not subjects the average Joe Schmoe understands, nor do they care to. The only time they want to understand it ENOUGH is when it affects them in some way. Which leads me to my third point...

C. Make the message resonate

You need to get the audience feeling for you. So, it's as simple as tying some experience in that they can relate to, no matter how simple this experience may be. Starting your first job, conducting home improvement on the new house, the feeling you get when you can't fit in those oversized clothes you have because you lost so much weight, etc.

D. Say a little, but mean a lot

Have you ever talked to someone who says so much but doesn't really seem to get to the point until 20 minutes later? Yeah, you know who I'm talking about.

I especially see this in meetings. Meetings about meetings about meetings. Here's the problem with this: being concise in what you say helps you to be perceived as a strong speaker. People lose respect for the guy who they feel is a time vampire. They will avoid you. Not only that, they often get lost in translation because you have so much fluff in your message. Be concise. Get to the point. Move on.

2. Feeling in Words

This point will be used to build upon the third point, so pay attention to this one.

What kind of words are you using to talk to someone? How do you say it? Are you beaming? Hostile? Indifferent? Excited?

"I really enjoyed going to the park today!" is not sufficiently convincing. If you don't say it with meaning, people can't take you seriously. You need to sound authentic. Not robotic. Not half-commited.

"The park wasn't too bad." Ok, you sound a bit less optimistic in dialog, but maybe you sound content in your tonality. The same dialog could have the same impression the above one does.

Speak with Intent and congruency. Do you actually enjoy the park? Was it that great? Then say so with the proper dialog, energy, and posture. Without a sense of congruency, people lose trust in what you say at an unconscious level.

3. Self Declaration and Speaking your Will into Existence

This builds off of the previous point, and is THE MOST important part of this post.

What you SPEAK into existence, alongside your bodily expression when speaking said thing into existence, is absolutely paramount in how you WILL go about life.

What happens when you say something like:

"I have to go to work" with a pessimistic bodily expression shows you what you think about how you see work.

"I'm annoyed"

"I'm complacent"

"I'd rather be doing something else"

Ok, fair enough. Who will pay the bills then? Who will put the food on the table?

How well do you do your work? Probably "just good enough".

Your genetics have marginal effects on how you perform, although they do play a part. Your self declarations and how you SEE work have the greatest effect on how you conduct work.

On what companies you end up at.

At what awards you earn at work.

Now, reframe that phrase to:

"I GET to go to work."

Say it with MEANING, authenticity, and with POWER.

Ten times.

Twenty times.

Fifty times.

Take ten deep breaths.

Then go to work.

How is your productivity affected? How much more did you accomplish? How much more CONTENT are you with that day's work?

Now take that concept, and apply it to every part of your life.

What kind of character do you want to rebuild yourself into?

Instead of saying "That's good enough for me", ask yourself how you could've improved it for the next time around.

Instead of saying "I did my fifty pushups for the day", instead say "I ONLY did fifty pushups today". You then feel more obligated to push that boundary.

Reframe your attitude of how you see the things that give back to you. Of how you measure success. Of how you see hardship.

Instead of saying "It was really hard.", say "It was a challenge, but I'm ready for the next level".

What does this do for you?

It levels you up QUICKLY.

It helps you identify those who should be avoided (The energy vampires, as some like to call them).

It helps you to be happy with what you have but never be CONTENT.

That's all for now folks.

Until next time.

Anthony