I love reading about experiments that “condition” or make people behave a certain way.
The banana experiment is one of my favorite.
Here’s how the whole thing played out…
Five monkeys were placed in a cage.
Inside the middle of the cage was a ladder with a set of bananas at the top.
Every time a monkey went up to get the bananas, the other monkeys would get sprayed with cold water.
The monkeys quickly caught on.
Anytime a monkey would try to go up the ladder, the other monkeys would begin to beat it.
Next, a monkey from the cage was replaced with a new monkey.
Of course the new monkey wasn’t aware that climbing the ladder and grabbing the bananas would result in the other monkeys getting wet.
So he did what any other clueless monkey would do; he began to climb the ladder.
And as predicted, the other monkeys began to beat him up!
The new monkey had no idea why climbing the ladder resulted in him getting beat up.
…he just knew NOT to try it again.
Another monkey was replaced with a new monkey.
The new monkey tried the same thing and also got beat up.
Eventually, all five monkeys were replaced by new monkeys.
Here’s the interesting part:
None of the new monkeys in the cage knew WHY grabbing the bananas was a bad idea.
They were just CONDITIONED to believe something bad was going to happen if they did.
Anytime any of the new monkeys would try to climb the ladder, the other monkeys would beat him up; even though they had NO IDEA they were going to get wet.
At the end, no monkey took the risk of getting the delicious bananas out of fear they had developed for reasons unknown to them.
The banana experiment is FASCINATING to me.
I told myself: “If you could condition monkeys this way, it’s possible to condition humans as well”
You’ve heard the saying –“Tell yourself something enough times and you’ll begin to believe it”.
What if you’re whole life you’ve been conditioned to believe something that’s currently holding you back?
Have you been taught to believe that going after your goals is a BAD idea and a waste of time?
That you don’t deserve success?
That success ONLY happens to lucky people who are born into rich families or have a special advantage that you don’t?
Ask yourself what you’ve been conditioned to believe.
What has the media, family, friends, or experiences in life lead you to accept as “real”?
Are your doubts real?
Do they have any validation?
Is anything real?
How is it that a man can approach a beautiful woman one day, get rejected, and then approach another beautiful woman and end up marrying her?
After the rejection, he might have believed he wasn’t appealing to women.
But then after the second scenario, his whole perspective changes.
What if he would have gone his WHOLE life with the mindset:
“Well, a beautiful woman rejected me so that obviously means I can never date or marry one.”
Are you following me here?
Never believe anything too much because there will always come a moment when it isn’t true.
If you’ve been conditioned to believe that chasing your dreams is a waste of time, how likely are you to chase them?
If you’ve been conditioned to believe that only “lucky” people are successful, how likely are you to develop an immortal work ethic and make your desired success a reality?
All of your doubts…
All of your fears…
All of your excuses…
Are results of what you’ve been lead to believe.
Only YOU can decide if these false beliefs will determine the outcome of your life.
Remember the banana experiment; it might save you from being hostage from your goals.
STOP LISTENING TO YOUR MIND AND GO AND GET WHAT’S YOURS!
-Alex
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