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Embracing an Anti-Vision
Mind Mastery Minutes - V1.12
Henry Adams
April 29, 2024
Today, I’m talking about an controversial experiment made famous by Jordan Peterson.
Starving Rat Experiment:
*WARNING*
This study is pretty inhumane.
But the researchers learned something incredible about human motivation from this study.
So, stick around.
The Method:
Starving rats were placed into a tube.
A spring is attached to their tail to measure the force they pulled. (Measure for desire).
In part 1, the researchers waft the smell of cheese at the front of the tube and measure. (Anticipation of pleasure)
In part 2, they waft the smell of a cat at the back of the tube and measure. (Anticipation of pain)
Interestingly, they found that…
Despite being starving, the rats pulled twice as hard to flee the cat then they did to catch the cheese.
What does this tell us?
1. That pain is more powerful than pleasure.
2. That we are driven more by fear than success.
You might be thinking…
Can you compare animal studies to humans in this way?
“A rat’s brain is smaller and less complex than the human brain.”
True.
But research has shown that the two are similar in structure and function:
We share around 95% of our DNA with rats.
Both our brains produce the same neurotransmitters, such as dopamine.
What does this tell us about human motivation?
Find your cheese. | Find your cat. |
What is your dream life? | What do you fear most? |
Think about it.
Really think about it.
My cheese:- Independence | My cat:- Unfulfilled life |
1. Find your cat.
2. Let it scare the shit out of you.
3. Turn the fear into motivation!
This is what an Anti Vision is all about…
It completely up-ends the general consensus on setting and achieving goals.
Instead of thinking about what you want (your dream life), setting goals and working towards them.
An Anti-Vision suggests…
Think about what you don’t want (your nightmare life).
If we are indeed more motivated by fear then pain, then this may be the way to go.
Try it out!
If you want to dive deeper into the idea of an Anti-Vision…
Check out this video.
