Do not be like Pavlov’s dog

Do not be like Pavlov’s dog
So what I speak of today is the freedom to choose and not  just reacting to any given situation. Too many of us are living reactive lives. What I mean here, is if someone insults us, we will insult back without thinking. So we adapt a tit for tat approach without thinking.

So you might first like to know who was Pavlov and more importantly what has his dog to do with anything. Pavlov was a Russian physiologist and he carried out research out on conditioning. He used a dog as his test subject. During the course of his research he started ringing a bell when he fed the dog and as one would expect the dog always salivated when he saw the food but as time went by the Dog associated the bell with food time. So the dog would salivate to the same degree even if the food was not presented but the bell rang. So this new response became automatic as the dog associated the bell with food.

So what does this mean for us we have become conditioned over time, by learning and mirroring people we are not free as we do not choose. We associate certain responses to situations without thinking, we have been conditioned by our environment.

All too often if someone pushes we push back. If someone hurts us we fire back. These responses imprison us, and take out freedom and our  power to choose. But years of being exposed to people in our lives doing this we have lost our Freedom and consider this blow for blow behavior as normal.

I am reading a book at the moment called the “The Green Platform” written by Declan Coyle. In this book he ask us “Am I a bunch of predictable reflexes like Pavlovs’s dog constantly being triggered by people and events into predicable outcomes”.

Coyle also goes on to speak about White space and the power to choose. What he says here, is that, when something happens we should step into the white space and choose our reaction to that event. I think Coyle is 100 % right obviously this requires one to be aware and fully mindful.

I believe actually it comes back to a book I read a few years ago called the “The power of now” by Echart Tolle. Where Tolle believes that all that matters is now and we should be fully aware of the now the right now.  This of course is very powerful and where freedom truly exists.

Coyle says in the place of white space we can evaluate the correct response and have a completely different outcome from the norm. He goes on to give a great example of his daughter with making eggs.

Quickly summarizing, Coyle’s Daughter wants to help him making some eggs. His daughter is only 5 so he gets anxious from the get go. She want to get the eggs from the fridge. What does Coyle say “do not drops those eggs” what you think happens the child drops the eggs. Why? well some of you reading this may no the subconscious can not process negatives. Simple example ” do not think of a white elephant” what are you thinking of now? yes, so you see my point, the poor little 5 year old dropped the eggs, she listened to her father.

Ok but right now Coyle is about to go off on a rant like all parents everywhere. You even you reading this today know. “I told you not to drop the eggs” “look at the mess you made oh my gold I told you not to drop the eggs” So you know what I say as I am sure many of you have reacted this way.

Something switched in Coyle he did not react in the same old fashioned reactive way. He stepped into the white space and reacted calmly and actually said to his 5 year old look at the funny shape it has made shall we take a picture and show Mom later. his daughter squeezed his leg and said “I love you Daddy”.

So it is quite clear here, to see how stepping in to the white space changed the whole situation. Coyle did not act like Pavlov’s dog. As in his own words he was not ” a bunch of predictable reflexes like Pavlovs’s dog constantly being triggered by people and events into predicable outcomes”.

I think the best example of the power to chose is  the story of Victor Frankl. Coyle speaks of him in his book and I have read many references to Frankl and I have yet to read his book ” Mans search for meaning”.

So for you who do not know Frankl. He was an Austrian  psychiatrist who survived the holocaust. Frankl made the decision no matter how they would break his body, they would not gain control of his mind, his heart and his spirit. Frankl  said the power to choose is the ” last and greatest human freedoms” We can not even begin to imagine the power of Frankl  and his power to choose as this man went through the worst of worsts situations and came out the other side. All because he choose.

So I ask you do not be like Pavlov’s dog who in the words of Coyle ” a bunch of predictable reflexes …….. constantly being triggered by people and events into predicable outcomes”.

 

Thank you

Colm

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