Suggestion

noun: an idea, plan or action that is suggested or the act of suggesting it; communication of an idea without stating it directly; a very small amount of something

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The power of suggestion is truly staggering, isn’t it? How many times have you said “I haven’t seen Lesley for ages” and then within moments, or certainly no more than a few days, Lesley appears? (Obviously the principle applies to anyone: not just Lesley.) It’s a lot, right? Or suppose you suddenly notice a certain time when you look at a clock – let’s say forty-six minutes past the hour, for argument’s sake – and all of a sudden it’s that time every time you look at a clock! Or it seems to be. Because that’s what’s been suggested, and that suggestion is planted in your subconscious. It takes root, grows, and becomes the only thing you see. Not because it turns up any more frequently than it ever did, but because you’re more aware of it now. So much so, that it’s the only time you notice the time! Now, may I make a suggestion?

I suggest that taking a suggestion on board is infinitely preferable to doing what you’re told. The most obvious reason is that the decision is deliberately left with the person who receives a suggestion. Conversely, an instruction is not open to interpretation or discussion and the balance of power swings toward the instructor, however briefly.

I suggest this shift in power is brief because a significant portion of the population – including the cleverest three-year-old ever – would refuse an instruction, even if it meant cutting off their nose to spite their face. This may appear to restore the power of choice to the individual disregarding their instruction, but truthfully isn’t being steered in a certain direction a form of control regardless of whether that direction is the intended one? Doesn’t it stand to reason that if someone’s going to refuse to do what they’re told, tell them to do the opposite of what you want and they’re likely to go the way you’d like them to? Blind obstinacy is so predictable, it’s almost begging to be manipulated. I believe it’s called “reverse psychology”. Suggestion, however, is far more subtle and immeasurably powerful, though results tend to be unpredictable as so many concepts are open to interpretation…

Let’s pick on a couple of hypothetical students (not literally pick on them: I’m loath to bully even my own fictitious characters). These students are both described as gifted, intelligent and bright as a matter of course, whether or not they’re in earshot, and they always do well in tests. As the suggestion that they will do well in their studies becomes ever more cemented in their minds, they both react without consciously realising…

One student knows they will do well, they are meant to do well, and they will accept nothing less. They go out of their way to excel, studying in their free time, turning up to every lecture and taking on extra assignments. I hope I don’t need to tell you they became well respected in their field.

Their counterpart also knows they will do well. They are meant to do well. So, they don’t really have to do anything to achieve this, as it’s a foregone conclusion. They turn up to a certain portion of lessons, but pay them little mind. Obviously, they do well, because their subconscious gives them what they ask for, but they never quite get top marks. Consistent Bs, maybe a skin of the teeth A now and again. They never do homework or attend optional lectures. What little coursework is completed gets thrown together on the last day. As this individual is gifted, intelligent and bright, they do receive a passing grade, despite everything. But not a good one. Perhaps a suggestion more along the lines of “with a little effort they’ll go far” would have been more helpful on this occasion. Or would that give them an urge to travel instead of study?

I do wonder why more people don’t suggest more things to themselves: plant ideas and beliefs in their own minds that benefit them or those close to them? When someone dear to me complained about my snoring, I told myself “I am not a snorer, I do not snore” repeatedly. Within a week, my snoring ceased. Obviously, any suggestions must be clear and concise to avoid any creative interpretations by the subconscious mind, but it’s still an invaluable tool, regardless of what it is you want from life…

With that, dear reader, I’d like to make one final suggestion: don’t think too much!

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