On Motivation Part Two: Pleasure ‘n’ Pain

Apparently, psychologists have determined that at the most basic level, all decisions we make are to either gain pleasure or avoid pain. They have determined that, in its simplest form, any act can be broken down this way and this concept is linked to what’s known as an evolutionary survival response, which can be triggered in any number of ways.

Fortunately for us in the First World, we are no longer trying to survive on the Serengeti, as our oh-so-distant ancestors had to. However, that doesn’t mean that we are not still affected by, and on a primal level directed by, our emotions and/or instincts when responding to certain stimuli.

For example, the desire to eat sugary and other types of temptingly sweet foods is almost assuredly tied to an evolutionary survival response as our distant ancestors never knew where or when their next source of sustenance might present itself. Those of us that have figured this out – and those reading this for the first time here – can use this knowledge to ensure we guard against this response, and just say no.

In general, those that have figured this out, know why we go to the gym and why we eat healthy. We also know why we do something as simple and automatic as brushing our teeth. Most of us do at least some of these beneficial things and many of us do all of them because we understand that by undergoing some short term “pain” in the form of proactive efforts, we get equally long – or longer – long-term gains.

We expend efforts in enduring hours of strength and cardio training pursuits, equally long hours in the kitchen preparing high-quality, home-made meals and practicing good oral and overall hygiene daily rituals. We do this as by doing so, we hopefully are avoiding long term pain via high blood pressure and/or osteoporosis, nutritional deficiencies and/or obesity and tooth decay and/or gum disease.

Many of us have realized that we also benefit from this in the form of short-and-long-term pleasure by attracting a coveted partner to share in our good health. This is, of course, when it happens, at least in the opinion of us at Make More Monie, the very definition of a win-win outcome!

Psychologists have also apparently determined that although most people will do more to avoid pain than they will to gain pleasure, they seemingly will do as little as they have to. Make More Monie thinks this is why, for example, the masses will work for decades at jobs they don’t really like as long as they can pay their rent/utilities, the costs of their Netflix account, food delivery and their weekly supply of cannabis ‘n’ alcohol. This is simply because they are not in too much pain – yet – and binge-watching their favorite program with a cold beer and pizza gives them some pleasure.

Taking this concept further, avoiding immediate pain is seemingly much more motivating than gaining immediate pleasure. To illustrate, if there are a couple of vicious dogs bearing down on us and the pizza we are walking home with to enjoy alongside a cold beer is preventing us from climbing a tree to safety, it is safe to assume that it will be dropped immediately, even at the risk of our take-out being torn apart and left for the feral population.

In “making more monie”, it’s critical we understand our evolutionary survival responses, and be aware of our hard-wired instincts. In many, if not almost all, instances where they are triggered, they have been so by marketers that have studied our natural tendencies to their benefit and lamentably, to our detriment.

Note: When you have made the conscious decision to really succeed, Make More Monie will endeavor to provide you with plenty of real-world examples of individuals that have “made more monie”, and who are happy to share exactly how they did it. No throbbing music, no pounding of chests and no primal screaming. Only top-of-the-line ‘fun’ancial mentorship with bottom-line results!

Disclaimer: The information contained herein should not be construed or considered professional advice. Nonetheless, thanks for reading! If it resonates, there’s “plenty more where that came from” on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X ‘n’ YouTube.

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