Summary: Our first impressions about money, work, and
relationships are lasting unless we choose to change them with
new information.
First impressions are lasting ones.
If those first impressions aren’t good ones, modify them with
new information or live with the consequences.
The first impression we get of just about anything looms large
in our psyches. This first impression, for good or ill, will
resonate for a long time unless we do something constructive and
conscious to change it.
Our first impression of a person is an excellent example.
Suppose someone strikes us as friendly, jovial, sullen, or
arrogant. Unless we later realize that we caught the person on
a particularly good or bad day, the first impression will
linger.
Reinforce that first impression continuously with emotional
power and the mind quickly turns those first impressions into a
thermostat.
This means that our thoughts, feelings, and reactions are set
just like a living room thermostat.
Even if we open and close the windows, the mechanism will keep
the room at the same temperature.
The only way we can effectively change the temperature is to
change the thermostat. That’s a simple matter in the living
room, but more involved in the mind.
Most often, our initial impressions of money, work, and
relationships form the basis of our mental and emotional
framework about these subjects. Our parents or primary
caregivers are the main shapers of these frameworks, but
extended family, peers, clergy, and the entire culture
contribute as well.
We can’t change these first impressions, but we can realize they
many of them were based on faulty information.
When we modify our first impressions with new information, we
adjust our internal thermostats.
Find that new information (work can be fun, money can be
plentiful) and you will enjoy a new experience.
If not, the consequences of first impressions will linger for a
lifetime.
Copyright 2004 by Tony Papajohn
Tony writes and speaks on success. Subscribe to his free
SuccessMotivator e-zine at http://www.successmotivator.com
About the Author
Tony Papajohn speaks and writes on success. He specializes in teaching how to use the brain to tap the power of the mind. He has written and taught courses on Ericksonian hypnosis, NLP, and C.G. Jung. Tony publishes his thoughts and findings in his free SuccessMotivator newsletter. His hundreds of short articles cover a wide range of subjects and illustrate the principles of success and successful living.