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Little Voices, ANTs, Biases, and Robbins

by Rick Baker
On Apr 21, 2011

Most normal people hear little voices.

Their little voices talk to them constantly.

Most people ‘hear’ that little voice in their heads.

For most people, the little voice sounds like their own voice.

For other folks, the voice may come from just in front of their face, in front of the place where the top of their nose connects with the spot between their eyes. Apparently, for some folks [and this is rare] the voice comes from another place…like in front of their chest or in front of the pit of their stomach.

Regardless, a natural part of the human condition is having that little voice. Some, perhaps most people, consider the little voice to be their guide – the voice of their conscience.

Most people – most normal human beings – hear their little voices chatter negatively throughout the day…their little voices are saying negative this and saying negative that…over and over and over….all day…every day. Their little voices feed them a continuous string of negative thoughts.

Dr. Daniel Amen calls negative thoughts ANTS

ANTs = Automatic Negative Thoughts1

For example, Dr. Amen describes 2 of these ANTs as:

  • ANT 4 [red ant]. When the little voice delivers this ANT it tries to make us believe we know what other people are thinking even when they have told us what they are thinking Mind Reading ANT
  • ANT 7 – the Labeling ANT. When the little voice delivers this ANT it tries to make us place labels on ourselves and other people

These ANTs contribute to our biases.

Bias2 = a: bent, tendency b: an inclination of temperament or outlook; especially: a personal and sometimes unreasoned judgment: prejudice c: an instance of such prejudice

In a prior Thought Post3 I wrote:

People are biased and make a fundamental attribution error

In summary, when the bias is at work we judge like this:
  • When other people do poorly we blame their behaviour [ie, we blame them]. However, when other people do well we give credit to the situation.
  • We do the exact opposite when it comes to judging ourselves.

I believe Tony Robbins4 recognized these sorts of biases. He recognized many people get upset when things do not go their way. He recognized even he, a well-experienced motivational educator who knew better, got upset from time to time in response to other people’s actions. He decided to create a tool to help himself and other people get over this negative thinking….get to a much better way of thinking and get to a much better way of communicating.

Tony Robbins called his tool the ‘Reality Check tool’. He describes that tool in his audio CD ‘Live With Passion’.

The tool contains a list of 7 questions we can ask ourselves when we feel upset with/about another person. The tool contains value: I recommend the audio CD.

Wrapping up…

That’s how Little Voices, ANTs, Biases, & Robbins fit together.

The great news is we can ‘CHANGE FOR THE BETTER’.

Here’s a link to introduce more thoughts on this topic…

 

PS: that link takes you to my 1st effort at creating an educational video….one take…with my son Jack doing the production, direction, and camera work. That experience is a fond memory.

  

Footnotes:

Tags:

Attitude: Creating Positive Attitude | Put Your Best Brain Forward

Comments (4) -

rick baker
6/13/2012 8:28:26 PM #

“As these studies suggest, the subtlety of our reasoning mechanisms allows us to maintain our illusions of objectivity even while viewing the world through a biased lens.”

Leonard Mlodinow
‘Subliminal – How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behavior’, (2012)

rick baker
6/13/2012 8:48:30 PM #

"Prejudices, preconceived opinions and beliefs always stand in the way of true wisdom."

Ralph Waldo Trine
'In Tune with the Infinite', (1942, 45th Anniversary Edition)

rick baker
2/3/2013 9:57:59 PM #

"Life does not consist mainly, or even largely, of facts or happenings. It consist mainly of the storm of thoughts that is forever flowing through one's head."

Mark Twain

rick baker
12/6/2015 4:34:44 PM #

"What a liberation to realize that the “voice in my head” is not who I am. Who am I then? The one who sees that."

Eckhart Tolle

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Copyright © 2012. W.F.C (Rick) Baker. All Rights Reserved.