Sigmund Freud explained that motivation is like an iceberg. Only a small portion of it could be seen above the surface, in a form which an individual can recognize and be aware of, while the greater part remains hidden and blocked off from consciousness.
He also described the impact of early experience in the childhood on the personality of the adult. By the age of five, most of the future outlines are drawn, things might change in developing the personality, but the fundamentals remain the same.
Dr. Wilder Penfield, a neurosurgeon from Mc Gill University, discovered in 1951 that not only the past events are recorded in detail in the brain, but also the feelings that are associated with those events.
Thus, the early experiences which have formed certain messages out of certain emotions become responsible for our later behaviors.
If these messages are irrational, they must be reviewed, revalidated and if needed, corrective measures have to be taken by consciously modifying our behavior.
Our behaviors are generally
- need based
- desire based
- values based
- experience based
- habit based
If our behaviors are detrimental to our peace, development, wellbeing or social interactions and expectations, they have to be modified suitably.
Behavior modification means
- identifying the nature of and the root of our behaviors.
- reviewing their validity in the light of our new, balanced thoughts and ideas.
- consciously desensitizing us, in the gray areas.
- introducing and repeatedly practicing a fresh behavior pattern in its place and making it our habit.
Behavior modification helps us
to write a new script for our future –
and rewrite our destiny.
