Walking through the supermarket today, I noticed how food items were catching my attention. (I'm a therapist, so I think about these things:)
When I passed the candy isle, I felt a pronounced elevation in my interest. I'm not sure if I smelled the sugar or the chocolate, but I'm am sure that just the sight of the brightly colored candy wrappers
"excited" me.
Numerous things might well have been in play here, but it's safe to say that, like Pavlov's dog, I have been successfully conditioned.
No. I didn't start to salivate, although just the thought of fresh crab does get me going.
But, I did start to think about which candy I liked and began to picture it. It was a chocolaty-nougaty-nutty-something. This occurred in a blink of the eye, as I passed the isle.
Just as quickly, I had a decision to make. I kept walking and then thought about blogging this to you, Dear Reader.
A reason for sharing this experience, is that I believe we've all been conditioned in many ways. Some known and some unknown to us. In this example, my conditioned response was a sort of "buzz" or excitement. Since, I really don't consciously want to eat candy, bringing this relatively unconscious conditioning into my awareness helped me self-observe and gives me more power to make a choice that's in line with my conscious desires.
So, what's your buzz? What triggers your conditioned responses?
