I have mentioned television before since it is a medium that everyone is acquainted with. Well, the advertisements you find on TV are also a great treasure trove of flow blockages. Most advertisements revolve around F.U.D. (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt) since that is often the most effective way to get people to buy, unfortunately. Here are some examples:
– There is an ad for an artificial log that will clean your chimney by just lighting it. The main thrust of the ad is Fear as they show that chimney fires destroy XXX number of houses per year, and if you have a chimney you are at risk.
– There have been countless ads for everything from cars to mattresses whose main thrust is “prices are sure to go up, so buy now”. This is the Uncertainty pitch, as you’re forced to wonder whether you should buy now or risk buying later.
– While Fear is a strong motivator, Doubt runs a close second. For example, how many times have you seen an ad that makes you wonder (read: Doubt) whether you really own the best version of the product or got the greatest deal? Car salespeople make a lot of money instilling doubt in people’s minds — “If you don’t get the top of the line what will your friends think?” “You could get the cheaper subcompact instead of the SUV but are you willing to risk your children’s lives?”
If you find yourself in a situation that involves F.U.D. (and you will one way or another since it’s so common) there’s no better time to find and understand your own flow. For starters, F.U.D. only works if there is a blockage of flow. In my case, I personally don’t like SUVs or big screen televisions so any F.U.D. argument regarding those items simply won’t work. But there are lots of other things I’m interested in and/or concerned about and that’s where F.U.D. can take hold.
In general, you’ll know you’re in a F.U.D. situation when you are faced with a choice that somehow makes you feel uncomfortable or that you are being forced into it. Ask yourself why you are REALLY making this choice — do you really want to buy this product/service or are you considering it for some other reason? If you make the decision based on a F.U.D. factor you will regret it.
For example, years ago I had an old BMW with 130K miles that I absolutely loved and was surprisingly reliable. But I was going through a bad time in my life and I was ripe for F.U.D.. In my mind I became concerned that the car was going to overwhelm me with repair costs. And that’s when the Law of (Negative) Attraction took over. I “attracted” an auto broker that fed right into my F.U.D. Long story short, I overpaid for a new car that I didn’t like or need and it ended up being the worst car I had ever owned. Everything about the purchase stemmed from blockages, and it cost me a lot of money even to get rid of the new car two years later.
Always remember that in flow there is no such thing as a decision. You will ALWAYS know what is the right thing to do.