Wednesday, October 21, 2009

"Out of Sight, Out of Mind"


Growing up, I had a friend’s mom who would always say, “Out of Sight, Out of Mind.” To me, it basically meant that if you’re not around, people forget about you. Today it still means that but it also means much more. We are all just human and if given the chance, we will forget just about anything. I remember when my dad died I thought I would never get over it but as time passed, it became easier to deal with. I thought about it every minute of every day at the beginning and then as long as I wasn’t reminded, the thoughts began to fade. However, even today if I see his picture or someone brings him up to me, I feel some of those old feelings. Just the same, if you have ever tried to quit something, you might experience the same feelings. For example I am trying to not drink any soft drinks and it has been pretty easy for me, that is, until someone reminds me. Most of the day I have zero issues with it, but when I go to lunch and the waiter ask what I would like to drink, It gets a little harder. When I see others drinking soda, I tend to think about it and how hard it is not to drink it, when just minutes before it wasn’t even a thought. So, you can see that the out of sight out of mind thing works, when trying to quit something. If you really grasp the concept, you can use it to your advantage to change whatever you want to change in your life. You just have to be aware that to change your behaviors, you will have to change your familiar surroundings, to avoid what others may term temptation. I prefer to say I would just rather not be reminded, so I keep it out of sight. Lastly, this idea can work in business, however you have to think about its affects in reverse. If I don’t call my client regularly, they will forget about me. They don’t forget because of any other reason than, “out of sight out of mind.” You have to remember that anything you want will require your constant reminding. That doesn’t mean you become a nuisance it just means you don’t let people forget what you want.

2 comments:

Kiki said...

That squeaky wheel really DOES get the grease:)

It could also apply to our love relationships. Of course, you are not out of sight if you live in the same house but you CAN be out of radar if you spend a lot of time in different rooms pursuing different interests.

I guess I should get offline and go "see" my hubby:)

Alex said...

I guess for that matter, family in general. You don't want to be the teenager locked up in the room all day either.