In the news published last week, I mentioned that when I first started sailing, I believed it was all about pushing forces. One day, I discovered that suction was the dominant force regarding wind and water.
That slight conceptual shift allowed me to understand how one could sail almost against the wind.
Similarly, I believed everything was driven by our own desire, including complying with the law.
However, modern studies show that our desires are not truly ours; they are induced by others and attract us, much like the wind attracts (suctions) the sails…
The most compelling evidence of this is advertising. We believe that we desire the advertised object, unaware that the desire is suggested by the advertisement itself.
Edward Bernays, a famous publicist in United States and the creator of “propaganda” (later referred to as “public relations”), discovered this while becoming millionaire. An interesting documentary about his life and achievements can be seen on BBC: The Century of the Self – Part 1: “Happiness Machines”
Today, the world takes advantage of his knowledge, and the masses are led, just as sailboats by “suction” forces. In the first case it is called “the art of advertising” or “the art of legislating,” and in the latter, “the art of sailing.” Although they initially seem unrelated, they are similar in terms of how we approach the art and its unforeseen consequences…
Our desires are the desires of others (including the desires proposed by the law), rather than self developing them.
Just like on a boat, not understanding the true nature of the forces that govern us, means it will be difficult to control the course of the vessel we are sailing with.
If we understand the forces driving us while governing them, rather than just accepting to be carried out by them, we will master our course and reach the desired destinations set by cultural desire and the law, which will happen to appear as ours…
For that purpose we must understand our human nature and how to harmonize our cultural and legal desire same as we harmonize wind and water forces for sailing.
This shift in perspective -similar to what happens in sailing- will allow us to understand how human beings, and why not clients, can achieve their goals without feeling deterred by culture or law.
