I’m quickly making my way through Martin Lindstrom‘s book Buyology.  It’s a fascinating read about the psychology behind our buying habits and what is used to influence our decisions.

To write the book, Lindstrom did three years’ worth of brain scan research to find our reactions to brands, logos, advertisements, etc.  He explains that mirror neurons are why we smile when others smile, cry during Hallmark commercials, and jump like a loon when our team scores.  He writes that mirror neurons cause our brains “to react as if we were actually performing these activities ourselves.”  This explains why I was so sad when Iowa lost football games when I was younger.  Now I’m just used to it.  Go Hawks!

Here is where science, Lindstrom’s words, my experience, and Everybody Loves Raymond get together and have a big ‘ol lovefest.

When my wife and I had a TV, one of our favorite shows was Raymond.  It was popular, funny, innocent enough, and seemingly fine.  What I began to not appreciate was the snark and sarcasm written into the script each week.  While funny at the outset, the problem began to rear its head when I noticed myself using the same snark and sarcasm with my wife.

Right now you’re saying something about how I’m crazy to think that a TV show can influence behavior.

Well, this rise in sarcasm was one of the reasons why we ditched our television however many years ago it was.  And I wasn’t crazy about my observed behavior.  Science backs me up.

Lindstrom writes that mirror neurons “are the reason why we often unwittingly imitate other people’s behavior.”  What we were watching was behavior that wasn’t worth imitating.

Sure, it was funny on TV.

But try saying this to your significant other:

Marie: Oh I used to love Valentines Day!… then I met your father.
Frank: I used to love every day.

Or try any of these other “funny” quotes from funnytvquotes.com.  Most of those lines have no place in a healthy relationship.

If science says we mimic what we see AND feel like we’re the ones doing the things that we see, why subject ourselves to stuff that isn’t beneficial?

How would you benefit from a change in what you feed your mirror neurons?

I’d love to hear your thoughts.

~Brian

One of the reasons I started TV STINKS was to encourage people to get outside more often.  The American Hiking Society is putting on their annual National Trails Day with events across the country.  Check out the link for happenings near you, and if there’s no official event, get outside and enjoy the day anyway.    

My parents have a cherry tree in their backyard that is loaded right now. Naturally my most awesomest wife wanted to make a pie. It only required a few steps.

Like a bad basketball team, we had a few cherry pickers.

The fruits of their labor.

Using the deluxe cherry stoner to remove the pits.

Add a little flour, sugar, and water…

On to the final step…

I love that my wife and kids all had a hand in making a pie from scratch. The cherries were on the tree outside but they’re about to be in our bellies. Gracious, it smells good!

~TV STiNKS

As a teacher, I have some time off in the summer to do nothing. As a man, I can’t spend much time at all doing nothing. A few days of nothing was enough for me. So I was thankful when my brother-in-law asked me to paint some rooms in his house.

I don’t mind painting. I’m not fast by any means but I enjoy making a space look good when I’m finished. The other day, though, my painting taught me a lesson.

As I was turning a hallway bathroom from forest green to something more appealing, I took a shortcut. Well, it was supposed to be a shortcut. I thought I could paint around the toilet paper holder without taping it or removing it. You can guess what happened. Instead of having two steps (take off and replace) I now have three steps (take off, scrape off paint, replace). It would have saved me time and effort if I had made the effort in the first place!

My marriage can be the same as my painting job. It’s work, for sure. But it just takes a little prep work to make it easier. I can spend time and energy with my wife now building our relationship (even after 12 years of marriage) or I can have more work later when things inevitably become more challenging. There will be challenges.

The paint on the toilet paper holder taught me an important lesson. I choose to do the work now.

~TV STiNKS

You love your dad, right? Do you want him to look like this? Enough said. Don’t buy Dad a TV for Father’s Day.

Enjoy your Saturday!

~TV STiNKS

Demetri Martin hits it on the head. It’s funny because it’s true. Or is it sad because it’s true?

Commercials fall into two camps for me. On one hand, I enjoy the creativity of a good commercial. On the other hand, commercials make me want to buy stuff I don’t need.

But when I read that economist Juliet Schor estimates that for every hour of TV a person watches each week, they will increase annual spending by about $200, I don’t seem to like commercials so much. With the average person watching nearly five hours of TV a day, that’s close to $7,000 a year. I wish I were making this up.

Seven. Thousand. Dollars.

That’s a pretty good raise for just about anyone and can be had just by cutting out the advertisements and artificial lifestyles we see on television. We’re less likely to keep up with the Joneses if we don’t know what the Joneses have.

Have you tried going TV-free? What’s your take on this? If you agree or disagree, sound off below.

~TV STiNKS