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14 People Share the Psychological Tricks They Use to Control Every Situation

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Are you interested in mind games? Things you can tell yourself or others to accomplish a goal? If you do, or maybe you’re thinking about it, you should start paying attention…

These AskReddit users shared the most effective psychological tricks they use on themselves and other people, and some of them may prove to be quite useful one day…

1. Think of your future self…

“Think of my future self…

How will my future self feel in an hour or two if I skip my gym session?

Will my future self be happy if I do this pile of dishes now, before bed? Or would he prefer to have to do it in the morning, before work?
I have a three month deadline on this project, will my future self appreciate my current self taking the first three or four weeks easy, or will he be really pissed off?

…essentially delayed gratification. Pretty much all the bad stuff gives us instant gratification, while all the good stuff has delayed gratification. I always try to remember that – if I have to wait to reap the rewards then it’s probably the best option.”

2. Brilliant!

“Set expectations low and blow peoples minds with my mediocrity.”

3. Put them off guard.

“This isn’t something I’ve used but I think it’s worth sharing. Derren Brown said that once there was a muscley drunk guy that wanted to beat him up and said the classic “what are you looking at.” Derren replied with “the wall outside my house is four feet tall.”

The idea is that it puts the aggravated person on the back foot and takes them out of that adrenaline filled state. Anyways he sat down and the guy started crying to him about his GF. He is Derren Brown though so I wouldn’t recommend this to everyone. “

4. Back off…

“I wear noise-cancelling headphones at work.

90% of the time they’re not making a sound, I just want all my weird coworkers to back off.

And it works. They are the Headphones Of Shielding. “

5. Trickery at its finest.

“Idk if this is an actual thing or not… or maybe just distractions… but when I do something annoying or bothersome to my husband and he goes quiet, I wait a few minutes and then I ask him a seemingly innocent question, usually on the subject of how certain parts of a car works, or something mechanical.

This gets him talking about the car thing and he rambles for like 5 minutes and then bam! He’s happy again and not quietly brooding. I’ll never tell him I do that because I’m afraid it won’t work anymore if he knows about it. It’s foolproof though, it works every single time, no matter how bothered he is.”

6. Encouragement is key.

“When somebody shy is speaking, if you look at them and nod your head it encourages them to keep talking.”

7. Poker logic.

“I’m a professional poker player.

When I am in a pot with one other player, I often try to make them laugh when they are thinking about what to do.

If you can get them to laugh, it sets them in a mood where they are unlikely to bluff.

(I talk a lot in general it’s very common to make jokes at the table even in hands).”

8. End on a positive note.

“Instead of arguing I start off by agreeing and then state my point of view after addressing the other person’s point.

Always ends in a positive interaction.”

9. This is good!

“When someone is trying to throw excuses or generally if they’re getting a bit foolish about something, often the best way to handle it is to stare back with mild interest and contribute nothing to their monologue. If you don’t give them anything to work with they’ll talk themselves into a corner and lose confidence in what they’re saying.

I learned this trick from an old Director who used to control pretty much any meeting room scenario by being the most silent and impassive person in the room. I fondly remember the time someone asked him a ridiculous question and he just stared at him for about 15 seconds. 15 seconds is a long time to be stared at in a room full people. The guy wilted into his chair and nobody could work out if the Director was angry or just quietly mulling it over.”

10. “I WILL be happy… I WILL be happy…”

“Saying hello to everybody you know, and with a smile.

Often people who know each other from when they were in primary school or just from the block when they were young give each other an awkward smile instead of an happy good day!

Just imagine… if someone walks into you twice a year and both times you smile and greet them enthusiastically, they will think of you as a nice person.

So little effort for a person to find you friendly!”

11. Flip it upside down!

“One that I picked up from a friend of mine whenever he was trying to pick out dinner with his gf: rather than ask “What do you want?” and getting the typical ‘i dunno, anything’ answer and then having suggestions shot down. Start with “what do you NOT want?”

Used it a few times in some of my relationships and it’s the godsend question.”

12. Makes life easier.

“I work front desk in a medical office. Patients hate updating their paperwork. I used to say, “look through the pages and make any changes.” They would groan and reluctantly take the paperwork, or just complain about it.

Now I say, “ALL YOU HAVE TO DO is make changes.”

Saying it that way makes them think it’s not much to do and they take the clipboard without complaint. It’s the little things that make life at my office easier.”

13. I need to try this one…

“If someone says they have the hiccups, ask them to prove it. 9/10 times, their hiccups will disappear. Having to summon a hiccup in order to demonstrate will trick your diaphragm into just Not Hiccuping.

I’ve been able to twist it around on myself with some success as well, but it takes practice. You realize you have hiccups, then /try/ to hiccup. Actively try to make yourself do another one. It’ll stop.”

14. Works wonders.

“Thanking someone for a trait you want from them.

Instead of telling a customer you’re sorry for their wait, tell them thank you for your patience or understanding.

Works wonders.”

Very interesting!

Did you learn any tricks from this post?

Let us know in the comments!