The Power of Suggestion

It's almost official. Patients with serious illnesses show signs of improving health when they believe that the sugar pill they are taking is actually a new miracle medicine. Scientists call this the power of suggestion. But of course, we've known it all along. Take the reverse case. Consider hypochondriacs. Someone tells them that they don't look so good, and they'll actually start feeling down and ill. They'll go to a doctor, who, if he/she knows their medical history, will give them some sugar pills and they'll start feeling better. It's not really their fault, but don't we make so much fun of such people?

We see it in practice daily, this awesome power of suggestion. Two very close friends will suddenly start feeling differently for each other when their other common friends tell them that perhaps, maybe, probably, definitely, they like each other, or, even better, the other person loves them. Classic matchmaking. Amazing.

A dress in a shop. You pass by without giving it a second glance. But someone suddenly says,"Hey! That's a nice dress." and you suddenly realize, "Hey! It is!"

A new song. You hear it once. It's okay. Then you meet someone and they are completely in love with this song. The next time you hear it, you're like,"That's a nice song! How come I didn't notice it before?!"

A guy/girl you've been 'just' friends with for a very long time, and honest to God, they're nice, but you don't look at them that way. Then somebody comes along and tells you what they like in them, and suddenly, you start liking them too. Or, someone you really think you love, and then your very close friend tells you that the person has so many faults, and you realize, "How have I been living with person for so long?!" I'm sounding repetitive now, right?

We can't escape this power. We're either the suggestor or the suggestee, for lack of better words. So here I am, suggesting this to whoever bothers to read all this: this is such a nice blog. Why don't you leave some nice comments here? It will give me such a nicey-nice feeling if you did. :) hehe