Why Do They Call Them TV Programmes?
An article by Jim Connolly
If I were to ask you how much your TV had cost you, what would your reply be? I ask delegates this question on my seminars occasionally and typical replies include;
“I paid around six or seven hundred pounds for it.”
Some even tell me that their TV is the size of a wall and that they paid thousands for it! At this point I explain;
“No – you misunderstand me; I was not asking how much you paid to buy the TV – but how much it has cost you to watch it!”
It’s a fact - the most successful people in our society seldom watch TV! Conversely, the further down the income (or social) scale you go, the more hours a person spends in front of a TV screen! Certainly, on the council estate in London where I grew up, ALL of us and our families watched TV every day.
So, why is there a split between the viewing habits of the most and least successful people in the UK and how can you benefit from it?
The first thing you need to understand is that TV is the most powerful programming tool in our society. Not convinced? Complete this phrase;
“A Mars a day, helps you work rest….”
If (like 99.9% of the UK population) you were able to finish that phrase with; “and play", YOU were programmed! They (the advertisers) programmed YOUR mind to respond with the second part of the phase. By the way; that advert has not been screened for years, indicating just how DEEP into your mind you were programmed.
Did you know that there are extremely strict rules that govern the use of TV in general elections? During the lead-up to an election, each major political party is guaranteed an equal share of TV-time. Why? Because the power of TV as a mind control tool is so great that it can easily re-programme even something as important and personal as a person’s deeply-held political beliefs - Wow!
Did you know that simply showing a product in the correct place during a totally unrelated TV show is enough to massively increase its sales? That’s right, even if the product is not mentioned, touched or even looked at by one of the characters – sales will ROCKET! This is known as ‘Product Placement’ and it is so powerful that on the BBC it is not allowed – full stop!
So, what does this actually mean to you and your life?
In short, the more TV you watch, the more you will be influenced by the messages it programmes into your mind. What messages are you tuning into? The type of programmes you expose yourself to and the length of time you spend being programmed by them, will have a MASSIVE impact on; your mind, how you feel, what your opinions are and even your stress levels!
Try this. If you have a heart rate monitor or blood pressure monitor at home, put it on when you are in a neutral state, with no TV on, then check the readings. Now, attach the monitor during an average evenings’ TV viewing, the feedback is amazing! During a thriller, your heart-rate increases dramatically and during a typical depressing soap storyline - your blood pressure also increases. During a sad storyline, your tears taste just as salty too! The reason TV is so powerful is because your mind is unable to differentiate between real and artificial stimulation. So, when you view stress, depression or fear through a TV screen, your mind acts as if it were real!
During the wall-to-wall TV coverage that followed the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, calls to the Samaritans increased exponentially because of the depressing non-stop messages being transmitted on almost every TV station.
Sadly, the storylines of the most viewed TV shows are predominately negative and depressing. Soaps are obvious culprits; though some news programmes can be just as powerful.
The GREAT news is, if you want to start feeling far more optimistic, energised and motivated you can - But you have to KILL YOUR TV!
Alright, if that is a step too far for you, limit your exposure to TV to a few hours of deliberately picked programmes each week. If you want to lessen the negative impact of your viewing, avoid soaps and other programming with negative, depressing storylines. Focus on comedy, music and educational programming.
If you decide to take the plunge and kick your TV into touch or limit yourself to a few hours viewing each week, you will also accumulate a lot more time to start actually LIVING.
This is known as “living in prime time!”
Yep, people who actually do things during TV’s prime time, when most of the nation is in a trance in front of a TV, are so rare that they have their very own 'tag'. ‘Living in primetime’ means you get to experience life, rather than watch others experiencing life for you.
Some time ago I met with a group of elderly people at a care home close to where I live. As a Results Trainer and Author, I wanted to learn if there were any common regrets that people had, as they approached the final years of their lives. Interestingly, the most common regrets I heard were from people who regretted not doing something. “I wish I had …”, they would tell me. When I asked them why they never got around to doing these things that they now regret, their answers were incredibly illuminating. In many cases I heard a version of; “well, by the time you get in from work, watch a bit of ‘tele – it’s soon time for bed! I just never had the time to learn how to…”
Obviously, NO ONE I spoke with said they wished they had wasted more of their lives watching TV!
If instead of wasting hours of your time each week or evening in front of a TV, you invest that same time on your own personal development and your family's future, you will be amazed at how quickly your life changes for the better in every way!
I used this ‘prime time’ to change my life. I read the books and listened to the audio tapes and developed myself from a broke 21 year old with no career, into someone that now earns more for a day of my time than I used to get paid for 18 months of my time.
I remember listening on the radio to a chap who had just been made redundant following the closure of the car plant where he had worked for over 35 years. The interviewer asked him; “Now that the plant is closed, what are you going to do?” He replied along the lines of; “No idea - I’m 55 years old – That job’s all I know!” If this gentleman had spent just one hour a day of his ‘TV time’ investing in himself, he could have learnt to be a Brain Surgeon by the time the plant closed! He could have learnt how to speak 20 foreign languages or any manner of things.
The questions you need to ask yourself are:
What could I do with an extra 5 or 10 hours each week that would be more valuable than sitting in front of a TV screen?
What have the TV programmers got me thinking?
What have the TV programmers got me saying?
How have the TV programmers got me feeling?
By the way – Why do you think they call TV output, PROGRAMMING?
To your success,
Jim Connolly
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