Games people play

Life in society is filled with deception, and that is so for a very simple reason: people play games.

There are only two cases where no mental games are being played:

• when you are alone in a room, and do something by yourself (play solitaire, take a bath, etc.)
• when you are with your soulmate (especially your wife or husband)

In all other cases, there will be games being played mentally between you and other people. Eric Berne wrote about these psychological games in his book "Games people play." From Wikipedia:

Games People Play is a famous 1964 book by psychologist Eric Berne. Since its publication it has sold more than five million copies.[1] The basic premise of the book describes life as a game in which people interact through a patterned and predictable series of transactions which are superficially plausible but actually conceal motivations and lead to a well-defined predictable outcome. Presently, more than 10,000 people around the world define themselves as transactional analysts. The book originated such sayings as “Boy, has he got your number” and others.

Robert Cialdini wrote a less technical book that is perhaps more practical, as he describes the specific ways that society or institutions will try to deceive you (or persuade you). More details HERE.

This posting would not be complete if I didn't add that deception is not always bad. Sometimes, you have to create a situation that will "force out" the truth. It could save you a lot of trouble in the future.

Here's an example: You're watching the evening news on TV, and suddenly you realize that you are holding in your hand the WINNING lottery ticket for $5,000,000!

A normal reaction would be to call your friends and family, and tell them ecstatically that they are actually talking to a new millionaire!

A not-so-normal (yet strategic) reaction would be to call your friends (and maybe a few family members) to ask for a $1,000 loan.

That's right. You just won $5,000,000, yet there you are, asking for a loan of $1,000 from every friend of yours.

Why? To know the truth.

Note: you can actually change the amount to $500, or $2,000, depending on the socioeconomic situation of your friends.

My point: those who readily agree to lend you $1,000 are the friends you probably should be generous with, after you cash in on the $5,000,000.

Now I'm not saying that the other folks are not true friends! Or that you should penalize them. I'm just saying that a simple ploy can reveal the truth: that some friends will be there for you and that when a person suddenly becomes a millionaire, it will be MUCH MORE difficult to find out who is really your friend AFTER you are rich, than before you become rich.

Indeed, what I've noticed is that most people use their mind to get OUT of trouble when instead, they should use their mind to predict where trouble will be, then AVOID getting into that situation.

Chess players naturally develop this reflex of calculating several moves ahead. I will write more about "economic chess" but you can glimpse some of my slides at www.economicdestiny.blogspot.com