Road to success and happiness: 3Qs mental associations

Most of us repeat the same daily routine under the auto-pilot mode, eventually our brains become over-habituated and under-stimulated. This plague can rob us from reaching the goals and happiness in life. How do we break this boring yet devastating pattern and become a better person to live a more fulfilling life? The one and only solution is by constantly making advanced MENTAL ASSOCIATIONS.

In fact, we made associations since the day we were born. The neurons make linkages between ourselves and internal/external stimuli. Babies cry when they are hungry, feel the tenderness with a teddy bear, and laugh when tickled on the feet. These are all mental associations in the working. However, when we grow older a process called habituation comes in, and we don’t feel the same excitement for events that repeatedly occur. Societal laws or religious doctrines can further contribute to suppressing the creativity of our thoughts so we can avoid being punished psychologically (ie: guilt with sinful thoughts) or legally (ie: breaking the law by acting out an unlawful impulse). Over times, this habit is carved into our brains, fresh, and souls. We still make mental associations, but they are merely the safe, and self-preserving ones that keep our jobs, relationships, and existence slightly above the drowning level. But there is hope. Implementing a single habit in life can sometimes make the greatest difference. As mentioned, we all make mental associations. The keys lay in the quickness, quantity, and quality of these associations, known as 3 Qs:

QUICKNESS
QUANTITY
QUALITY

An apparent illustration is freestyle battle, in which two rappers verbally battling each other by delivering improvised lyrics and rhymes. What distinguishes a winner from a loser? The 3 Qs. The rapper needs to be quick. A constant delivery of lyrics is essential to keep the crowds excited; a slow rapper is an oxymoron. A silent pause of 2-3 seconds almost guarantees a loss. In terms of quantity, rappers tend to speak at rapid rates, why? Because it delivers a greater volume of words (thus ideas and verbal attacks) in the shortest amount of time. And last but not least, a top rapper doesn't just mindlessly and dully fill up the air with nonsense mumble jumble, words they chose must contain authority and specific meanings. JIN, won 7 straight wins in the Freestyle Friday and later be inducted into the hall of fame, have obviously mastered these 3 areas of mental associations.

At this point, you may say "I can care less because I neither want to be a rapper nor enjoy rap music in general." The striking fact is in almost all social settings and advanced careers, the ones who succeed are the ones who have fully implemented the 3 Qs into their mental associations. For example, someone who can hold a conversation constantly and appear to be the smartest, most uplifting, and most interesting guy/gal in the social circle is always the one who can think/talk quickly (Quickness), with the most to say (Quantity), and with the most innovative, interesting, or useful ideas to deliver (Quality). Success in careers for politician, medical doctor, lawyer, chef, teacher, as well as many other areas undoubtedly be tremendously benefited through the mastery of the 3Qs.

I hope I have made my case clear: advanced mental associations is probably the single most significant, yet least recognized, determining factor of one's career and social success, which be translated into happiness. The followings are the tips of improving one's mental association.

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1. Adhere to the plan: Sometimes, it's not easy to change how one thinks altogether after decades of habituation. It's okay to take baby steps, one at a time. As long as we are moving forward, over a long run, a change is guaranteed. Mark your calendar for the next 30 days, you will spend at least 15-30 minutes/day for the practice.

2. Take one object and form as many associations you can. Exhaust your brain.

* Example item: Lemon
Lemon <-> sour taste
Lemon <-> yellow
Lemon <-> iced tea
Lemon <-> salmon
Lemon <-> fruit flies
Lemon <-> home-made power house

* You can also extend the link further:
Lemon <-> yellow <-> music video by Coldplay
Lemon <-> salmon <-> wasabi

* Be creative, remember there is no wrong mental association per se (but of course, there could be an association being wrong with respect to a specific situation and purpose, ie: a wrong clinical diagnosis or saying regrettable things):
The lead single of Coldplay sings the song Yellow live after eating salmon with strong wasabi.

3. Then classify the associations. For example:
Lemon <-> sour taste (basic, typical)
Lemon <-> yellow (basic, typical)
Lemon <-> iced tea (basic, typical)
Lemon <-> salmon (hmmm, more interesting)
Lemon <-> fruit flies (more interesting)
Lemon <-> home-made power house (dinner table topic)
Yellow <-> music video by Coldplay (more interesting)
Salmon <-> wasabi (more interesting)
The lead single of Coldplay drank 2 jars of lemonade before performing the song Yellow live after eating salmon with strong wasabi (quite an amusing imagery)

4. You can start off by writing down all the linkages between objects/abstract concepts on a large piece of paper, but over time, you should mentally construct this roadmap in your mind without any tools.

5. Build up your vocabulary and general knowledge (ie: scientific, historical, or even celebrity facts).

6. HAVE FUN with it, make generating advanced mental associations your SECOND NATURE. A human mind is one of the most fascinating gifts we are all given, if we don't use it, we'll lose it, so don’t take it for granted.

7. Some of the many benefits: 1) You will develop a greater enjoyment in life by having constant new mental stimulation; 2) You will be able to observe things more clearly and more thoroughly; 3) You will think freely and feel more empowered; 4) You can have the ability to keep a conversation going without awkward silences; 5) You can have the option to pick out the high quality thoughts which set you apart in social, work, and other settings.