Self Control
The negative impressions are stored away, all in one portion
of the brain, while the positive impressions are stored in another
portion. When one of these impressions (or past experiences) is
called into the conscious mind, through the principle of memory, there
is a tendency to recall with it all others of a similar nature, just as the
raising of one link of a chain brings up other links with it.
For example, anything that causes a feeling of doubt to arise in a person's mind is sufficient to call forth all of his experiences which caused him to become doubtful. If a man is asked by a stranger to cash a check, immediately he remembers having cashed checks that were not good, or of having heard of others who did so.
Through the law of association all similar emotions, experiences and sense impressions that reach the mind are filed away together, so that the recalling of one has a tendency to bring back to memory all the others.
To arouse a feeling of distrust in a person's mind has a tendency to bring to the surface every doubt-building experience that person ever had. For this reason successful salesmen endeavor to keep away from the discussion of subjects that may arouse the buyer's "chain of doubt impressions" which he has stored away by reason of previous experiences.
The successful salesman quickly learns that "knocking" a competitor or a competing article may result in bringing to the buyer's mind certain negative emotions growing out of previous experiences which may make it impossible for the salesman to "neutralize" the buyer's mind.
This principle applies to and controls every sense impression that is lodged in the human mind. Take the feeling of fear, for example; the moment we permit a single emotion that is related to fear to reach the conscious mind, it calls with it all of its unsavory relations.
A feeling of courage cannot claim the attention of the
conscious mind while a feeling of fear is there. One or the other must
dominate. They make poor room-mates because they do not harmonize in nature.
Like attracts like. Every thought held in the conscious mind has a tendency
to draw to it other thoughts of a similar nature.