Being Brainwashed

During my time active as an MLM distributor [1], one of the main problems we had was that people often said we were being brainwashed. What they mean is, MLM distributors change from ordinary people into people who are obsessed with money and would do anything – including lie and force – to recruit new members from their family and friends. This change of behavior drew a negative response from people who are negative of MLM regardless of whether they have received the complete information or not.

I understand why some would say MLM distributors are being brainwashed; they do experience a significant change in personality, and how much they change is determined by how much they view MLM as their golden ticket out. But I think the non-MLM people have it wrong. If we can say that MLM people are being brainwashed, then in reality everybody is being brainwashed.

You see, we are all affected by the environment we live in. What we think is our character, is in fact our artificial character made up from pieces and puzzles we pick up from the people, places, and culture surrounding us. We don’t truly understand which is our true identity, and which ones are determined by the environment we live in.

Shaping our minds

Take for example a friend of mine; he was previously a web designer, but he has now changed professions into an insurance agent. Since he became one, he always brings up facts and statistics about the insurance industry and how bright the prospect is in Indonesia, and how important it is that we insure ourselves and prepare if a serious illness should strike us. Previously, he never thought about health this way, and mostly talked about landing new contracts with bigger website projects.

Learning from his case – and from many more around me – it’s kind of funny how we wear our artificial characters. It’s funny how we are brainwashed by how our family members think, how our coworkers think, how our friends think, but we don’t realize it most of the time. Yet we believe that that’s the right way of living, and that other people are foolish not to follow.

In the case of the MLM distributors, they are merely choosing a brainwash pattern that has a higher probability to bring them material wealth and happiness. In the case of the non-MLM people, they are choosing the brainwash pattern that allows them to stay in their comfort zones and be safe and still have the option of negative attitude when they want to complain about something bad in their lives. In the case of my friend, he chooses a brainwash pattern that can bring him a steady asset growth from the health business (which makes him think a lot about illnesses and hospitals).

What’s your brainwash pattern?

All these available brainwash patterns we can take in life makes me think: what is our true identity? What part of ourselves would still be the same, regardless of the paths we take in life. What beliefs and values would we fight for, no matter if we were a doctor, an insurance agent, a musician, a politician, an engineer, a salesperson, a teacher, an athlete, or a shop owner?

Which part of us is true, and doesn’t change when we decide to choose a new brainwash pattern? Because of course there are brainwash patterns more worth taking than the default ones we are conducted to in life. What would we look like, if we never took this choice and never became what we are now today?

Sometimes I look at random strangers that remind me of my friends who have become millionaires. I wonder: what would they be like, if they never joined an MLM in the first place? Would they be the same strong person, believing in the same values, or would they be the products of the mainstream brainwash pattern, and be the average negative Joe?

Which brainwash pattern do you choose? And no, you can’t say “I choose my own brainwash pattern” or “I’m not brainwashed! I’m not influenced by those other people”. Because we are all brainwashed, one way or the other, whether we realize it or not.

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*No header image today, because the internet connection is suffering and it would take a longer time browsing for images. I truly dislike inconveniences

[1] Why People Hate MLM People, 2009