Mental malleability in preferences

[Fluffywolf]

Growing up, I didn't like anything with mushrooms. In fact, every time I had to eat it (Parents ), it actually tasted really bad to me. Having trouble swallowing it down and keeping it in.

Now I love mushrooms. They are tasty and delicious!

I doubt it were the mushrooms that changed!


--- The same can be said for everything with aquired taste. A simple example, if you always drink one brand coke, you'll find that brand to be the most delicious. If you change brands, at first you will find the taste bad. But as you keep drinking the other brand, you will start to enjoy that brand more, and the other brand will not be as tasty.

Surely that is a clear sign of mental mallebility.

 

[Totenkindly]

Growing up, I didn't like anything with mushrooms. In fact, every time I had to eat it (Parents ), it actually tasted really bad to me. Having trouble swallowing it down and keeping it in.

Now I love mushrooms. They are tasty and delicious!

I doubt it were the mushrooms that changed!

Yeah, I hated broccoli SO bad when I was younger. In fact, as late at college, I remember having to eat broccoli once because it was a main part of a meal, and I literally turned white a few minutes later and almost threw up.

Now I really like broccoli -- I put it on my salad, I order brocolli cheddar soup, I put it in my meals and casseroles. Still hate cauliflour (or however it's spelled), but I like broccoli.


It was just a texture/taste thing I had to get over.

Had a similar (but not quite as bad) experience with peas. I remember swallowing them one by one, whole, when I was a child, because I couldn't eat them due to the taste and texture. They're not my favorite food, but I can eat them like everything else now.

--- The same can be said for everything with aquired taste. A simple example, if you always drink one brand coke, you'll find that brand to be the most delicious. If you change brands, at first you will find the taste bad. But as you keep drinking the other brand, you will start to enjoy that brand more, and the other brand will not be as tasty.

I remember that from switching to Diet from Regular soda back in the 90's. Couldn't stand the taste of diet; now I can't stand the taste of regular.

 

[prplchknz]

my mom made us drink diet caffiene free as kids, and i never liked it but when i got old enough to choose my own pop i chose regular and i do like that. so i don't know maybe i'm weird but the taste of diet was never acquired for me.

 

[Ginkgo]

Growing up, I didn't like anything with mushrooms. In fact, every time I had to eat it (Parents ), it actually tasted really bad to me. Having trouble swallowing it down and keeping it in.

Now I love mushrooms. They are tasty and delicious!

I doubt it were the mushrooms that changed!


--- The same can be said for everything with aquired taste. A simple example, if you always drink one brand coke, you'll find that brand to be the most delicious. If you change brands, at first you will find the taste bad. But as you keep drinking the other brand, you will start to enjoy that brand more, and the other brand will not be as tasty.

Surely that is a clear sign of mental mallebility.

It is. As we age, our thoughts become less rigidly compartmentalized and more expansive. Our repertoire expands as well. People tend to become more set in their ways as time elapses, but this is because of the aforementioned comfortableness in preferring a broader number of things. Basically, their malleability depends on a larger number of smaller shifts in preference. Of course, everyone has a shadow, so there remains the potential for a more significant upheaval during a mid-life crisis or some-such.

 

[1487610420]

Oh yes, Unique, thanks for the thoughts. I'm asking for clarity on the changeability of being changeable. My initial thought is how many degrees can a natural level of comfort for an individual change with how much they can change their preference. And what variables play into it. Genetics and Neuroscience may go against these.


Ah, I see. Yes, for the ability of how you change do you hold the thought that you can change your subconscious through a 180 degree angle to be able to upturn who you are at the moment? And can you reach a stage of natural comfort once changed so you aren't inclined to change back to who you are?

Perhaps instead of a simple change, you would have to break apart your psychological state and rebuild it.
If genetics plays a role, some mental structures may be constantly standing.

From a spiritual pov, the bold is constantly happening, and will not end, until the allegiance to seeking an identification with mind-created definitions does. The struggle to peel the layers causes more layers to be revealed one after the other -- a recurring rewiring will take place, with each new insight and it's associated temporary blissful state.

As long as the being fails to notice and stop the pattern, it will perpetuate. It's a catch-22. Theoretically, it can be inferred that there's something fundamentally intrinsic about the process and an unbound embracing of life, at each moment. However, attempting to intellectually dissect and actually embody this are two separate things, IME, and the former does imply access to the latter.

 

[Owlesque]

I've had some interesting changes over the years concerning food preferences - things I used to hate but now enjoy. The same with colours.

 

[Wolfie]

From my observations of people, mental malleability, especially concerning preferences, depends largely on mental health (or development) and also personality. Classic examples include someone being unwilling to try a new food, or trying it but deciding that they will hate it beforehand. People who shut themselves off from any sort of change and say "no".

The idea that malleability can change along with changes in mental states I would agree with. A sick person who is stuck and forever says "no" can reach an epiphany, changing their mental state as they break through whatever issues they were holding onto, and suddenly feel comfortable saying "yes" and changing preferences as they do. People who feel insecure in their lives or in their capabilities can easily feel discomfort from small changes, from new things that are not very daunting. Someone who is confident and already comfortable will feel discomfort less easily and will therefore be more malleable mentally as they allow new things to push their boundaries.

 

[Betty Blue]

I find this topic interesting too, nice to see a level of discourse return to it's starting point eons later without prejudice.

Prehaps this is a good example right here Oaky.

 

[Ginkgo]

Steps toward making unconscious contents conscious:

1. Keep a log of what you've been doing and how you feel about it in detail.
2. Trace any patterns you can from the log, preferably those that are pervasive
3. Make lists of what you want to do
4. Look for connections between the patterns found through step 2. and your later past, such as childhood or teenage years
5. Find new people to talk with
6. Exercise, meditate, and/or other methods to be mindful of your body. It's connected to your psyche
7. Make time for what you want and use it, even if it be 5 or 10 minutes
8. Have faith in a timeless relationship

Taken from http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2011/02/20/12-steps-to-break-your-addiction-to-a-person/ (rules apply to more than just people)

Ie. It's all about finding connection.