The Law of Association and Why this Matters in Business!
You’re more than likely familiar with the saying ‘you are the sum of the five people you spend the most time with’, right? And, although at first we don’t always see this to be true — we all go through experiences where this couldn’t be truer! The law of association is what it is often referred to.
Now, this is different than the law of attraction however, there are often a ton of parallels.
Take a moment and think about the 5 people in your life you spend the most time with. This can be physically or virtually. Because let’s be honest, we spend a lot of time online with people too!
Now, jot down where you know these people from, how do they serve your purpose/mission/goals? In other words what are they bringing to your table. Or, how much are they taking from your table?
What is the Law of Association?
Traditionally, the law of association is defined as; how we learn and remember things. The philosopher Aristotle came up with the 3 basic Laws of Association: law of contiguity, law of similarity, and law of contrast.
The Law of Contiguity states that we associate things that occur close to each other in time or space. For example, if we think of thunder, we immediately think of lightning, since the two often occur one after the other.
The Law of Similarity states that when two things are very similar to each other, the thought of one will often trigger the thought of the other. For example, when we think of coffee, we often think of tea as well.
The Law of Contrast states that the thought of something is likely to trigger the thought of its direct opposite. For example, when we hear the word “hot,” we often think of the word “cold.”
These 3 basic laws were later revised and expanded by ‘associationists’, but the Laws of Association can be considered as the seeds from which we can trace the beginnings of Psychology.(American Psychology journal).
So, you might be wondering what does this have to do with your business … Well, it has everything to do with your business. When we around people with common interests and goals as us, they push us to start to think similarly and ‘off’ each other.
When we look at our closest circle, what are they feeding us? What are they feeding our brains?
How does the Law of Association apply to your business world?
Room for improvement? Is this something you’ve gone through and are seeing results due to some necessary shifts? Would love your thoughts and perspective on this topic. With greater influences around us — the bigger impact we can all make!
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