The Method Behind the MotivAider Device

The MotivAider device works in conjunction with a simple and effective method for changing behavior and habits. The method, which makes ingenious use of what the mind does well to make up for what it does poorly, grew out of a series of keen insights into how the human mind really works.

How the MotivAider was invented

In the early 1980's, clinical psychologist, Dr. Steve Levinson, became obsessed with understanding why people — even when highly motivated — often fail to act in accord with their well-throught-out good intentions. He concluded that the problem was caused by the way the normal human mind treats good intentions. Instead of keeping our attention focused on our good intentions so that we have the greatest possible chance to act in accord with them, the mind, Levinson observed, simply allows good intentions — no matter how important they are — to sink to the bottom, where they have very little chance of actually influencing our behavior.

It occurred to Levinson that good intentions would be far more effective if only there was a way to keep them in the spotlight. So he set out to design a device that would allow its users to do just that, that is, to automatically keep their attention focused on virtually any good intention they choose. He called the ingeniously simple device he invented to make good intentions more effective an "Intention Arousing Device." Levinson's Intention Arousing Device was later dubbed the "MotivAider."

Why the mind needs a MotivAider

• The mind does a lousy job of keeping our good intentions on the front burner.
  Although the mind does an excellent job of enabling us to figure out what we should do to make our lives as good as they can be, it does a lousy job of keeping our good intentions on the front burner.
• Could the human mind have a part missing?
  The truth is, the mind has no built-in mechanism to keep our attention focused on our good intentions. As a result, our good intentions often get lost in shuffle and go to waste. That means we get nothing in return for all the intelligence, experience and motivation we invest in our good intentions, and we're deprived of the life-improving benefits of the many positive changes we wisely intend to make.
• We're so easily distracted!
  The real reason we don't stay focused no matter how hard we try is that the mind contains some leftover primitive wiring that makes it easy for us to get distracted. Our attention reflexively goes to the squeakiest wheel, which is often not the smartest wheel. And although it's widely promoted and accepted as a solution, simply increasing motivation won't solve the problem of a mind that, left to its own devices, doesn't stay focused on the changes we want to make.
• Why not make lemonade out of lemons?
  With a little bit of ingenuity, however, we can solve the problem. We can turn a liability into an asset by using the mind's excessive distractibility to actually keep our attention focused on the changes we want to make and the goals we want to achieve. How? The trick is to deliberately expose ourselves to enough of the right distractions - distractions that remind us of our good intentions.
• There's an easy, private way to create the right distractions.
  We can deliberately create the right distractions - signals that focus our attention on any chosen intention - by taking advantage of the mind's capacity for associating a desired meaning with a neutral signal. We use this capacity every time we hear a phone ring and we reflexively think, "someone is calling." All we have to do is assign a specific meaning to a signal, and we'll be reminded of that meaning whenever we receive the signal. We can use a neutral private signal to stand for virtually any behavioral change we want to make or any goal we want to achieve. That way, whenever we receive the signal, we'll think about the change we want to make.
• Yes! Just automatically and repeatedly send the right signal, and your mind will stay focused.
  If we are automatically and repeatedly exposed to a private signal that calls our attention to a chosen intention, we'll stay focused on that intention and therefore have the greatest possible chance to actually make the change we intend to make and achieve the goal we want to achieve.

The Elegantly Simple Way the MotivAider Method Pulls It All Together

1. Assign a meaning or message to the MotivAider's signal.
   You assign a particular meaning or message to the MotivAider's unique private signal - a silent pulsing vibration that's designed to capture your attention without disrupting your normal activities.
2. FEEL the vibration, THINK your message.
   The message calls your attention to the behavioral change you want to make or the goal you want to achieve. Whenever you feel the vibration, you'll think your message.
3. You're in control!
   Simply by setting the MotivAider to send you signals - and therefore your message - as often as you choose, you control the amount of attention any chosen behavioral change or goal will get. You can therefore achieve an optimal level of attention - one that maximizes your ability to actually make the desired behavioral change or achieve the goal you've set.