Psychology Class - A Female University Student's Psychology Class Notes

Author: Cheng Yujie
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: 3. Success, is there a secret? Today, it is a very important and memorable lesson in psychology. As soon as the class started, I held up a large 8-page book high, smiled at all the children in the classroom, and solemnly began to reveal the secrets: I have taught you for so long, and hundreds of us from all over the world have gathered here, it must be fate. In the spirit of teacher-student bonds, today I will reveal my family’s secret manual. Here is a picture book with a cover featuring three wine bottles, each with a hidden letter inside, totaling 26. In a moment, we will pass it around, but only by feeling—you must record whatever you see. You might see all 26 letters of the English alphabet, or none at all, or just a few. Based on what you see, I will predict your future, destiny, and prospects.
As soon as I finished speaking, the audience buzzed. “Is it true? It’s amazing!” Some even stood up, eyes wide with greedy desire. “Now, who wants to share what they saw?” A girl stood up, eager to try her luck: “I saw L, E, F, and D.” Let me predict your future. L stands for Love, indicating that you are very eager for love right now. E means your love is in the West, like England and other Western countries. F stands for Far, suggesting that its arrival will take a very long time. The last D means your future husband might be much older than you, perhaps even as old as a Dad. This is just a conclusion based on the observations you made. Subconsciously, you think this way, but you haven’t noticed it yet, or you don’t want to admit it. But destiny will inevitably unfold in time. It’s up to you whether to believe it or not! The girl sat down quietly, looking thoughtful and worried. The classmates grew more enthusiastic, raising their hands to ask questions. Some even shouted directly: “What does P stand for? B, M, Y?”
I remained silent at the podium, listening quietly. Then, suddenly, I spoke up: “Class, do you think I accurately predicted her future just now? Have you realized something? Do you think I’m a fraud?” The vast lecture hall fell silent for a moment, then erupted into bursts of laughter. Without exception, hundreds of people had been tricked, all eagerly and unquestioningly. Children, you are too and too eager for quick success. A few letters can determine your fate? Why were you tricked? Because you are always ready to be deceived, longing to be deceived. Of course, you don’t know this is a scam, because I told my senior students to keep it a secret, and it seems they did a great job. I’ve been teaching at the finance college for over a decade, “tricking” every year, and it will continue next year. I hope you can also keep your mouths shut and let everyone have this lesson.
A person’s future and destiny are fundamentally unpredictable. Your minds are filled with too much illusion, and you don’t value hard work grounded in reality. You even want to change things that cannot be changed. Why can a person with only a junior high education easily fool several university professors? Why can an uneducated farmer sell a highly educated female graduate? Psychologists have found: When a person is restless, impulsive, and has strong desires, wanting to achieve success overnight, they are easily deceived. Many people are dissatisfied with their current situation—some take pills to grow taller when they’re short; some buy “miracle” brain supplements when they fail to get into university; some drink oral liquids hoping to become more beautiful, believing in so-called miracles and miracle doctors. All of this caters to the desires of scammers. The more you want to change, the more I welcome it. Before a scammer tricks you, you first give them a solid foundation and a safe haven.
In Wuhan, there was a story like this: A citizen noticed a man running naked through the streets at night, stealing nothing, harming no one—just running. People were puzzled. What was going on? They reported it to the police. The police set a trap and finally caught him. To their astonishment, he turned out to be a college student. After further investigation, they wondered why a college student wouldn’t stay in the dorm at night but ran naked in the streets. The man hesitantly explained the reason: Since childhood, he had been short and had been looked down upon. Even in college, he was mocked by classmates, and he felt deeply inferior. He tried many methods, took many height pills, but nothing worked. Recently, he saw a height-enhancing secret in a magazine: he couldn’t grow taller because his body was restrained, his bones couldn’t stretch freely, and prolonged compression had led to his short stature. If he removed his clothes, brought his body closer to nature, and exercised moderately, he could break through and achieve his ideal height. Since it was too crowded during the day, he could only run naked in the streets at night.
What was the result? Who knows after a month? Everyone laughed when they heard this. Even if he ran for ten years, it would be in vain! Now, you are all listening with great interest, and you may think that the man was indeed a bit foolish, making it quite amusing. But weren’t you just like him? Even more enthusiastic, (wholeheartedly) wanting to find a shortcut to your future and destiny, eager for quick success and overnight fame. If such a magic potion really existed, you wouldn’t need to look for it—likely, I would have taken it long ago and wouldn’t be here teaching now. A () mindset leads us to give up on effort and wait for success, only to achieve nothing in life. In life, 95% of success comes from accumulating small steps. No pie will fall from the sky, and it certainly won’t land in your mouth. Often, we are waiting to be deceived.
I often hear women ask men, “Do you only love me?” If the man is normal, he can only answer, “Yes!” Once, a white man came to an Indian tribe and was falsely accused of being a spy, about to be executed. The daughter of the chief, who had been living with him, wanted to let him go. He said, “Either you come with me, or I won’t leave.” The weak woman looked into his eyes and asked, “Do you really love me? Will I be happy if I go with you?” The man put his hand on her shoulder and said, “Right now, you might not believe what I say; but if you follow me, you will.” These words were far more powerful than countless sweet words. The woman jumped onto her horse and left without hesitation.
Often, parents ask me, “Professor Zhou, you’re a psychologist and can read people well. Can you tell me if my child will get into Peking University or Tsinghua University?” I say, “No.” They can’t take the blow—how can I say that? Think about it: Peking University and Tsinghua University only admit a few people each year in the entire province! If 10,000 people asked me, I would say “No” to all of them. In the end, I might only be wrong once, and 9,999 people would come to thank me. You all had such dreams before too. Remember: Peking University and Tsinghua University are forever a scam for us. Therefore, don’t dream of the impossible. Being down-to-earth, serious, and hardworking is the key to success and happiness.
In this world, many things are destined. Don’t go against nature or fate, and you will reduce your chances of being deceived. In truth, who doesn’t know that there is no fortune-teller who knows the future. Destiny cannot be predicted by a few letters or lines on the hand. The true future is something we walk out step by step. P10-13