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

Author: Cheng Yujie
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-11-01
Features: 3. Success, is there a secret? Today, it is a very important and memorable lesson in psychology. As soon as class began, I held up a large 8-page book high and smiled at all the children in the classroom, speaking solemnly as I revealed the secrets: I have taught you for so long, and the hundreds of us from all over the world have gathered here—what a fate! In the spirit of teacher-student camaraderie, I will today reveal my family’s secret recipe and treasure 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 would like 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 currently very eager for love; E suggests your love is in the West, like England and other Western countries; F means Far, implying that it will take a very long time for it to arrive; and the last D means your future husband may be much older than you, perhaps even reaching the age of a father figure. This is just a conclusion based on what you observed. Subconsciously, you think this way, but you haven’t noticed it yet, or you don’t want to admit it. But fate will inevitably unfold in time. It’s up to you whether you believe it or not! The girl sat down quietly, looking thoughtful and worried. The students became even more enthusiastic, raising their hands and asking questions. Some 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 the prediction I just gave her was accurate? 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, yet they were still eager to believe. Children, you are too restless, 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 vanity, and you don’t value hard work grounded in reality. Instead, you want to change what cannot be changed. Why can a person with only a junior high education easily fool several professors? Why can an uneducated farmer trick 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 are short; some who fail to get into university buy so-called “brain-enhancing” miracle drugs; some hope to become more beautiful by drinking oral liquids, 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 they desire 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, not stealing, robbing, or harassing people—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 some investigation, they wondered why a college student wouldn’t stay in the dorm at night but ran around naked in the streets? The man hesitantly explained the reason: He had been short since childhood and was looked down upon, even mocked by classmates in college. He felt deeply inferior and tried many methods, taking many height-increasing pills, but nothing worked. Recently, he saw a height-increasing secret in a magazine: he couldn’t grow taller because his body was constrained, and his bones couldn’t stretch freely. If he removed his clothes and let his body closely connect with nature, combined with moderate exercise, 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? After running for a month, we don’t know yet. Everyone laughed when they heard this, thinking it was ridiculous—even if he ran for ten years, it would be in vain.
Now, you are all listening with great interest, and you may all think that the man was indeed a bit foolish, finding it quite amusing. But weren’t you just like him? Perhaps even more enthusiastic,,、. 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. A restless mindset leads us to a place where we refuse to work hard and wait for success, only to achieve nothing in life. In life, 95% of success is the result of gradual accumulation. No pie will fall from the sky, and it certainly won’t land right in your mouth. Often, we are waiting to be deceived.
I often hear women ask men: “Do you only love me?” If a normal man is asked this, he can only answer: “Yes!”
Once, a white man came to an Indian tribe and was falsely accused of being a spy. He was about to be executed. The daughter of the chief, who had been living with him, wanted to set him free. He said: “Either you come with me, or I won’t leave.” The frail 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: “Now, you might not believe what I say; but if you follow me, you will.” These words were far more powerful than countless sweet nothings. The woman jumped onto her horse and left without hesitation.
Often, parents ask me: “Professor Zhou, you’re a psychologist, good at reading people. 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 you say that? Think about it: Peking University and Tsinghua University only admit a few students 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, but 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. Only by being down-to-earth, serious, and hardworking can you achieve success and happiness. In this world, many things are destined. If you don’t go against nature or fate, you will have fewer chances of being deceived. In truth, who doesn’t know that there is no fortune-teller in this world? Destiny cannot be predicted by a few letters or a few lines of palm prints. The true future is something we walk out of, step by step.
P10-13