The Conditioning Procedure™ The MotivAider is an ingeniously simple, yet extremely powerful device for changing behavior. With it, you can break old habits and make new ones quickly and easily. This highly sophisticated programmable signal generator can be set to "go off" automatically and repeatedly at any selected interval. When it "goes off," you feel a unique Pulsing Signal which, after pre-conditioning, becomes the conditioned stimulus to engage in whatever behavior you've decided to make into a habit. What you decide to make into a habit can be a specific action - like giving a compliment, sticking to a diet, sitting straight - or a specific image - like visualizing a relaxed state or seeing yourself speaking eloquently before a crowd. Being specific is critical to the pre-conditioning procedure. Vague ideas such as "becoming a better person" or "paying more attention" will not work - they must be translated into specific actions or images. Regardless of what you decide to make into a habit, you must first go through the preconditioning procedure - and, to do that, you must become familiar with the operation of the MotivAider. Look at its face. Starting at the top, the first thing you see is a liquid crystal display with three numbers, all set to zero. Below the display are two white buttons, a left one with an arrow pointing up, and a right one with an arrow pointing down. Below the two white buttons is a slide switch in the left position, the position marked "set." The right position is marked "run." To the right of the slide switch is an oval button. We will use this button later to set the advanced features of the MotivAider. Go to the left button, the one with the arrow pointing up, and press it once. The right-most zero on the crystal display changes to a 1. This means the MotivAider is "set" to go off once a minute. Push the left button again. The 1 changes to a 2, and this means the MotivAider is "set" to go off once every two minutes. Push the right button, the one with the arrow pointing down, twice, and the crystal display is reset to all zeroes. We could also reset the display to zeros by pushing both buttons simultaneously. Now push the right button once and notice the display is "set" to go off once every 23 hours and 59 minutes. In other words, the range of the MotivAider's reminding interval is from once a minute to once a day (for practical purposes, however, intervals greater than an hour are rarely used). "Zero" the MotivAider by pushing both buttons and "set" it to go off once a minute by pushing the left button once. Move the slide switch to the right, to the "run" position. The MotivAider begins counting down from one minute to zero at one-second intervals, after which it pulses and recycles back to one minute. It will continue to do this automatically until you move the slide switch from the "run" position back to the "set" position. Most often, you will remind yourself to make changes at intervals ranging from once a minute to about once every 20 minutes. Notice, however, if you press and hold the left button down for several seconds while the slide switch is in the "set" position, the reminding interval quickly moves from minutes to hours. Let's begin the pre-conditioning procedure. As an example, we will choose an image to pre-condition to create a positive attitude of mind. Think of a pleasant event from the past - one associated with happy imagery. Now choose a word that best summarizes that event. The word should have a positive feeling about it and have the power to readily evoke the pleasant image. Now move the slide switch to the "set" position. "Zero" the MotivAider by pushing both buttons, and move the slide switch to the "run" position. The Pulsing Signal will be continuous because you have "set" the MotivAider to go off once every 0:00 second. As you feel the Pulsing Signal, silently say the word you have chosen and imagine the event. Slide the switch back to the "set" position. Wait a few seconds. Slide the switch once more to the "run" position. Again experience the Pulsing Signal, silently say the word, and imagine the event as vividly as you can. Slide the switch on and off about 5 times, pausing several seconds between each sequence, allowing the Pulsing Signal to become associated with the word and the imagery. The pre-conditioning procedure is complete. If you wish to pre-condition an action, such as sitting straight or complimenting a co-worker - when prompted by the Pulsing Signal, silently say the word you have chosen - followed by the action you have decided to make into a habit. After pre-conditioning, attach the MotivAider to the waistband of a skirt or trousers using the clip. There are two positions to the clip, high and low. You adjust it by placing the point of a ball point pen under the lower flange of the clip to release it as you slide it up or down in its channel. Most people prefer it in the high position; that's its current position. You can, of course also put it in a pocket. Now, let's make a habit. Decide on the image or action, choose the appropriate cue word, and go through the pre-conditioning procedure. Put the MotivAider on and start by using a reminding interval of 8 minutes. If you find this too frequent or infrequent, make the necessary adjustment by resetting the MotivAider. Wear the MotivAider an hour or two each day to remind you to rehearse a movement or mental image. Within a few short weeks a new habit, through the magic of programmed rehearsal, will have been formed. The MotivAider is a precise and rugged instrument and will provide years of reliable service. The battery, with normal use, will typically last between 2 and 3 months. It requires a single AA cell. Access to the battery is by a flap at the rear of the machine Advanced Features. We will now use the oval button next to the slide switch to enable us to customize various features of the MotivAider. "Zero" the MotivAider by pushing both buttons. Now press the oval switch once. The MotivAider will start pulsing. By pressing the up and down arrow buttons, you can change the quality of the pulsation. There are 5 distinct qualities. The machine is set at 1. You can choose any quality of pulsation you prefer and lock it in position by moving the slide switch to the run position and then back to the set position. There are other things you can change. Keeping the slide switch in the set position, press the oval button twice. You now see a flashing number. It is typically set at 2. This means that the duration of the pulsation is set at 2 seconds. By moving the up and down arrow buttons you can set it to one of 3 durations: 2, 3, or 4 seconds. If you decide to change the duration of the conditioning signal, lock it in place by moving the slide switch to the run position and then back to the set position. With the slide switch in the set position, press the oval switch 3 times. You will see the letters: REG. This means the pulsation will go off regularly at whatever interval you have selected. If you push the up or down arrow buttons once, you will see the letters: AVE appear. This means that, on average, the pulsation will occur at the interval you have selected, but not absolutely regularly. Again, choose and lock the setting by moving the slide switch to the run position and then back to the set position. Pushing the button 4 times yields a flashing HM (hours minutes) sign. Normally set to recycle at hourly or minute intervals, moving the either of the arrow buttons moves the signal to the SEC (second) setting which enables the triggering pulsation to occur at intervals less than a minute. Pushing the button 5 times changes the liquid crystal display. By moving the arrow buttons you can move from a CD (count down seconds) position to a CL (clock) to show the time of day, or to a GR (graphic) which functions as a sort of screen-saver display. Moving the arrow buttons to the clock position and setting it requires that you press the oval button 6 times to set the hour and 7 times to set the minute. Again, returning between each setting to the run position and using the arrow buttons to change the numeric values for each clock setting. Finally, pushing the oval button 8 times produces the NEW symbol which locks all of the new positions or, using the arrow buttons, a REV symbol which constitutes a review of the settings or a DEF which returns all of the settings to their original or default positions. In our experience, the default setting suffices for most MotivAider applications. Home | What it does | How it works | How much it'll set you back | Info for the detail-oriented