Curious about Automatic: How Do You Feel about Things and Reactions that Are Automatic?

“Good habits, which bring our lower passions and appetites under automatic control, leave our natures free to explore the larger experiences of life. Too many of us divide and dissipate our energies in debating actions which should be taken for granted.” - Ralph W. Sockman, American leader

“Just because it's automatic doesn't mean it works.” - Daniel J. Bernstein, American mathematician

For today’s blog, I was planning to use the theme of automation, but there were only a few quotations, so I chose it’s cousin, automatic, which works even better. Why, though, automation and/or automatic? Mainly, because I question the marketing gurus who sing the praises of automation. They are ecstatic when they can use automation or software programs that “with the click of a button” will create five minute websites, write articles on the topic of your choice, and perform a plethora of other many step – and somewhat boring –tasks.

Well, I am not ecstatic! Why? Because, even though we are working on a machine, I don’t want to be treated like a machine. I thought that the main focus and secret of successful marketing is building relationships with people – not our computers. Yes, it does help to have the programs that produce the amazing results we can expect and experience. I just want to have enough control that others realize that I am a real and caring person. I am not coming to you automatically with the click of a button. I want you to know, like, and trust me as a person.

Is it the human factor that has made video marketing so popular? I know that I enjoy seeing real human beings talking to me, even if they are not perfect – it is almost better if they aren’t.


Following are some of the quotations that address automatic. I found them to have interesting approaches and thoughts. Would love to hear what you think. Here we go:

• “Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.” – Martin Luther King, Jr., American leader


• “Reason is not automatic. Those who deny it cannot be conquered by it. Do not count on them. Leave them alone.” - Ayn Rand, Russian author


• “Repetition of the same thought or physical action develops into a habit which, repeated frequently enough, becomes an automatic reflex.” - Norman Vincent Peale, American clergyman


• “For imagination sets the goal picture which our automatic mechanism works on. We act, or fail to act, not because of will, as is so commonly believed, but because of imagination.” - Maxwell Maltz, American scientist


• “Racism is taught in our society, it is not automatic. It is learned behavior toward persons with dissimilar physical characteristics.” - Alex Haley, American novelist


• “Forget about being world famous, it's hard enough just getting the automatic doors at the supermarket to acknowledge our existence.” - Doug Coupland, Canadian author

And, a few more:

• “There are no automatic links between poverty and terrorism. Among millions of poor people in the world, only a few turn to terrorism.” - Gijs de Vries, Dutch politician


• “Working with the Kinks, there always seemed to be some kind of automatic process at work. Ray and I had this telepathy happening for a long time, where one of us always knew what the other could do with something.” - Dave Davies, British musician


• “The automatic stabilizer is unemployment insurance, food stamps, additional coverage of Medicaid.” – Franklin Raines, American businessman


• “Not wishing to be disturbed over moral issues of the political economy, Americans cling to the notion that the government is a sort of automatic machine, regulated by the balancing of competing interests.” - C. Wright Mills, American sociologist


• “My lyrics are generated by various peculiar processes. Very random and similar to automatic writing.” – Brian Eno, British musician


• “Abundance and vigor of automatic movements are desirable, and even a considerable degree of restlessness is a good sign in young children.” - G. Stanley Hall, American psychologist

I hope you find all of this as interesting as I do. Are we really making our lives better using automation, or are we just dehumanizing others? What do you think? I would love to hear from you.