Come to think of it, provocation has been since time immemorial used as an effective tool to ignite or elicit action. While most of the time unfortunately its been related to negativity. In reality, it can be used both for the good and bad.
Let’s look at some examples of using provocation for triggering positive action.
- ‘I do not think you have enough strength or courage to jump over this wall’ – to provoke a child to climb over the wall.
- ‘I don’t think you can solve this puzzle, its not easy’ – to provoke someone to take up problem solving
- ‘Come on, waking up early is not for you. I don’t think you have the will or the gumption to wake up early’ – to provoke someone to wake up early for an early morning walk.
- ‘Do you think you will be able to bite this chilly and still stay in your chair without jumping for a glass of water’ to provoke someone to try eating a chilly 🙂
- ‘I don’t want to give you the answer to your question, by doing so, I will be insulting your intellect’ – a provocation for making people think through and come with answers on their own.
I don’t think you really understood a bit of what I am trying to tell through this….. 🙂