Imagine the surreal scene:
Dozens or maybe hundreds of police officers, linked hand-in-hand like eight-year-olds on a school trip, guarding the exit of the happiest place on Earth to keep people from escaping the happiness inside.
Maybe you heard the news from the last week. Some person somewhere in Shanghai tested positive for corona virus.
As a result, the entire city went into high corona alert.
A part of it was that Disneyland Shanghai lifted its drawbridge, dropped the heavy portcullis, and manned its walls to prevent any breach in the walls.
Except of course, all these measures were not to keep barbarian invaders from breaking into the Magical Kingdom.
Instead, these measures to keep peaceable Disneyland visitors from escaping to the outside.
Now think about how weird this really is:
Disneyland. The happiest place on Earth.
People plan a trip there for months, and pay a lot of money to be let in.
Also, from what I read in the news, once the gates of Disneyland Shanghai slammed shut, the rides inside the theme park kept running. To make it an even sweeter deal, Disneyland offered its prisoners free food.
And yet it didn’t matter.
Thousands of panicked visitors pressed towards the exit, trying to make their way out, becoming angry and indignant when they found out they were locked inside.
Now I’m sure different reasons possible why people wanted to get out of Disneyland.
Fear of corona… work and family obligation… getting sick of hearing “It’s a small world” playing over and over…
But there’s something else also.
Reactance.
That’s the word to describe that even the most attractive, desirable things become instantly repulsive if they contain an element of compulsion. If it’s not our free choice, but imposed on us from outside, whether by force or by manipulation.
Fear and loathing inside Disneyland is just a dramatic example of reactance. But reactance happens all the time — whenever people try to order you, force you, or of course, try to sell you something.
How do you deal with this?
I will have much more to say about that soon, and share various ways to pre-empt and side-step reactance before it even has a chance to form. If you’re interested in hearing more about that, sign up to my daily email newsletter and to be the first to find out.