ï»żHey whatâs up guys! Kathy Gibbens hereâŠ
Letâs start off with a quick review of a fallacy we talked about earlier this season: the Appeal to Heaven fallacy. An appeal to heaven fallacy happens when someone claims to know the will of God and says that you should or shouldnât do something b/c it either is or isnât Godâs will. This one is a doozy, guys, because there are nuances that differentiate a faulty appeal to heaven from a legitimate appeal to heaven. So I highly recommend going back to listen to episode 30 to get those nuances down.
So, the Question to ask yourself if you think you might be facing a false or faulty Appeal to Heaven is this: âIs it really true that God said that or are they just trying to get me to do what THEY want me to do?â
And again, If you want to hear more about this fallacy, check out Episode 30.
Alright, we are officially in our last part of the Manipulation mini-series. Has this little mini-series been helpful to you? I sure hope so! Iâm telling youâŠwhen you know the tactics, youâll be able to recognize them and youâll be WAY less likely to fall for them, which is the whole goal of this mini-series! I want you to be able to recognize foolishnessâŠand trust me, thereâs a lot of foolishness out there, so pay attention! And by the way, Iâve taught you 12 different manipulation tactics here, some of the most common, but there are more. Maybe weâll get to them at another time, weâll see. But for now, this is a really good foundation for you to begin recognizing manipulation for what it is.
Ok, so the last tactic weâll be talking about is something called: Moving the Goalposts. Moving the goalposts is when someone keeps coming up with new things for you to do in order to meet their approval or live up to their expectations. This is usually done by someone who youâre trying to please or whose standards youâre trying to meet.
But sometimes, no matter how much you show up for this person, they will change their expectations at the last minute to keep you constantly running toward their âgoalposts.â
Someone who moves the goalposts will absolutely set you up for frustration and exhaustion. With these people, youâre never going to actually reach those goalposts, and your efforts and success wonât be acknowledged if you do.
Moving the Goalposts is also a type of fallacy - see how these things overlap? When someone is committing the Moving the Goalposts fallacy, theyâre requiring you to continue to make more & more arguments to prove your point, even after you have successfully and satisfactorily proven the point. Itâs a way for them to disparage and ignore your arguments by requiring you to continue making new arguments, as if what youâve already said isnât enough. You can easily find yourself going around in circles and frustrated without even realizing whatâs happening. It also makes the other person justified in feeling dissatisfied with your argument, rather than actually accepting the fact that you made a good point! It allows them to stay in denial.
Hereâs a simple example of what Moving the Goalposts might sound like. Say youâre playing the game âhorseâ with a basketball with your older sibling. Youâre winning, then they finally score a point. They say that their shots should count as 2, not as 1 because theyâre older. Thatâs a really simple example of someone moving the goalposts. Rather than sticking to the rules they agreed to, theyâre not wanting to concede the win to you, so theyâre making it harder & harder for you to win.
Hereâs another example. Letâs say youâre at the fair with your family and you come across someone who says theyâre a fortune teller and they can prove it to you. (Now, let me just say this right hereâŠI donât believe in fortune telling and I certainly do NOT recommend going to one! But, this is the type of tricky thing that youâre likely to run into at some point in your life, so I want you to be able to recognize the game theyâre playing so you donât fall for it!) So this fortune teller proceeds to try to prove that theyâre legitimate and says, HmmâŠI see that you have an orange tabby cat. And youâre like, Uhhh, no, I donât have a cat, I have a dog. She immediately changes her tune and saysâŠâOh yes!! What I really meant was an animal - a pet! I meant that you have a pet!â Do you see how this person changed the goalposts to keep from making themselves look bad?
Hereâs whatâs really funny: In 2009 a Swedish soccer goalkeeper was actually caught on camera trying to move the goalposts in order to gain an advantage. He was trying to be sneaky and not have anyone see, but he got caught. For real - you can find the video on YouTube, lol!
Just like that goalkeeper, people who commit this fallacy are unwilling to admit they lost. So instead, they try to change the criteria for âwinningâ after itâs already been agreed upon.
So, the question to ask yourself if youâre facing the Moving the Goalpost tactics is this: âDid I already meet the expectation?â And if so, you stop arguing. Donât keep playing their game. Have the confidence that youâve already met the expectations and refuse to keep playing along. Call them out on the fact that theyâve moved the goalposts. ⊠*repeat*
Ok, guys, thatâs it for today. Join me next time when I have a super special treat for you! Iâll be bringing you my very first interview on this podcast! I think youâll like it. In the meantime,
Remember: When you learn HOW to think, you will no longer fall prey to those who are trying to tell you what THEY want you to think and it all starts with asking one simple question: âIs that really true?â
