I am sure lots of people have seen the Kubler Ross curve.

The purpose of the strong dose of negative reinforcement is to take the person beyond the "Resistance" point and push them all the way down to "Acceptance & Regret". At this point they are now ready to begin to form new neural pathways that will allow them to change their behaviour patterns, or go sulk.

This question has been part of an ongoing conversation I have with my friend Howard. This question has been bugging us for a long time now. Why is it that some people take 3 weeks to get it and some people take 3 years? One of the things we keep coming back to is that a serious dose of negative reinforcement moves people off dead centre. They then come around or they go away to sulk. Either way they have to make a choice.