Welcome to reThink Your Perspective’s blog. To listen to this episode as a Podcast, click here!
This blog is dedicated to finding, sharing and discussing a variety of topics around the struggles our clients and audience go through. Each episode we will discuss a key concept that many humans struggle with and give you a variety of perspectives for you to see the concept through so you can find one that makes it feel easier to deal with.
We hope that you get some benefit from these blog posts, and we would love to hear your thoughts! Don’t hesitate to like, share and comment at the links.
This instalment features a book which was first suggested to me in several of the ‘Thinking Into Results’* lessons created by Bob Proctor and Sandy Gallagher at the Proctor Gallagher Institute, as well as in many of the live calls, mentoring sessions and other videos I have been watching during my journey and is one that I highly recommend on all of my own live sessions.
It is a truly revolutionary book.
Considering it was first published in 1960, it is astounding to me that it has not become a key text in schools around the world as the information contained within would make every single human a better and more productive person. Not only for the good of our species but for them as individuals as well.
The book is available in most good book shops, online and in person, and I highly recommend you get yourself a copy if my write ups resonate with you. I hope they do the book justice but they are only small snippets.
Stay tuned for my reviews over the next couple of weeks as I re-populate and update these blog posts which were originally written in 2022. My version of the book has space for reflection on each of the chapters so I have included my thoughts at the bottom of each of the chapter summaries.
* – Thinking Into Results is a life altering program that opens your mind to the limitless possibilities you have within you. Using 12 lessons ranging from adjusting your self-image, through leadership qualities and praxis, to the knowing-doing gap, this program is designed and proven to change your life in every way in your relationships, finances, careers, wellbeing and many other areas of your life. Get in touch if you want to know more about this program!
Chapter 6 – Relax and Let Your Success Mechanism Work For You.
Chapter 6 of “Psycho-Cybernetics” by Maxwell Maltz is all about the importance of relaxing and letting your success mechanism work for you. Imagine your brain as a powerful computer that can help you achieve your goals if you let it do its job.
In this chapter, Maltz explains that when we are stressed or anxious, we can block our brain’s ability to help us succeed. By learning to relax and trust in our abilities, we can allow our brain to work its magic and guide us towards success.
Be genuinely indifferent. You made the decision and said to your success mechanism what you want, now let it go!
Stop trying to do everything with your forebrain thinking (the computer operator). You need to let your creative success mechanism do its job.
Your forebrain thinks, imagines, sets goals, gathers information, makes observations, evaluates sensory data, forms judgements… But it CANNOT create, it cannot DO the job. It’s role is to pose problems, with as much wider information, data and evidence.
It can’t solve the problem.
Use your forebrain and associated emotions to make a decision then dismiss all responsibility and care about the outcome. Do not think about the how, just unclamp your intellectual and practical machinery and let it run free.
Don’t try to solve problems using conscious thought! Think passivity instead of activity once the decision has been made about the target you are heading for.
In order to receive an inspiration / hunch (creative ideas are not conscious, they arrive ‘out of the blue’), you must first be intensely interested in solving a particular problem or getting a particular answer.
You must think about it consciously.
Gather all the information you can, consider possible courses of action and develop a burning desire to solve it!
Once you have defined the problem, seen the desirable results in your imagination, and secured all the information possible, then additional struggle, fretting, worrying does not help. Just let your creative mechanism take over and see where it goes!
Don’t Then Jam Your Creative Mechanism!
Let go, stop trying, don’t care, give no thought to the matter of behaviour, act creatively, spontaneously and be yourself. Focus on the journey, taking care of each step as action points are presented to you. With one eye on the target and desired outcome.
Maltz gives five rules for freeing your creative machinery:
- Do your worrying before you place your bet, not after the wheel turns. Once the wheel is turning there is nothing you can do so worry before! Then hand over the goal to your creative mechanism and become indifferent; what will be will be!
- Form the habit of consciously responding to the present moment. Live your life in 24 hour blocks (or shorter if possible!). Stay present with the here and now as that is all you have got. Thinking about the past can’t change it anymore than predicting what will happen in the future! Be present in the present moment with awareness of the goal you are heading for.
- Try to do only one thing at a time.
- Sleep on it! The best ideas and solutions come while your creative mechanism is at its most relaxed.
- Relax while you work.
How To Integrate This Chapter Into Your Own Life
Here are some helpful tips to integrate the lessons from this chapter into your daily life:
- Practice deep breathing: When you feel overwhelmed or stressed, take a few deep breaths to calm your mind and body. This can help you relax and allow your success mechanism to kick in.
- Visualise your success: Spend some time each day visualising yourself achieving your goals. This can help train your brain to focus on success and attract positive outcomes.
- Trust in yourself: Believe in your abilities and trust that you have what it takes to succeed. By letting go of self-doubt and negative thoughts, you can open yourself up to the possibilities of success.
- Take breaks: Remember to take breaks and give yourself time to relax and recharge. This can help prevent burnout and allow your success mechanism to work more effectively.
By incorporating these tips into your daily routine, you can learn to relax and let your success mechanism work for you. Trust in yourself, stay positive, and remember that you have the power to achieve your goals.
The copy of the book I have has spaces after each chapter to write and reflect on an experience from your past that is explained by the principles given in the chapter.
This is what came up for me:
When sewing, if it starts to go off track, or doesn’t work, or I can’t see how to do it, if I then persist it usually goes wrong! However, if I look at all the information and play with it briefly then step away and come back to it later, I get new insights into how to solve it – ‘fresh eyes’ – and can overcome the snag.
The same is true for most situations I have found. If I take a break or walk away and then come back to it I overcome it. How many extra puzzle pieces do you place when you happen to just walk by compared to when you have been at it for an hour? The longer I persist, trying to force it to work, the less I manage and the more frustrated I get. Because I have blocked my creative mechanism by trying to force it!
“Ideas, I find, come most readily when you are doing something that keeps the mind alert without putting too much strain on it… Driving a car, shaving, DIY, fishing. Or engaging in stimulating conversation. Some of my best ideas came from information picked up casually and entirely unrelated to my work.”
Lennox Riley Lohr
What Do You Think?
What is coming up for you after reading this summary? Comment below or send me a message. I would love to help you notice when you are forcing things, to then relax and unstick your mechanism!
To your success,
Jaiye
