Maxwell Maltz, author of the phenomenally successful book Psycho Cybernetics said way back in around 1960 that “The boundary of individual achievement will never outperform your own self image”.
What is your self-image? What image do you hold of yourself? Self-image is how you see yourself. For most, it is based upon false ideas.
Cybernetics refers to the science of correcting course and keeping something moving towards a goal. Paradigms are ideas fixed in the subconscious mind (a multitude of habits).
Cybernetics and paradigms are both control systems and operate essentially on the same principle. Both maintain a definite course of action and will not deviate from the course that has been established.
You must alter the paradigm to achieve the result you desire. Your home Air conditioning is a cybernetic instrument. It works automatically.
The automatic pilot of a commercial plane is a cybernetic instrument. When the plane goes off course, the cybernetic system corrects the flight pattern.
Your self-image is a cybernetic instrument.
Suppose your self-image says “overweight.” If you go on a diet without altering the self-image, any weight loss will be temporary. The self-image measures the deviation and corrects course. It “finds” the lost weight.
You are God’s highest form of creation.
Ralph Waldo-Emerson said “Of what use to make heroic vows of amendment, if the same old lawbreaker is to keep them.” Change the lawbreaker!
The child’s self-image is a cybernetic instrument. Poor grades at school are an expression of a self-image. The real problem is the self-image. The improvement is temporary. They don’t know any different.
Suppose you set a lofty goal. If you fail to become the person who can achieve the lofty goal, your success will be limited. You may meet with some degree of success. However, the success will be temporary. Sooner or later, you will slip back to the level dictated by your self-image. And this will be true regardless of how much you work, how much you learn, and the persistent you may be.
In order for success to be lasting, you must change how you see the person in the mirror. Change how you think about yourself and the success you seek is within reach. And here is a bonus! You will accomplish the success you seek with the resources you have at hand. You will expend far less effort and accomplish far more than many others with more resources. And this despite what may be an assortment of obstacles and setbacks.
If you would like to discuss these ideas, please feel free to give me a call (0488 239 632) or email trevor@betterthinking.com.au for more information.