Sometimes a title can kill a great book, or at least make it seem dated.
Psycho-Cybernetics is one of them.
It sounds like something from the 1960's version of Star Trek, or The Six Million Dollar Man, but it's not.
It's actually a book and an approach to retraining how you think about yourself, take action, and make positive changes in your life. It was the mental training tool of choice of athletes, executives, top performers, and great coaches like Vince Lombardi.
The difference between Psycho-Cybernetics and the usual crop of self-help books is the decided lack of Stuart Smalley self-help language or emphasis on going to the roots of problems, looking for insights and getting way too introspective.
I don't know about you, but I'm not into that. I want tools to help me move forward and affect changes ASAP.
Or, to quote Jesse Ventura, "I ain't got time to bleed".
The premise is simple. We all have a concept of ourselves and our actions, choices, etc. are consistent with that concept. Trying to force some exterior change (IE I will work out and swear off Cheetos today, despite a 20 year history) is pretty much doomed to failure without changing that central self concept. Even if you succeed, all the force of your subconscious will bring you back to where you started because that's what it's gotten used to.
Anything truly central -getting fit, pursuing better relationships, pursuing career goals -these all touch on core values and beliefs we have about ourselves, that self-concept, and often these unspoken beliefs conflict with our stated, and deeply felt desires for success and happiness
I can tell you firsthand, it's a challenge to retrain my thinking, but it's worth it.
Getting practical tools for retraining the mind is a game changer. It's like anything. If you can't "see" the shot and practice it mentally first, then chances are, you aren't going to make it.
Having some tools and structure for mental practice and essential if you want to start changing your actions, "seeing and making the shot" more often than not.
Several people who I look up to personally and professionally have a few authors that they quote a lot. So, to me it makes sense to look them up, especially since I want to create a career and a life more like theirs and less like my default mode.
Craig Ballantyne led me to Dan Kennedy who led me to Psycho-Cybernetics, which was written back in 1960 by Dr. Maxwell Maltz. It was revolutionary for the time, and I suspect, based on some of the people reading it, that it will come back into the spotlight once more.
Again, it's just a big fifty-cent title for a book on how to mentally rehearse for what you do want and avoid what you don't (or at least handle what you don't want in a way that's constructive -we do live in an imperfect world)
I've really enjoyed it thus far. I've just read it once and am going back through and taking notes. I'm excited to make some of the exercises more a part of my routine. This is one of those books that feels like it marks a sea-change in my life, and I'm pretty stoked.
It's not very touchy-feely, and instead focuses on providing usable tools. Plus I get to tell people that if it was good enough for Vince Lombardi, it's good enough for me.
If you're looking to change your actions and want something to show for your efforts, then I'd highly recommend doing something to change you core beliefs. There's more than enough information out there about how to get fit, get better relationships, get a better career, etc. If you don't believe you're worth it, then these are pretty much irrelevant.
So change your core beliefs.
You rock!
Charlie
Charlie Levine
http://513fit.com/
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