Psycho Cybernetics Maxwell Maltz – Book Summary/Notes

-self image is correlated with success and failure 

-self image is created through experiences, not intellectual knowledge acquired 

-if you can change or improve your self image, you can overcome obstacles and achieve your goals

-all actions, feelings and behaviors and abilities are always consistent with the self image, reflects it. through your experiences, you consciously or subconscious create an image of yourself and who you are. These experiences validate It. Once you begin walking around and living with this image, you start attracting and seeking confirmation for It. The verification strengthens and you act on It just as if It was really true, turning into proof. 

-this objective proof blinds a person from realizing that their issues lie in the self image/own valuation of himself.  

-the self image can be changed regardless of age. People look at the wrong details when It comes to wanting to change or make progress. Instead of looking within at the self, they look at what’s around them and use those as excuses. They think that they’ve tried or attempted to think positive about any given situation so that they can pursue it, yet they are unaware of and never think to change the self that is the sole driver who is actually going to accomplish the goal. “Impossible to truly think positive about a situation as long as you hold a negative concept of your self.”

-stop identifying with your failures and mistakes. 

-subconscious is a goal striving servo-mechanism consisting of the brain and nervous system which is used by and directed by the mind. Our mind operates this automatic goal striving machine. 

-creative mechanism – goal of this is to achieve mental images created by imagination. Key goal is our self image. Self image prescribes the limits for the accomplishment of any goal, the “area of possible”. It works on info and data that we feed into It (thoughts beliefs and interpretations). This in return is used to solve problems and respond to situations. 

-success mechanism – in order to turn your creative mechanism into a success mechanism, you must use the method of learning practicing and experiencing new habits of thinking imagining and remembering, and acting in order to develop a legit self image, while also using your creative mechanism to bring success and happiness in achieve goals. 

-we have access to a higher power of intelligence when we begin to think hard enough. Our minds can rescan our brain or our subconscious find answers to our problems that we don’t have knowledge in ourselves. 

-can’t change self image unless you see the new image as your truth 

-success mechanism must have a goal or target. Must he conceived of as already in existence, now, either in actual or potential form. It operates by either steering you to a goal already in existence or by discovering something already in existence. 

-skill is learned via trial and error. Correcting the error until It becomes successful. Then continued success comes from not implementing the errors any longer and remembering only the successful ones. 

-trust your creative mechanism. You cannot force It by too much conscious effort. Since It operates subconsciously you must allow It to work its magic. As you act and place a demand on It by your actions, it will come through. 

-we use our imagination for our goals. We use It constructively or destructively. The key is becoming aware of which way you’re using yours and improving on It daily. 

-nervous system cannot tell the difference between an imagined experience and a real one. It reacts automatically to information you’ve given It from your brain. It reacts appropriately to what you think or imagine to be true. 

-we act and feel not according to what things are really like, but according to the image your mind holds of what they are like. We have certain mental images of ourselves our world and the people around us and we behave as though these images were the truth, the reality, rather than the things they represent. (Need to mention this in part 2 for control when It comes to our emotions, how we need to stop always believing all of our thoughts). 

-if we picture ourselves performing in a certain manner, It is nearly the same as the actual performance. Mental practice helps to make perfect. 

-role playing – imagining yourself in various sales situations then solving them in your mind, until you know what to say and do whenever the situation comes up in real life. Imagine every possible scenario and work out the best response. Preparing beforehand by using your imagination. 

-Rehearsal practice – when preparing for an interview plan for It in advance. Go through all questions likely to be asked, think about answers you’d respond with. Rehearse the interview in your mind. Leads to confidence. Helps to react spontaneously due to practicing to do so. 

By consistently mentally visualizing and actually feeling the action/doing of the task/goal at hand, you can vastly improve when actually performing It physically. 

You must have a clear mental picture of the correct thing before you can do it successful – Alex Morrison golf teacher. 

Our brain and body functions as a machine that we operate. The auto goal seeking machine steers its way to a goal by use of data and store info, auto correcting course when needed. It can only operate in one way, with a target/goal to shoot at. 

Must clearly see a thing in your mind before doing It, once you do, the creative success mechanism within takes over and does the job better than you could by conscious effort or willpower. 

Mentally picturing the desired end result forces you to use positive thinking. 

-visualizing past wins, something that you’re happy proud and positive about. Doesn’t matter how big or small It is. Vividly going through the experience to relive It, how It felt, smelt, heard, subtle and minor detailed specific ls important to practice. 

-take the few seconds to recognize when you’d typically get annoyed or upset in any certain situation, and instead of letting It affect your present state, take a deep breath and relax your body. Think about what getting angry solves, and how this moment can be used to better yourself and often times what you were going to be angry about ends up not being as big of a deal or as worse as you made It out to be. “Men are disturbed not by the things that happen, but by their opinion of the things that happen”. Stop allowing your opinions to influence the way you feel. Stop always believing that your thoughts and opinions know best! 

Power of hypnosis is the power of belief – when a hypnotic suggests something that overcomes a negative idea that the person implanted in their mind (you are very strong….when person thinks they cannot lift more than 100 lbs). They imposed a limitation on themselves with a negative belief that they can’t do It. By removing the mental block, they become dehypnotized from their own self limiting beliefs about themself. 

-there is no norm or average standard. We must stop comparing ourselves to others. There is only one you, you’re not meant to be like others and vice versa. Your inferiority complex originates from thinking of where you stand in relation to someone else’s norm. Stop this madness! 

-if an error is made, you must focus on correcting It next time and then forgetting the error. Dwelling on the past does not serve anyone well and allows the negative behavior to continue, when the goal should be to remove It from thought. 

-the conscious mind is the one that selects the goal, gathers info, concludes, evaluates, estimates and starts the wheels in motion. It is not responsible for results or solving problems. We must learn to do our work, act on the best assumptions available and leave results to take care of themselves (subconscious) 

Happiness – all internal. Habit that can be fixed and improved upon. Happiness lives only lives in the present not in the future when you hope something can be attained. 

Focusing and imagining pleasant ideas and memories of the past is essential to self improvement, and allows you to face life more pleasantly.