Psycho-Cybernetics

Psycho-Cybernetics explains how thinking of the human mind as a machine can help improve your self-image, which will dramatically increase your success and happiness.

Whether you like it or not you’ve created your own self-image or a blueprint of who you are. Every success, failure, and experience you’ve had has played a role in the creation of this mental illustration. Life events, whether traumatic or wonderful, lead us to create the mental blueprint of ourselves. This principle is important to know because who you believe yourself to be determines how you act every day.

For example, if you’ve had struggles with math your whole life, you may tell yourself that you’re bad at math, that it’s just who you are. It’s the thought of being awful at arithmetic that makes you continue to struggle. Maybe instead of having a hard time with numbers, you think that people judge you for the way you look or act, which causes you to push people away. Unfortunately, this perception of yourself and how others view you is making you shut down.

This principle is similar to Martin Seligman’s explanatory style described in Learned Optimism. How we explain life events to ourselves determines how they will affect us. Between every situation we experience and how we feel about it is a space. Within that space, we decide what to think the circumstance means, whether good or bad. We have to improve what we think to change how we feel in any situation we encounter. When we upgrade our perception of ourselves and the world around us, we can improve the way we act.

Maltz teaches that there are seven elements of a personality that attracts success. The acronym S.U.C.C.E.S.S. summarizes these fundamentals. The first element is Sense of Direction, or having an objective to pursue. Direct yourself toward success every day by setting goals. Next comes Understanding to know when your fear or desire is altering the truth. Anxiety, fear, and desire cause us to misunderstand events, which leads to failure. Then we have Courage, which is taking calculated risks to make your goals happen. Don’t delay action until you are completely confident. Even Imperfect Courage is better than none. Afterward comes Charity, which consists of putting the problems and needs of people first. Caring for others is a hallmark of outstanding individuals. Esteem is next and is all about having a positive self-opinion. Tell yourself often that you can do whatever you think you can! Self-confidence comes after esteem. You can improve this one by remembering your past successes. Learn to accept and love yourself for who you are, and forget your past failures. And last we have self-acceptance, which is learning to…