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Factors of the High Achiever: Part 2: Mind Control
Lesson #6
Part 2: Mind Control
Last week we discussed the first pillar of a high achiever, Willpower. This week I'll discuss the second pillar of a high achiever, Mind Control. Mind control deals with managing and filtering our own thoughts and ideas. Why is Mind Control an important factor to high performance? Going to back to the American philosopher William James's saying "people by in large become what they think of themselves", what we dwell on and how we think impacts our performance and what will become of us!
William James tapped into the minds of people through experiments and observation. For the longest time psychologists and philosophers debated and taught on the existence of human drive and the factors that shape us into what we are. The two leading ideas came from Sigmund Freud and B.F. Skinner, but many more psychologists had an input on this subject matter. Freud concluded that internal factors (i.e., genes) are responsible for what a person is and will become. B.F. Skinner on the other hand concluded that external factors (i.e., social environment) have a lot more influence on our behavior and outcome. Both ideologies have their points. William James went a step further to say that our own WILL is the deciding factor on what a person is and will become. Responsibility - in the end it is up to EACH individual on how they choose to think, act, and perform. Do I discount genes or environments as non factors? Absolutely not. We are social animals after all that can be led down different paths depending on our surroundings and our biological limitations. As always, life is not fair so no two people will have the same opportunities or biological make-up. What is fair to say is that a perfectly healthy individual has the power to CHOOSE whatever they want as far as feelings, actions, goals, dreams... you name it. Free will grants us this power. Correct mind control + willpower = sky is the limit!
Now the questions that some will ask: Is free will powerful enough to override some of the hardwiring given to us at birth? Is free-will free of our environment? Yes and yes! Take ownership of everything that you have power over through thoughts, actions, performance. The past has no power over you today, and your past failures do not define you. Failures are learning moments - nothing more or less. Control you future by forgetting the past and acknowledging that YOU are your own master from here on out! Master mind control and future outcomes won't be as unpredictable. Your will to think differently, act for your best interest, and perform at the highest level at all times come from within!
External factors do not affect your will (unless the white flag has been thrown in the ring). This is where willpower, mind control, and performance control tie in towards positive outcomes. If your mental state (thoughts and emotions) is clear and focused, performance will come naturally. On the flip side, negative thoughts and emotions will waste the energy needed to focus on the tasks at hand. Negative thoughts and emotions will waste time, energy, and willpower. I will get into negative mental states and roller coaster rides a lot deeper in a different lesson because there is much too much to say and write on that topic. For now, I want you to take away this: (1) Willpower will push you towards your dreams and goals as long as you do not allow inner negative thoughts to enter and dominate your mind. (2) Free yourself from negative messages by filtering the messages that come in and out of your mind. Put up a "spam filter" and sent those thoughts to the "spam" folder right away, not wasting time to even open and read them.
That's what mind control is about folks. I will cover the 3rd pillar of high performance, Performance Control, in the next lesson.
Part 2: Mind Control
"If you don't mind, it doesn't matter." Mark Twain
Last week we discussed the first pillar of a high achiever, Willpower. This week I'll discuss the second pillar of a high achiever, Mind Control. Mind control deals with managing and filtering our own thoughts and ideas. Why is Mind Control an important factor to high performance? Going to back to the American philosopher William James's saying "people by in large become what they think of themselves", what we dwell on and how we think impacts our performance and what will become of us!
William James tapped into the minds of people through experiments and observation. For the longest time psychologists and philosophers debated and taught on the existence of human drive and the factors that shape us into what we are. The two leading ideas came from Sigmund Freud and B.F. Skinner, but many more psychologists had an input on this subject matter. Freud concluded that internal factors (i.e., genes) are responsible for what a person is and will become. B.F. Skinner on the other hand concluded that external factors (i.e., social environment) have a lot more influence on our behavior and outcome. Both ideologies have their points. William James went a step further to say that our own WILL is the deciding factor on what a person is and will become. Responsibility - in the end it is up to EACH individual on how they choose to think, act, and perform. Do I discount genes or environments as non factors? Absolutely not. We are social animals after all that can be led down different paths depending on our surroundings and our biological limitations. As always, life is not fair so no two people will have the same opportunities or biological make-up. What is fair to say is that a perfectly healthy individual has the power to CHOOSE whatever they want as far as feelings, actions, goals, dreams... you name it. Free will grants us this power. Correct mind control + willpower = sky is the limit!
Now the questions that some will ask: Is free will powerful enough to override some of the hardwiring given to us at birth? Is free-will free of our environment? Yes and yes! Take ownership of everything that you have power over through thoughts, actions, performance. The past has no power over you today, and your past failures do not define you. Failures are learning moments - nothing more or less. Control you future by forgetting the past and acknowledging that YOU are your own master from here on out! Master mind control and future outcomes won't be as unpredictable. Your will to think differently, act for your best interest, and perform at the highest level at all times come from within!
External factors do not affect your will (unless the white flag has been thrown in the ring). This is where willpower, mind control, and performance control tie in towards positive outcomes. If your mental state (thoughts and emotions) is clear and focused, performance will come naturally. On the flip side, negative thoughts and emotions will waste the energy needed to focus on the tasks at hand. Negative thoughts and emotions will waste time, energy, and willpower. I will get into negative mental states and roller coaster rides a lot deeper in a different lesson because there is much too much to say and write on that topic. For now, I want you to take away this: (1) Willpower will push you towards your dreams and goals as long as you do not allow inner negative thoughts to enter and dominate your mind. (2) Free yourself from negative messages by filtering the messages that come in and out of your mind. Put up a "spam filter" and sent those thoughts to the "spam" folder right away, not wasting time to even open and read them.
That's what mind control is about folks. I will cover the 3rd pillar of high performance, Performance Control, in the next lesson.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Factors of the High Achiever: Part 1: Willpower
Lesson #5
Part 1: Willpower
In this discussion, I want to break down the innate forces that make up the three musketeers of high performance. Here is the formula we will be discussing in the next few blog posts:
I call these the 3 musketeers because they are the inseparable guardians of a person trying to slay the dragon, getting off the couch to workout, or just finishing a project at work.
What exactly is willpower? Is it possible to control this force? Simply said willpower is THE force that drives humans beings toward a desired outcome. It is as real as the moon we see at night, but willpower is a wild horse that must be tamed and mastered. Some have more willpower than others, but why? Just as electricity and oil became fuel sources to advance our lives, willpower can have the same impact.
Psychologists began looking at willpower at the beginning of the 19th century to see if it correlated to positive life outcomes. Does a person with more willpower have a step up on someone with less willpower? Through many experiments and tests, scientist pointed to two main factors (out of many) that can lead people to a happy and meaningful life. The two factors were intelligence and willpower. Unfortunately, intelligence is a factor that most people don't have much control over. Our biological makeup (genes) are all tied in with our parents and their parents and so on. It is not a coincidence that offspring excel in the same areas as the parents. Yes there are ways to improve on weak areas, but as most studies are showing it's better to work on your strengths than to try to improve the weaknesses. Social factors do play a part in intelligence, but at the basic level a person is limited do to their genes. With that thought in mind lets move on to the factor that we have a lot of "say" on.
Willpower is the engine behind our thoughts, emotions, impulses, and performance(decisions/actions). In layman terms willpower is self-control. There is a lot more to it, but having control of thoughts, emotions, impulses and wants equates to higher levels of self-control which in turn equates to a higher level of performance. I'm not talking about just success here because success has a different definition for every person. Performance is the measuring stick when it comes to personal success. Write this down people:
Just like poker, life rewards those that minimize screw-ups and maximize positive decisions and performance. Positive decisions create positive habits which become the equation to positive outcomes. Anytime we stray from a desired goal, willpower gives us a jolt to set us straight. Cultivating conscious willpower is the first step to living through the GFY Method. Without the willpower to get through ups and downs of tasks, goals, and life's impulses a person will not achieve a high level of performance.
We'll look at the second pillar of a high achiever, Mind Control, in the next post.
Part 1: Willpower
"Free will and determinism are like a game of cards. The hand that is dealt you is determinism. The way you play your hand is free will." - Norman Cousins
In this discussion, I want to break down the innate forces that make up the three musketeers of high performance. Here is the formula we will be discussing in the next few blog posts:
Willpower + Mind Control + Performance Control = High Performance
What exactly is willpower? Is it possible to control this force? Simply said willpower is THE force that drives humans beings toward a desired outcome. It is as real as the moon we see at night, but willpower is a wild horse that must be tamed and mastered. Some have more willpower than others, but why? Just as electricity and oil became fuel sources to advance our lives, willpower can have the same impact.
Psychologists began looking at willpower at the beginning of the 19th century to see if it correlated to positive life outcomes. Does a person with more willpower have a step up on someone with less willpower? Through many experiments and tests, scientist pointed to two main factors (out of many) that can lead people to a happy and meaningful life. The two factors were intelligence and willpower. Unfortunately, intelligence is a factor that most people don't have much control over. Our biological makeup (genes) are all tied in with our parents and their parents and so on. It is not a coincidence that offspring excel in the same areas as the parents. Yes there are ways to improve on weak areas, but as most studies are showing it's better to work on your strengths than to try to improve the weaknesses. Social factors do play a part in intelligence, but at the basic level a person is limited do to their genes. With that thought in mind lets move on to the factor that we have a lot of "say" on.
Willpower is the engine behind our thoughts, emotions, impulses, and performance(decisions/actions). In layman terms willpower is self-control. There is a lot more to it, but having control of thoughts, emotions, impulses and wants equates to higher levels of self-control which in turn equates to a higher level of performance. I'm not talking about just success here because success has a different definition for every person. Performance is the measuring stick when it comes to personal success. Write this down people:
Willpower + Mind Control + Performance Control = High Performance
Just like poker, life rewards those that minimize screw-ups and maximize positive decisions and performance. Positive decisions create positive habits which become the equation to positive outcomes. Anytime we stray from a desired goal, willpower gives us a jolt to set us straight. Cultivating conscious willpower is the first step to living through the GFY Method. Without the willpower to get through ups and downs of tasks, goals, and life's impulses a person will not achieve a high level of performance.
We'll look at the second pillar of a high achiever, Mind Control, in the next post.
What do you really want in life? That should be the first question on everybody's mind. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXJW8u4iqAs&sns=tw #New Year's Resolution
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