Writing in his book, Championing Children: Gold Medal Thinking for Future Readiness, Dilip Mukerjea shares

SOME SERIOUS HUMOUR TO GET YOU SERIOUSLY LAUGHING

1) A schoolteacher injured his back and had to wear a plaster cast around the upper part of his body. It fit under his shirt and was not noticeable at all. 

On the first day of the term, still with the cast under his shirt, he found himself assigned to the toughest students in school. 

Walking confidently into the rowdy classroom, he opened the window as wide as possible and then busied himself with deskwork. 

When a strong breeze made his tie flap, he took the desk stapler and stapled the tie to his chest. 

He had no discipline problems with any of his students that term.

2) When my son Alex began spending lots of time in the Internet chat rooms, I worried that his grades would suffer. I made him promise to do schoolwork until I returned home at 5p.m. 

One day at 4:30 I decided to check up on him. Using my office computer, I went on-line and entered his favorite chat room. 

To my dismay I saw Alex’s name among the list of current participants and immediately decided to teach him a lesson in front of his cyber friends. “Alex,” I typed, “this is your mother, and you are grounded for two weeks!” 

”Hi, Mrs. Meyers,” came a reply. “This is Jeffery. Alex’s doing homework right now, and he said I could use his computer. But I’ll be sure to let him know that he’s been grounded.”

3) A magician worked on a cruise ship. Since the audience was different each week, he did the same tricks over and over again. 

One problem: The captain’s parrot saw the shows each week and began to understand how the magician did every trick. Once the parrot understood, she started shouting in the middle of the show: “Look, it’s not the same hat! Look, he’s hiding the flowers under the table. Hey, why are all the cards the ace of spades?” 

The magician was furious but couldn’t do anything. It was, after all, the captain’s parrot. Then the ship sank. 

After swimming for a few hours, the magician found himself on a piece of wood floating in the middle of the sea with, as fate would have it, the parrot. They stared malevolently at each other but did not utter a word. This went on for a day and then another, and then another. 

Finally on the fourth day, the parrot could restrain itself no longer: “OK,” she said, “I give up. What’d you do with the ship?”

4) Teacher: ‘Jerry, if you don’t settle down and become more serious, you’ll never grow up to be a responsible man.’ 

Jerry: ‘Miss, I AM already a responsible boy. Every time something happens, Mum always tells me that I’m responsible!

A quick one, Dilip Mukerjea, writing in his book, Championing Children: Gold Medal Thinking for Future-Readiness, shares his personal thoughts on the

THREE KEYS TO SUCCESS 

(1) Read More Books! READERS MAKE LEADERS! 

(2) Surround Yourself with Winners! We are the sum total of the five people with whom we keep company the most. 

(3) Set Stretch Goals! Transcend your present possibilities. Write down your goals. A dull pencil is better than a sharp mind. 

 GOALS = Go On And Live Successfully 

So think BIG! 

B = Books you read 

I = Individuals with whom you keep company 

G = Goals you set, and the Goals you get!

Here's a nice piece of witticism  from the Psycho-Cybernetics classic by Dr Maxwell Maltz for you to ponder:

"... I failed once in the past, so I will probably fail in the future" is neither logical nor rational.

To conclude "I can't" in advance, without trying, and in the absence of any evidence to support the inevitability of failure, is not rational.

We should be more like the man who was asked if he could play the piano.

"I don't know," he said.

"What do you mean you don't know?" he was, asked.

"I have never tried," he replied... "

On a contemporary note, just think about what billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk once said:

"If something's important enough, you should try. Even if - the probable outcome is failure. 

I'd rather be optimistic and wrong than pessimistic and right. If you get up in the morning and think the future is going to be better, it is a bright day."

Interestingly, as mentioned in the Psycho-Cybernetics classic, martial artist and movie actor Chuck Norris, a close friend of the late martial artist and philosopher Bruce Lee, took Bruce Lee's exercise (which I have had already described in an earlier post) even further.

In his book, The Secret Power Within You, Chuck Norris wrote:

"I actually write down on a scrap of paper whatever negative thoughts I have and then burn them.

When I dispose of the ashes, the thoughts, too, are removed from my mind."

Because of my natural curiosity streak and passion for learning, I am always exploring new angles in recapping and reviewing what I have learned before.

Here is a random collection of astute observations from the Psycho-Cybernetics classic, pertaining to what I often like to call "You-niquesness":

• “You” as a personality are not in competition with any other personality simply because there is not another person on the face of the earth like you, or in your particular class. You are an individual. You are unique. You are not “like” any other person and can never become “like” any other person. You are not “supposed” to be like any other person and no other person is “supposed” to be like you.”

• “... in finding in oneself an individuality, uniqueness, and distinctiveness that is akin to the idea of being created in the image of God.”

• “Inferiority and superiority are reverse sides of the same coin. The cure lies in realizing that the coin itself is spurious. The truth about you is this: You are not “inferior.” You are not “superior.” You are simply “You.” “You” as a personality are not in competition with any other personality simply because there is not another person on the face of the earth like you, or in your particular class. You are an individual. You are unique. You are not “like” any other person and can never become “like” any other person. You are not “supposed” to be like any other person and no other person is “supposed” to be like you.”

• “Stop measuring yourself against “their” standards. You are not “them” and can never measure up. Neither can “they” measure up to yours—nor should they. Once you see this simple, rather self-evident truth, accept it, and believe it, your inferior feelings will vanish.”

• “Dr. Norton L. Williams, a psychiatrist, addressing a medical convention, said that modern man’s anxiety and insecurity stemmed from a lack of self-realization, and that inner security can only be found “in finding in oneself an individuality, uniqueness, and distinctiveness that is akin to the idea of being created in the image of God.” He also said that self-realization is gained by “a simple belief in one’s own uniqueness as a human being, a sense of deep and wide awareness of all people and all things, and a feeling of constructive influencing of others through one’s own personality.”

• “If he feels bad because he is inferior, the cure is to make himself as good as everybody else, and the way to feel really good is to make himself superior. This striving for superiority gets him into more trouble, causes more frustration, and sometimes brings about a neurosis where none existed before. He becomes more miserable than ever, and “the harder he tries,” the more miserable he becomes.”

• “... your mental picture of yourself (is) “the strongest force within you.”

The essential message that permeates all these statements is, at least from my personal perspective:

Just be yourself. You were born original. Don't die a copy.

Your unique self is empowered and powerful. Your You-niqueness is what makes you unstoppable.

Also, bear in mind, comparison is the thief of joy.

If you continuously compete with others, you become bitter, but if you continuously compete with yourself, you become better.

In summing up, I reckon the legendary martial artist and philosopher Bruce Lee said it best:

Not surprising with this elegant quote from Michio Kaku, as other brilliant minds like R Buckminster Fuller and Sir Ken Robinson had previously shared his candid sentiment.

It's self-explanatory!

 I am rereading my notes - and reminiscing my lessons - from Dr Maxwell Maltz's Psycho-Cybernetics classic:

• "... SET YOUR STANDARDS: We are conditioned to believe that other people’s standards are our own. Social norms and pressures have ingrained these ideas well into our psyche and when we fail to meet them, we feel like failures. The only standard that matters is your own. We all have different ideals, different perspectives on what makes a good life.

• Trusting yourself and the vision you have for yourself and your life will make the standards of others seem unrelated.

• “Stop measuring yourself against “their” standards. You are not “them” and can never measure up. Neither can “they” measure up to yours – nor should they. Once you see this simple, rather self-evident truth, accept it and believe it, your inferior feelings will vanish.”

• Dr Maltz cautioned about the dangers of measuring yourself against a very unfair apples-to-oranges standard.

• Stop measuring yourself against "their" standards. You are not "them" and can never measure up. Neither can "they" measure up to yours-nor should they.

• As you utilise Psycho-Cybernetics to communicate with your self-image, your objective should not be to feel superior to others, nor should you continue permitting feelings of inferiority to others. Your objective is to develop your own unique personality and accomplishments...."

Interestingly, Tony Robbins has had brought this perspective to a whole new level, with a new catchphrase, RAISE YOUR STANDARDS!

He qualifies it by stating this, which I particularly like:

"We don’t get what we want, we get what we tolerate. Raising your standards means you no longer tolerate to anything that doesn’t meet your new identity. When you do that, you’re at the state to become who you think you really are."

He offers excellent strategies, tactics and hints to raise your standards. You can watch his YouTube presentation at this link: https://youtu.be/pAmDGVpMXu0

 I fully concur with her sentiment.

Ever since the late seventies, after having been inspired by the brilliant work of Dr Maxwell Maltz and his Psycho-Cybernetics classic, among other competent experts throughout the ensuing years, I have had long been exploring and studying the intricacies and idiosyncrasies of the human mind.

Particularly, these astute observations have had been my primary driving forces:

"... There is an abundance of scientific evidence that shows that the human brain and nervous system operate purposefully in accordance with the known principles of cybernetics to accomplish goals of the individual.

Insofar as function is concerned, the brain and nervous system constitute a marvelous and complex “goal-striving mechanism,” a sort of built-in automatic guidance system that works for you as a “success mechanism,” or against you as a “failure mechanism,” depending on how “YOU,” the operator, operate it and the goals you set for it."

~ Dr Maxwell Maltz;

“I think it is your personal imperative to invest the time, energy, and study needed to better understand and use your mind power, including your self-image power.”

~ Dr Maxwell Maltz;

“It is a genetic imperative to explore the brain. Because it’s there. If you’re carrying around in your head 100 billion mainframe computers, you just have to get in there and learn how to operate them.”

~ Dr Timothy Leary, psychologist;

"...unless we are taught to use our brains, unless we understand how our brains work and their relationship to intelligence, we may never even approach truly intelligent functioning. Within all of us is the potential for genius. It is there for us to develop, to explore and to enjoy."

~ Dr Win Wenger, author of 'How to Increase Your Intelligence' & the brain behind the 'Project Renaissance' brain R&D outfit;

Henceforth, taking care of my brain health and sustaining my brain for peak performance, has had wittingly become a life-long endeavour for me.

Interestingly, the captioned quote as appended below begins to make more sense, as I look at the string of inspiring quotes from Dr Maxwell Maltz, writing in his Psycho-Cybernetics classic:

• "We are built to conquer environment, solve problems, achieve goals, and we find no real satisfaction or happiness in life without obstacles to conquer and goals to achieve."

• "Life is all about problems; if you want to be happy, you have to learn to smile despite problems,... "

• "It (referring to happiness) cannot be made contingent upon solving some external problem. When one problem is solved, another appears to take its place. Life is a series of problems...."

As a matter of fact, Protestant clergyman, and an author best known for popularizing the concept of positive thinking, Norman Vincent Peale, said it elegantly:

"The only people who don't have problems are in a cemetery."

Again, this is my musing of this morning.

I just happen to round up these astute observations of Dr Maxwell Maltz in one quick-for-reference compendium, to form some kind of recipe for mentally preparing oneself prior to conducting a creative visualisation and mental rehearsal exercise.

1. "It was as if personality itself had a 'face'. This non-physical face of personality seemed to be the real key to personality change. It remained scarred, distorted, 'ugly' or inferior the person himself acted out this role in his behaviour regardless of the changes in physical appearance. If this 'face of personality' could be reconstructed, if old emotional scars could be removed, then the person himself changed, even without facial plastic surgery."
2. “As soon as the error has been recognized and corrections made, it’s equally important that the error be forgotten and the successful attempt remembered and dwelt upon.”
3. “Begin to imagine what the desirable outcome would be like. Go over these mental pictures and delineate details and refinements. Play them over and over to yourself.”
4. “When we consciously and deliberately develop new and better habits, our self-image tends to outgrow the old habits and grow into the new pattern.”
5. “Why not imagine yourself successful?”
6. “Failure feelings – fear, anxiety, lack of self-confidence – do not spring from some heavenly oracle. They are not written in the stars. They are not holy gospel. Nor are they intimations of a set and decided fate which means that failure is decreed and decided. They originate from your own mind.”
7. "We act, we behave, and we feel the vibration that we're in at the present time according to what we consider our self image to be. And we do not deviate from that pattern. The image you hold of yourself is a premise, a foundation (idea) on which your entire personality is built. This image, not only controls your behavior but your circumstances as well."
8. “Admit your mistakes but don't cry over them. Correct them and go forward.”
9. "Faith, courage, optimism, looking forward, bring us new life and more life. Futility, frustration, living in the past are not only characteristic of 'old age'; they contribute to it."
10. "It doesn't matter how many times you have failed.... What matters is the successful attempt."
11. “Your automatic mechanism, or what the Freudians call the “unconscious,” is absolutely impersonal. It operates as a machine and has no “will” of its own. It always tries to react appropriately to your current beliefs and interpretations concerning environment. It always seeks to give you appropriate feelings, and to accomplish the goals that you consciously determine. It works only on the data that you feed it in the form of ideas, beliefs, interpretations, opinions. It is conscious thinking that is the “control knob” of your unconscious machine. It was by conscious thought, though perhaps irrational and unrealistic, that the unconscious machine developed its negative and inappropriate reaction patterns, and it is by conscious rational thought that the automatic reaction patterns can be changed.”
12. "Your present negative beliefs were formed by thought PLUS feelings. Generate enough emotion, or deep feeling and your new thoughts and ideas will cancel them out."
13. “To really ‘live,’ that is to find life reasonably satisfying, you must have an adequate and realistic self-image that you can life with. You must find yourself acceptable to ‘you.’”
14. “Do your worrying before you place your bet, not after the wheel stops turning.”

Enjoy your reading, exploration and assimilation!

I like to append below this wonderful story, which exemplified what Dr Maltz talked about the power of imagination and visualisation in PsychoCybernetics:

"James Nesmeth was an average golfer. He generally shot in the mid to low nineties, but dreamed of improving. However, his efforts to raise his golf game were interrupted by the war in Vietnam.

Major Nesmeth was captured and became a prisoner of war, where he spent seven years imprisoned in a cage that was 4 and a half feet long and 5 feet tall.

During his imprisonment, he saw no one, talked to no one and had no physical activity. For the first few months, all he did was hope and pray for release. He soon realized that he had to find some way to occupy his thoughts or he would go insane.

Nesmeth devised a mental program in which he’d play his favorite golf course every day in his mind.

He would visualize the experience to the highest level of detail possible. He imagined the clothes he’d be wearing. He thought about the smell of the freshly cut grass and the feel of the warm sun and gentle breezes on his skin. He’d see every tree, hear the birds singing and squirrels chattering, and envision every slope of the course.

He would then grasp the club, feeling its rough grip on his fingers. He’d imagine his stance and heft the club’s weight in his hands as he started his back swing. He visualized taking his practice swing, addressing the ball and hitting his shot. He’d watch the ball’s arc as it flew beautifully, coming to a soft landing in the center of the fairway.

In the real world, he was never in a rush. Golf was his escape, and he would take his time and enjoy every morning. He did the same in that small cage in Vietnam. He thought through every step and would even stop to get water, just as if he were actually playing a real round.

His imagined golf game took just as long as if he were physically on the course. He hit each shot and played every hole to its conclusion until the ball dropped to the bottom of the cup. He did this every day for 7 years.

Here’s where the story takes an amazing turn. Major Nesmeth was finally released and came back home to America. Physically speaking, his condition had deteriorated as much as you would expect after living in a tiny cage for so long.

Even so, soon after his return, he decided to go and play golf at his favorite course. Amazingly, he shot a 74. He hadn’t swung a real club in 7 years and had undergone indescribable physical deprivation, and yet he had cut 20 shots off of his average."

[Author's Notes: This story is based on my scratchpad notes, captured from stories written and told respectively by Zig Ziglar as well as Dr Denis Waitley, which I have had encountered back in the late seventies or early 80's.]