In business and in life, there’s one enemy you will come up against again and again. This enemy will make you question yourself and doubt your every move. It’s like a dark force that has you by the heels. A monster that’s breathing down your neck.
This enemy may well be within, the enemy may be YOU!
The only way to achieve success is to become someone who deserves it.
To succeed in business you have to constantly evolve. Instead of answering the question “Who am I”? Try answering the question “Who do I want to become”?
AS YOU IMAGINE YOURSELF TO BE, SO YOU BECOME!
This is the way in which you feel about yourself and the way you believe others perceive you. The way you consciously present yourself to the rest of the world is dictated by how good you feel about yourself. Self-image tells people about you without you even speaking; the non-verbal projected Self-image is a powerful and integral part of your projected personality.
We tend to think in pictures and as we picture ourselves, so we become.
Self-image determines the way you think, look, move and interact with others. Self-image evolves over time and can become your greatest asset or your biggest drawback. Your current Self-image is continually being reinforced through self-talk and self-visualisation. Negative self-talk and negative self-visualisation simply serves to reinforce a poor and damaged Self-image; on the other hand, positive self-talk and positive visualisation reinforces a positive and healthy Self-image.
We aim to guide you step by step through a Self-image checking process and share with you how it is possible for you (if and where necessary) to change from negative to positive the text of your self-talk and constantly replayed videos in your mind. It is within your capabilities to implement a failsafe system you will be introduced to later which will protect your Self-image against negative self-talk and negative self-visualisation.
Possessing a positive relationship with yourself enables you to look forward to building positive relationships with others.
Your Destiny Course guides and helps you to understand, accept and respect yourself and those whose views, ideas and behaviours may be very different from your own.
THE POWER OF YOUR SELF-IMAGE
Self-image is a major controlling factor in the lives of all humans and determines to a large extent the world they live in: The world they create for themselves.
It has been proven many, many times that (no matter how humble a persons’ beginnings) if an individuals’ Self-image is strong enough and is supported by a mature character balanced with compassion, forgiveness and honesty they are able to achieve sustainable, truly remarkable levels of accomplishment.
Just before we look at the Self-image it is worth mentioning that for the best results to be achieved a relaxed brain is essential for personal growth.
When you relax your brain… All tensions are removed and more and more electrical impulses are released into your nervous system, thus increasing your mental vitality. Your positive thought begins to reach all parts of your brain and you become positively attuned.
This means you will react more readily to an incoming positive thought than you will to a negative thought. Your Mid-Brain responds to the freedom from tension and your brain efficiency is heightened; any organ functions better when free from tension.
Research has shown that many people who repeatedly do things that cause them to experience failure or unhappiness often do so because they ‘see’ themselves, in advance, experiencing just these things. They view failure images in their head and these then become accepted as a pattern. Good examples of this in action are the salespersons who regularly fail to make sales or hit their targets.
They ‘see’ themselves failing in advance and so they become locked into a downward spiral of self defeating imaginings. They may become mentally scarred as they begin to accept that these imagined experiences are in fact reality. Their Self-image becomes the architect of their own downfall.
The late Professor Prescott Leckie, who founded the teaching of Self-image psychology, put forward a proposal that we cannot ignore. It was a very simple one. He maintained that whatever a person thinks they are must be reflected in their Ego Expression (sense of self) instinctively and is then reflected in every conscious action.
Before Leckie, this was accepted as just a matter of fate. When he first tackled the question of why large numbers of children seemingly could not succeed in mathematical subjects he discovered the huge impact that fear had on their levels of accomplishment. He discovered that fear created internally, developed into a ‘picture of failure’ to support that fear.
After some time he developed the theory that fear can be eliminated by changing the pictures. Until these offending images were removed, no real progress could be made.
Your Self-image is of your own creation. It’s your very own personal property.
If you don’t like it… CHANGE IT.
This is one of the most interesting things about Self-image; the fact that you can always change it.
You are able to do this by either adding what you consider to be positives or by eliminating negatives that may creep in from time to time. You can therefore delete undesirable elements in your present Self-image. Remember that you have control of your brain.
Let’s now look at a method of checking your Self-image.
We suggest that you run a self diagnostic programme on yourself this you may access here: http://www.e-trainme.com/etq/questionnaire1.html
The questionnaire is made available to our readers by e-trainme to help you identify areas within your Self-image that perhaps thus far have been acting as a brake on your aims and ambitions.
To rid yourself of unwelcome memory images, fear thoughts or other undesirable elements you discover populating your Self-image you first isolate the images concerned and then deal with them one by one.
Clearly identify each offending image and then make the following affirmation:
‘I will not hold a Self-image of that kind in my mind. That image is finished.’
Be very definite when you say this.
This is most effective when you stand in front of a Mirror and speak to your mirror image.
One single negative Self-image image reflection held by you is sufficient to form an insecure Self-image foundation. The negativity associated with that one point could, if left unchecked, eventually contaminate your whole Self-image. Your objective must therefore be to eliminate beyond the possibility of recall, any negative impulses. Remember that the destructive effect of a Negative is 10 times stronger than the plus effect of a Positive.
Any negative then limits your capacity to enjoy a stress free, happy and successful life. Our aim is to help you root out and neutralise any and all deep-seated negative Self-image memory reflections.
Having dealt with the Negative Factors that cause you to develop an undesirable Self-image, it is now time to turn to the Positive Factors. Recognising that you have installed in your brain a personal Self-image that is mirrored by your positive actions is your prime goal.
The concentrated thought you give to this will repay your efforts as you in fact defragment, scan, fix, and clean up the Self-image you have been living with and prepare it to be ready for continual enlargement and enrichment.
Following the Defragmentation and clean up you will own a mind-set which will enable you to build a permanent magnificent Self-image. That mind-set will relate to the action engrams* in your brain and your physical actions will be in accord with what you have coded into your brain. It delivers a wonderfully balanced production.
You will control your life, you will become the playwright, major investor, producer, director and star performer in your exciting and successful ‘own life’ performance.
*(An Engram is a group of Neurons linking together to deal with a particular subject. Data regarding that particular subject is stored in these Neurons. When activated the neurons together all transmit an Efferent impulse to enable action to take place.)
Having a clear-cut positive Self-image represents characteristics of strength of will, determination, and a generally positive outlook.
NEXT! In your ‘minds-eye’, see yourself in the future achieving successfully the very things that you have determined to achieve.
If you are in a selling career ‘see’ yourself being awarded the salesperson of the year award. If you are an athlete picture yourself beating all other competitors winning all the events you are training so hard for. If you are in business see yourself leading a successful company with a full order book, a ‘NOW’ product range and a very focused and successful workforce.
Close your eyes and experience the feelings of pride and accomplishment felt by you and shared by your close friends and family as you receive the applause and congratulations of your colleagues. Drink in the atmosphere and enjoy the taste of success.
Concentrate on this mental picture, this experience. As you do, you will fix the experience and the picture in your mind. Without further conscious thought, you will be lead to act in accordance with the image you have placed in your brain. What you are scripting are the factors that allow you to effectively apply personal control in all you do. This control is applied to your structural thinking, which creates the patterns you then fill with the actions necessary to produce the results you want.
Please always be aware of the fact that you can only be or do what your Self-image permits. It is vital to your Self-image that you are always positive. Any time you allow yourself to entertain a negative thought or to act negatively, you endanger your Self-image.
Invisible Self-image projection
As we project we are perceived
There is a sense we all possess which many of us become aware of when we meet or catch sight of someone for the first time. We immediately sense whether or not we are attracted to that person, whether we could trust them, want to associate with them, would want to buy from them, sell to them, or go into business with them.
This reaction should remind us of the cliché that you never get a second chance to make a first impression. That first impression can and so often does determine the outcome of any future relationship if indeed a relationship ever manages to survive that first encounter.
Having a mature and well balanced Self-image enables a person to project an attractive aura which signals to most folk they come into contact with that they are OK individuals. Of course even those with a mature and well balanced and attractive Self-image will come into contact with individuals who project an immature imbalanced and negative Self-image.
They will immediately recognise this and decide if they want to invest time in exploring whether a beneficial relationship could ever be established. It is a fact of life that there are ‘Grumpies’ out there who seem to enjoy being just that, ‘Grumpy’, and they will be met from time to time.
Pessimism or realism.
You will have heard the glass half full/glass half empty analogy. So it would seem that if an individual is wired in such a way that they in the first instance see the mistakes in a piece of work that they are negatively earthed: This is not necessarily so.
It would be wrong to confuse pessimism with astuteness. An astute person will naturally notice small inaccuracies in an official document which may be overlooked by a more impatient and less cautious person.
True pessimism is a state of mind in which one anticipates undesirable outcomes or believes that the evil or hardships in life outweigh the good or the luxuries. Value may vary dramatically between individuals, even when judgments of fact are undisputed.
Pessimists get a lot of flak for negativity, and their health may take a beating, too. But they may well make good leaders and are more resistant to the glitter and tinsel of false advertising and overplayed presentation. Having realistic expectations may actually be a recipe for happiness.
Another reason to turn that frown upside down: pessimists generally have higher blood pressure than their more optimistic counterparts.
Generally people who see a glass as half empty don’t cope so well with stress or anxiety, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and Finland’s University of Helsinki guessed that they might be more vulnerable to high blood pressure than their cheerier peers.
The team, led by behavioural physiologist Karen Matthews, Ph.D., outfitted 100 men and women with monitors which recorded their blood pressures every 30 minutes for two working days and one weekend day.
After each interval, subjects described their mood, physical activity level and recent social interactions. Regardless of their mood, perennial grumpies had higher average blood pressures than optimistic subjects.
Pessimists also reported more negative interpersonal interactions. Matthews warns that fatalists’ naturally high blood pressure may lead to heart disease or hypertension down the road.
So to keep your health risks down, keep looking up.
Optimism
Optimism is an admirable quality, one that can positively affect mental and physical health.
Some optimists consistently ascribe benevolent motives to others and interpret situations in the best possible light; others simply disassociate their internal mood from external circumstances, no matter how testing.
Adding in a bit of complexity, the latest research shows that tempering a sunny disposition with a small dose of realism or even pessimism might be the best way to build resilience and achieve one’s goals.
| Optimists have a longer life-span than pessimists, researchers have concluded.
They found that people with a positive outlook live, on average, 19% longer than those who are miserable. |
Core Values
These are unique values which were both present at birth and have been formed during the lifetime of the individual. It is upon these values that attitudes are formed and from these attitudes our behaviours emerge.
Your values are traits or qualities that you consider worthwhile; they represent your highest priorities and deeply held driving forces. When you are part of any organization, you bring your deeply held values and beliefs to the organization.
Examples of Values:
Integrity, responsibility, respect, dedication, diversity, loyalty, honesty, innovativeness, teamwork, excellence, accountability, quality, efficiency, dignity, collaboration, empathy, courage, independence, influence, compassion, friendliness, discipline, generosity, persistency, optimism, dependability, flexibility
Why identify and establish your values?
Your values are made up of everything that has happened to you in your life and include influences from: your parents and family, your religious affiliation, your friends and peers, your education, your reading, and more. Effective people recognise these environmental influences and identify and develop a clear, concise, and meaningful set of values/beliefs, and priorities. Once you have defined them they impact every aspect of your life.
Once you have chosen the values you consider to be your core values they pretty much will define your character. Living your values is one of the most powerful tools available to you to help you be the person you want to be.
Check your mind sets.
The vast majority of the Human Race allows themselves to pass through their time on Earth living what may only be described as half a life or less. In many cases, this is as the result of ‘birth misfortune’; being born into a world where hunger, disease and continual conflict of one sort or another has worn away the very fabric of any supportive society.
However, many of those not so afflicted by ‘birth misfortune’ are simply locked into an apathetic mind set; they only live half a life or less in spite of the fact that they live in a world where it is possible to take personal control over their future.
Your idea of who you are is shaped by the way others respond to you, how they interact with you. Of course your life is touched by many people and maybe some of them do not respond to you in the way you would expect or want them to? Is it possible that your ‘invisible personality projection’ allows them to perceive a less than totally sincere and quality image?
Many people (and you may unwittingly be one such person) are locked into an illusory virtual world full of the twists and turns of fate littered with the flotsam and jetsam of a mind-set riddled with self-doubt, fear and insecurity.
Yes, a virtual world, for this is a world you may have allowed to be created within your brain, your inner PC.
You may well have recorded so many feelings of past failure, despair and disappointment that your Inner C: Drive has become fragmented, sluggish and prone to crashing just as you are about to press the key to a happy and successful future.
Perhaps you have not yet reached a stage in your life where you are able to claim that you are happy with who you are and are successful, whatever success means to you.
Maybe, just maybe, now is the time to dehypnotise yourself, smash out of that virtual world that you have allowed to enslave you, wake up to reality and take those first baby steps to becoming the person you can truly admire.
Your natural product
This term natural product perhaps needs to be explained. Every human being is capable by their genetic makeup, age, physique, training and development, of producing certain things or performing certain services. The challenge for each human being is to use their life to finely hone these attributes to make their life special and to feel fulfilled and to experience true happiness.
The relationship between the mind and the brain needs to be appreciated. It is important to understand that your body, to carry out any action as the direct result of a thought or impulse originating in the mind, must work and deliver through the brain. Even instant mental reaction cannot produce actions within the body without the co-operation of the brain.
Whilst both the mind and brain are separate entities they should be regarded as being equally important. Likewise, it is equally necessary that the brain shall be relaxed. A tense brain cannot translate into action the thoughts the mind generates and feeds into the brain.
With a relaxed brain a person transforms into a different type of person. They become one who looks different, acts differently and is free from many of the factors that otherwise limit their activities.
Intuition also can and does make a difference. Pay heed to those thoughts that seem to come from nowhere and yet are relevant to a situation that you may be faced with. Do not prejudge these thoughts. Do not instantly dismiss them. Write them down, contemplate on them and then decide if you will make use of them. Encourage these intuitive thought processes, do not stifle them; they are generated freely by the engine room of your imagination.
Remember your Self-image is your property and accepting responsibility for your Self-image is a giant step in the process of true, permanent, inner transformation.
All good thoughts,
Malcolm
Most people have hopes and dreams but they rarely achieve them. They write down things they want and wish happy thoughts but nothing ever comes of it. People usually ‘drift’ down to the lowest version of themselves which they can accept, not the highest version of themselves which they can imagine.
Change comes from lifting your standards, not your dreams. People binge watch tv series and leave their dreams on the back-burner for later.
