Psycho cybernetics is a tern coined by Mazwell Maltz in 1960. He was a plastic surgeon who realised that his patients still had problems with their self image even after successful plastic surgery. If you haven’t read his book it’s a highly recommended read. It is especially of use if you are struggling with a goal of any kind. Most goals can be helped by aligning your self image and “identity” with the goal.
A mentor of mine, Jay Kubassek is particuarly insightful with the power of the “identity”. See my earlier post “why mindset matters for escaping 9 to 5“, and his video on the post.
What Is Psycho Cybernetics – And Why It Matters for Goal Setting
When it comes to goal setting, it’s is much easier to set a goal than to achieve it. Particularly if there’s a part of you which resists the goal. Often that part is tied up with your identity and this is why certain goals become almost impossible. If your identity believes you are a loser, fat, ugly or stupid, it’s likely that you will sabotage any efforts on the contrary. Or to go after a goal which the achievement of which contracts your self image.
By aiming for the identity shift first, we may be able to make far greater progress, and with less effort than pushing and trying desperately to achieve our goal only on the “outside” of ourselves.
How To Shift Identity
Shifting your identity means changing what you believe about yourself, no mean feat! To start with this endevour means to un-do the programming you received before you were even 10 years old. This is the subconscious programming you will have received from your parents before you were able to consciously reject any ideas introduced into your unconscious mind.
Most people are living out the beliefs their parents introduced them to, even much later in their lives. To change these beliefs you first have to understand that they are controlling your thinking. The beliefs are deeply embedded into your subconscious mind. So changing them with surface activity is difficult.
The beliefs you hold cause a level of thinking which you can perceive when you observie your thinking mind.
Thoughts Become Things
You’ve probably heard the expression “thoughts become things”. It’s the theme of many a self help book. Books like Think and Grow Rich, The Secret, The Law Of Attraction, The Science Of Getting Rich all carry this theme.
What is sometimes missed from the books is that it is your beliefs which drive the thoughts! To delve into your beliefs you have to revisit your childhood and uncover some of the core trauma which founded the main beliefs you hold.
This can be done through EFT Tapping, breathwork, counselling and other therapies such as hypnotherapy.
Awareness Changes Beliefs
Most people believe in things on an unconscious level and create their lives through the continuous trickle of thoughts which support them. Over time, the thoughts create deep grooves which embed themselves into the subconscious mind.
If you have had a traumatic experience during your childhood, you may have, for example, picked up the belief that the world is unsafe, money is hard to come by and other such unhelpful beliefs which get in the way of your goals and aspirations.
If you want to change your circumstances, and goal setting isn’t working for you, it’s highly likely that it is these old traumas and deeply embedded beliefs which are holding you back.
By bringing awareness to your inner scars, you can look at the core beliefs you carry in a slightly different light. They lose their hold on you. When you come up against a troubling experience, you can see that it is your beliefs playing out again. Rather than react agrily, and reinforcing how hard life is, or how difficult a time you must have because you’re fundamentally unworthy (you’re not!), you can choose a new reaction. Or simply choose to observe your suffering, rather than react.
