The Confidence you have in your “Self”

By definition, “Self-Confidence” is the confidence you have in yourself which, in turn, is the result of a complex combination of mental attitude, life experience and/or circumstance, genetic attributes and social and physical environment as they pertain to “Self”.

Some aspects which contribute to Self Confidence, like genetic attributes, manifest themselves as physical attributes which society may deem as undesirable, contributing to a possible loss of Self Confidence. Mental Attitude, which derives from thoughts and beliefs pertaining to oneself, may or may not be accurate, depending upon other aspects of character such as Self Esteem. Finally, social and physical environment are dependent upon the specific setting in which you find yourself at any given point in time.

Most, with the possible exceptions of life experience and physical setting, are susceptible to change if the desire to undertake such change exists in sufficient strength to act.

A Definition

“The socio-psychological concept of self-confidence relates to self-assuredness in one’s personal judgment, ability, power, etc., sometimes manifested excessively.[1]

Another definition is the belief of believing in you; to believe that one is able to accomplish what one sets out to do, to overcome obstacles and challenges (Peixe, 2009).

- Wikipedia

Mental Attitude

Mental Programming

In previous lenses, I briefly discussed The Sub-conscious Mind, as well as the concepts of Auto-suggestion and, more generally, Mental Programming. Mental Attitude is very important, even critical, to your level of Self Confidence at any given time.

It is important to realize that one’s level of Self Confidence will vary from time to time, from setting to setting and/or according to changes in circumstance within any given environment (whether social or physical). For example, I am much more comfortable and confident making a presentation to an audience now than when I was in university (temporal). I am much more confident with my family at home than with my family in an airport (setting). Finally, I am much more confident by myself in an empty ballroom than in a ballroom filled with people (social setting and/or circumstance).

With specific reference to a presentation, the content is identical between my home where I practice my presentation delivery and the event at which it is delivered. The differences are: 1) setting, 2) circumstance and/or social setting (a technical conference, for instance), and 3) physical environment (at the podium in front of the audience). The major difference, however, is the mental stress associated with the event, the presentation. Ideally, you are well versed and familiar with the subject matter, have practiced the presentation to the point you can deliver it by memory and are, in every way, prepared. The success of your presentation delivery then depends upon your mental attitude in dealing with the stress of the presentation.

Some speakers have a Mental Attitude that allows them to appear, and sometimes actually feel, completely relaxed and comfortable in front of an audience. Others feel immobilized by fear and some even get violently sick at the thought of a public presentation.

Part of the solution is practice, beginning with small, friendly audiences and building to larger audiences comprised of strangers. To complement practice, I strongly suggest one of the Mental Programming techniques that are widely available (i.e. The Silva Method).

The moment a presentation is successfully delivered (or a contract successfully completed, or a tournament or competition finished) comes the feeling of relief at having the event behind you. If the event has been completed to the best of your ability, then there is usually an increase in your Self Confidence. If you have won the event (tournament or competition), then you may feel supremely confident (imagine the feeling of the recent Olympic Gold Medalists!).

Successes contribute significantly to an increased feeling of Self Confidence.

Life Experience

We are the Sum Total of our Thoughts and Experiences

At any given point in time, if we think of it as a equivalent to a static “photograph”, who we are represents the totality of our thoughts and experiences to that point in time. Every success and every failure, and more specifically, how we dealt with them, has had an effect on our character. The aspects of our character governs our behaviour in any given situation, our response to every event, and has left its imprint on our memories which, over time, develop in to our belief system. Our belief system represents the filter through which we view and interpret every subsequent experience and event.

If one suffers from low Self Confidence, then that filter may be one of fear and self doubt. If one’s Self Confidence is too high, then that filter may become one of arrogance and thoughtlessness toward our fellow man / woman. Again, it must be remembered we are isolating Self Confidence out of a complex array of inter-dependent emotions and character traits.

Recognizing that our Belief System, our “filter system”, may bias our perception of our experience allows us the opportunity to critically evaluate basis for our current level of Self Confidence. A recurring theme in literature and entertainment is that of the “Ugly Duckling” and some versions of the “Rags to Riches” story. In “The Ugly Duckling”, an “ugly” gosling develops into the beautiful swan, which is really a story of concealed, or dormant, beauty blossoming (or manifesting) itself over time. However, an inherent message is that Self Confidence is co-dependent upon beauty.

The Rags to Riches theme conceals the message under an overall transition from poverty to wealth, as portrayed in the various themes on “Cinderella”. Coupled with the transition from poverty to wealth, is a coincident transition from “plain-ness” to regal beauty (as portrayed in “The Princess Diaries”) and a more subtle increase in Self Confidence. One possible message inherent in this theme is that Self Confidence if co-dependent upon wealth (or “riches”).

Genetic Attributes

Rewarded / Penalized by Society

Some of our physical (and mental) attributes are dictated by our genes and, as a result, we are unable to do anything about it. Some people require glasses, others don’t. Some people have prominent features, others don’t. Some people have god-like physiques, most don’t.

Society is fickle with regard to what it accepts as desirable attributes … and what are not. If one examines the statues from ancient Greek culture and compares them with the latest and greatest fashion model, one might note some discrepancies with regard to an idealized physique, specifically the female figure. Today’s idealized societal standard for the female figure is extremely difficult to achieve, let alone maintain in a healthy manner. This has led to thousands (millions?) of young women with eating disorders (anorexia and bulimia) desperately trying to attain “perfection”, a goal that may be the result of re-touching photographs in order to promote an idealized figure [1], [2], [3], [4].

In the case of males, there has been documented abuse of steroids in both amateur and professional athletes in order to attain greater muscle mass and athletic performance, despite the documented health hazards. Similarly, this trend has some basis in a societal standard for the idealized male physique, without the commitment over time required to achieve it in a healthy manner. Once again, this tendency (desire?) is not exclusively an issue of Self Confidence, but certainly has elements of Self Confidence pertaining to a slight figure (generally associated with a mild and meek personality) in contrast to a muscular physique (generally associated with strength and assertiveness). It is important to distinguish stereotypes as idealized in the media from real ife. Slight and slender people are not necessarily mild and meek, nor are big people necessarily strong and assertive. (Note: I certainly wouldn’t have wanted to meet Bruce Lee in a dark alley if he were mad at me! He certainly had a slight, although muscular, physique).

In many instances, we may not notice on others the very same physical attributes we feel are undesirable and unattractive in ourselves. There are instances of actors and actresses with big noses, poor posture, who wear glasses, too tall, too small, over weight, underweight, … and so on … and so on. They may have Self Esteem issues with regard to these genetic attributes, but it often doesn’t affect their Self Confidence (at least in the public eye, which is where we see and evaluate them).

Some might argue that this is better described as an issue of low Self Esteem, however, I would argue that given the complex inter-dependency between character aspects, low Self Confidence contributes to low Self Esteem (and vice versa).

Social Environment

One of the Easiest … and hardest to Change

The social environment in which one associates with others can be one of the most difficult factors contributing to Self Confidence. In writing this, I am thinking specifically of High School and the social dynamics there. Again, this time of life represents such a crucial Rite of passage between childhood and adulthood that it has been the subject of many movies and books. Young men and women are trying so desperately hard to find a place in which to fit, in such a limited range of social environments. The least criticism from one or more peers in a given social group can be devastating, crushing a fragile state of Self Confidence instantaneously. Having the benefit of hindsight, I now fully realize how little value the opinions of my peers and others held for me.

Using my case, specifically, I decided my “friends” in high school were more destructive than beneficial to me and so I dropped the entire set of friends in the year I took off between high school and university. I entered university 1 year behind my “peers” and. as a result, ended up making an entirely new set of friends in that first year of university. They accepted me for who I was and I felt part of a group, for the first time in a long time. I have since lost touch with those friends and life has progressed, however, they unknowingly got me through a difficult time in my life as a young adult. For that, I am very grateful for the value of their friendship at that time.

Other social environments are just as damaging, ranging from work, clubs, formal and informal organizations and so on. Some,such as gangs, can be very difficult to leave, others require only a decision once you have recognized they are damaging. The difficulty is that you are leaving a “comfort zone” for the unknown, another group, club, work environment, etc. The decision is based on weighing whether the damage to your Self Confidence is less than your fear (uncertainty) of the unknown. Some damage can be overcome and/or compensated by an active program of affirmations and mental programming while you wait for the situation to change (for example, at work). In other cases, you must simply make the decision to leave that social environment … then LEAVE! The decision, ultimately, is yours to make.

Physical Environment

Potentially More Difficult to Change

Obviously, to the extent possible, if one’s physical environment is contributing to an overall decrease in one’s level of Self Confidence, one should make every reasonable attempt to change, or move to, a physical environment more favourable. However, in some cases, changing, or moving, to a different physical environment is not feasible, practical or safe. For example, a prison inmate on the first day of incarceration may experience a considerable decline in the level of Self Confidence, yet he / she is almost certainly unable to change the physical location and must, therefore, undertake a change in mental attitude. Facing an emergency situation is almost certain to challenge one’s level of Self Confidence. In some cases, leaving the area, thereby removing oneself from the dangerous environment, is the obvious choice to make. However, as in the case of being lost, that would be the worst decision to make, so such a decision must be tempered by rationale thought.

Changing one’s physical environment, if damaging to one’s Self Confidence, ranges from very easy to very difficult. Again if at all possible, remove oneself at the earliest possible moment from such an environment.

The one qualifier I would make to the above is if there is a valuable lesson to be learned (and if the environment is not dangerous). For example, for some people, the prospect of making a public presentation is, quite literally, a source of dread. Some people would rather face physical injury, or worse, than speak in a public setting. For most people, making a public presentation is not dangerous, but rather a source of extreme mental stress. The decision to be made, in this specific example, is whether one might face the fear, make the presentation and be better able to face the prospect of making a public presentation in the future. Could the experience of facing the fear and making the public presentation actually contribute an increase in Self Confidence? Might successfully making the presentation be the lesson to be learned, the valuable experience gained, by remaining in such a physical environment?

Temporal

Changes over Time

As several of the aspects contributing to Self Confidence are related to setting (space) and/or change (time), one’s level of Self Confidence is, therefore, also subject to temporal (i.e. changes in time) aspects. One might be very Self Confident in a given setting at one time, yet utterly lacking Self Confidence at another, subject to circumstance, experience, and a host of other possible changes, ranging from minor to dramatic.

As an example, a Grade 1 student is, generally, very uncertain and lacking Self Confidence on the morning of the first day of school. Yet that same student, on the morning of the last day of Grade 1 exudes, generally, a far different level of Self Confidence. At the end of that first year, our student is now dealing with a known set of circumstances, despite the fact that they are generally the same. Over that year, however, our student has come to know the teacher and the other students in class, the school organization and environment. A better example might be to visit our student at 8 a.m. and at 2:55 p.m. on the first day of school, noting any changes in Self Confidence. In the morning, everything about school is an unknown. At the end of the first day, fears have been replaced with knowledge and experience and, in all likelihood, school was not as bad as was initially feared.

We all have similar uncertainties (fears) with regard to the unknowns in our lives, the first day of work or a blind date, for example. In general, our “fears” are worse than the realities. As we address each fear, address each uncertainty, we gain the experience of that situation, as well as the realization, ideally, that there was a difference between our fears and the reality. Successfully facing our fears, addressing our uncertainties, increases our level of Self Confidence with regard to facing the same, or similar, situation in the future. Ideally, it also contributes to our level of Self Confidence is facing completely different unknowns as well.

Increasing Self Confidence

As an Active Program

The key point to this article is that one’s level of Self Confidence is subject to change, it should be expected to increase or decrease as one’s circumstances and setting changes throughout the day, from day to day, week to week, month to month and year to year. Recognizing that the level of one’s Self Confidence changes is the first step to undertaking a program of active intervention, actively increasing one’s overall level of Self Confidence.

Self-Confidence Formula

From “The Law of Success” by Napoleon Hill

“SELF-CONFIDENCE FORMULA

First: I know that I have the ability to achieve the object of my definite purpose, therefore I demand of myself persistent, aggressive and continuous action toward its attainment.

Second: I realize that the dominating thoughts of my mind eventually reproduce themselves in outward, bodily action, and gradually transform themselves into physical reality, therefore I will concentrate My mind for thirty minutes daily upon the task of thinking of the person I intend to be, by creating a mental picture of this person and then transforming that picture into reality through practical service.

Third: I know that through the principle of Auto-suggestion, any desire that I persistently hold in my mind will eventually seek expression through some practical means of realizing it, therefore I shall devote ten minutes daily to demanding of myself the development of the factors named in the sixteen lessons of this Reading Course on the Law of Success.

Fourth: I have clearly mapped out and written down a description of my definite purpose in life, for the coming five years. I have set a price on my services for each of these five years; a price that I intend to earn and receive, through strict application of the principle of efficient, satisfactory service which I will render in advance.

Fifth: I fully realize that no wealth or position can long endure unless built upon truth and justice, therefore I will engage in no transaction which does not benefit all whom it affects. I will succeed by attracting to me the forces I wish to use, and the co-operation of other people. I will induce others to serve me because I will first serve them. I will eliminate hatred, envy, jealousy, selfishness and cynicism by developing love for all humanity, because I know that a negative attitude toward others can never bring me success. I will cause others to believe in me because I will believe in them and in myself.

I will sign my name to this formula, commit it to memory and repeat it aloud once a day with full faith that it will gradually influence my entire life so that I will become a successful and happy worker in my chosen field of endeavor.

Signed ____________________________________________.”

Napoleon Hill - Law of Success - Chapter 3 - Self-Confidence

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Without a doubt, the greatest asset we have is our Brain, which, in turn, hosts our MIND.

A great Universal Truth is that:

“Whatever the mInd of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve“

W. Clement Stone

A review of the great advances in the history of mankind confirms this truth. Many of mankind’s greatest achievements have been based on great conceptions (plans, goals) acted upon with believe in their eventual achievement. A great example, although seemingly trivial, was the invention of the incandescent light bulb. It is almost a cliche how Thomas Edison undertook approximately 2,000 experiments in which a light bulb based on a tungsten filament would not work, yet persisted (with believe), resulting in the incandescent light bulb.

CONCEPTION, acted upon with strong BELIEF, resulting in successful ACHIEVEMENT.

“YOUR GREATEST ASSET … LIES BETWEEN YOUR EARS”

- Earl Nightingale

Our Brain

A Fascinating Organ
Our brains are simply another organ hosted within our bodies. Yet the complexity of thought (abstract, rational, etc) and the potential capacity offered by our brains is immense.

Our brains host the Autonomic Nervous System, which manages and operates the basic functions and requirements of the body (heart rate, respiration, digestion, etc.). Our conscious thoughts and actions, our conscious state, is exceedingly difficult to rigorously define and yet is so commonplace to our daily lives we barely give it thought until it is damaged or ceases to function properly. Finally, our sub-conscious mind operates continuously, collecting and compiling the information comprising our belief system, our character traits and our personalities, yet very few people give any thought to their sub-conscious mind. The three aspects of an individuals mind are all hosted by, and located within, our brains.

Our Mind

Intangible, yet Critical
“Intangible, yet Critical” is such a basic statement and yet captures so much!

The Mind is, indeed, intangible. It is hosted, without doubt, within the Mind and can be documented based upon electrical impulses, with specific aspects of the Mind (and even personality, moods, etc0 distinguishable using advanced instrumentation such as MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging). However, no one has yet held a MIND in their hand.

The Mind is so obviously Critical as a human being with a brain, but no mind (i.e. no brain activity) is in a “Vegetative” or “Minimally Conscious” state (see these The New Scientist articles [1], [2], [3], [4],[5]). According to our current understanding, no interaction is possible between the person in a vegetative state and one in a conscious state. In fact, given our current level of understanding, a significant question exists as to whether a person in a vegetative state has a mind, or simply has a minimally functioning brain.

Our Greatest Asset

A Brief Historical Perspective
Everyone owns a Mind, free and clear, unencumbered by debt or liability. What to do with it?

Many squander it, choosing to fore go an education (either through the public, private or home school route) and utilize electronic (i.e. TV, mp3 players, etc) and/or chemical means to escape, even temporarily, daily life. Many, due to life circumstance, are unable to take fullest advantage of the potential of their minds.

Some, however, choose to pursue a life-long program of educating their mind. The more information one has stored, or access to, the more potential for unconventional lines of thought leading to opportunities for discovery, invention and /or self-improvement. The advantage of an education, whether formalized through schooling or informal through life experience and self-directed study, is to expose oneself to the thoughts of others, the products of the workings of others minds and the results associated with those thoughts.

Everything to which we are exposed in our society, our culture and our lifestyle is the result of the workings of someone else’s mind. Fashion, buildings, art, literature, lifestyles, entertainment and so many other aspects of our lives have evolved as mankind, specifically society, has developed and matured over time. As mankind develops and matures, the products of our thinking have been, to a great degree, been preserved in the artifacts of our culture and society.

The sum total of mankind’s development, to date, is available to anyone with access to our art, literature, mathematical and scientific records, each of which documents the products of people minds through time. In the current age of electronic exchange of information, we have access to huge volumes of information, or variable quality and reliability, representing the complete spectrum of human thoughts and opinions.

Our Greatest Asset

What to do with it?
We each have a mind and are fully equipped to utilize it. The manner and degree to which we utilize out minds is entirely up to us.

It is my firm belief that one’s education never ends. Once we have finished our institutionalized education (whether public, private or home school), we should embark on our informal education. An institutional education serves to give us an, essentially, uniform level of education with our peers in society. It gives us a basic grounding, in varying degrees) in mathematics, science, social science, art and literature. From this basic level of education, we should, ideally, have identified more specific areas of interest which we should pursue independently, using the resources available to us.

It is my strong opinion that one of these areas should be Personal Development. As a Christian, one of the themes that strikes me from the Bible is that there is considerable room for improvement in our lifestyles and Spirituality. It is difficult enough to live up to the standards of Paul, let alone Jesus.

Personal Development

A Personal Program
There are so many resources available for Personal Development from which to develop a personalized program for oneself. I have compiled a partial list of some of the resources I have utilized in my personal program on the Integrated Success Program blog-site. There are considerably more available beyond those I compiled.

Personally, I believe one of the areas in which the greatest advances can be made in Personal Development is in the sub-conscious mind utilizing mental programming. While I, personally, use and recommend “The Silva Method“, others methods may work equally well or better for others and should be explored to identify the method(s) best suited to an individual’s own program of Personal Development.

Your Greatest Asset

Continued and On-going Development
The human mind is a wonderful thing, and terrible when wasted. The mind offers virtually unlimited potential to most people, if only they would utilize it. Untold hours are squandered in a virtual trance in front of the TV in today’s society. Individually, we may never contribute to society in the same manner as Shakespeare, Einstein, Ghandi, Descartes, Socrates or so many other wonderful examples of notable and worthy individuals. However, one never knows the extent to which we might be taken as a role model for the next major contributor to society. Perhaps our son or daughter, niece or nephew, neighbour, student, peer, associate and so on.

Perhaps it is simply exemplifying the change we wish to see in the world.

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Constructive Criticism is offered to a person and/or situation by an individual or group, having a desire to improve that person or situation, on the basis of specific, pertinent knowledge. As such, by definition, Constructive Criticism has high value to the recipient(s).

One must exercise great caution in distinguishing between Constructive Criticism and a simple Opinion, as well as placing an appropriate value on each.

Determine whether you have been offered an opinion or an accurate assessment - <strong>then treat it accordingly!</strong>

Constructive Criticism - Defined

“Constructive criticism, or constructive analysis, is a compassionate attitude towards the person qualified for criticism. Having higher experience, gifts, respect, knowledge in specific field and being able to verbally convince at the same time, this person is intending to uplift the other person materially, morally, emotionally or spiritually. For high probability in succeeding compassionate criticism, the critic has to be in some kind of healthy personal relationship with the other one, which is normally a parent to child, friend to friend, teacher to student, spouse to spouse or any kind of recognized authority in specific field. Hence the word constructive is used so that something is created or visible outcome generated rather than the opposite.”

- Wikipedia

Opinion - Defined

“An opinion is a subjective statement or thought about an issue or topic, and is the result of emotion or interpretation of facts. An opinion may be supported by an argument, although people may draw opposing opinions from the same set of facts. Opinions rarely change without new arguments being presented. However, it can be reasoned that one opinion is better supported by the facts than another by analysing the supporting arguments. [1]

An opinion may be the result of a person’s perspective, understanding, particular feelings, beliefs, and desires. <strong>In casual use, the term opinion may refer to unsubstantiated information, in contrast to knowledge and fact-based beliefs.</strong>” (Note: emphasis added)

- Wikipedia

Opinions

Do They Have Any Value?

In the Canadian Comedy scene, Rick Mercer has often undertaken trips to the United States for the express purpose of humour at the expense of Americans. For my purposes here, the lesson contained is that such comedy relies upon, and documents, a human weakness.

In his comedy segment, Rick Mercer will interview selected Americans about supposed “issues” in Canada in order to solicit <strong>OPINIONS</strong> from the American subject. Canadians, knowing the issue is contrived, find humour in the opinions offered by our American counterparts in a vacuum of information and fact, simply that provided by Rick Mercer. It is important to note that Americans seeking further information upon which to base their opinions are not shown, as this would be counter productive to the segment.

The program relies exclusively on the fact that people, not just Americans but all of us, are often ready to render an unambiguous and strong positional opinion <strong>DESPITE THE FACT THAT WE HAVE NOT ASCERTAINED THE FACTS</strong>.

On the basis of this statement, one must be careful with respect to how much value to place on someone’s opinion of you, what you have done, what you represent, etc. as they may not have relied upon some, or even all, the facts in order to formulate their opinion.

Constructive Criticism

A Valuable Resource for Personal Development

Constructive Criticism should be carefully considered, but not necessarily acted upon, as it represents a potentially valuable resource with regard to evaluating oneself as part of your ongoing program of Personal Development. Unless, of course, it is simply an opinion.

Using the definition above, Constructive Criticism is founded upon compassion and a healthy relationship between the source and recipient of such criticism. Furthermore, it is, ultimately, intended “… to uplift the other person materially, morally, emotionally (and/)or spiritually.” Therefore, legitimate Constructive Criticism is intended for constructive purposes, to help oneself improve and address possible weaknesses or undesirable charater traits not recognized.

Almost by definition, someone offering Constructive Criticism should be altruistic in their motivations. Constructive Criticism should, ideally, be offered for the benefit of the recipient, not the source.

However, life is not ideal and motivations are generally not altruistic. Therefore, one must always consider the context of any advice in an attempt to determine whether it is an Opinion or Constructive Criticism.

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As parents, we may feel that the tension between us and our teenage children is unique, despite the fact that our friends may relate virtually identical stories with respect to their children.

Smelling the Roses

Another version of the Same Thought

“The Gift of an Ordinary Day” is simply a recognition of the value of the commonplace.

As parents, we celebrate and rejoice in the victories and successes of our children. We agonize and sympathize with their defeats and difficulties. We empathize with their respective discoveries in their growth and passage through Life.

To the extent possible, we attempt to ease their passage, overcome obstacles and recognize the lessons to be learned. And, finally, at some point, we must release them to become the adults they wish to become.

Katrina Kenison Reads From “The Gift of an Ordinary Day”

This is a YouTube video of Katrina Kenison reading from her latest book “The Gift of an Ordinary Day: A Mother’s Memoir“.

The message is not new, in fact, it is widespread, virtually Universal, to caring parents. For that very reason, it may be disregarded by our children. Similarly, the attitudes of our children is common (although I won’t say Universal) and, although we personalize it because we care so much, it is not a unique reaction.

For me, the value of the video is that it may help us to realize that our situations and reactions are not unique. Parents and their children everywhere, through many different countries and cultures, experience they same tension between children wanting to pull away from their parents so as to assume the role of an adult and their parents wanting to nurture and protect them as they have from birth.

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Is it simply an issue of semantics, or is suffering a Failure more significant than a Defeat. More importantly, have you suffered a Setback, a Defeat or a Failure? Defining it properly and seeing it in its proper perspective is critical to subsequent outcomes.

The most important aspect is to determine whether:

1. You can learn anything from the situation (whether Setback, Failure or Defeat) so as not to repeat it,
2. You can recover and move on,
3. You will allow the situation to make YOU a Failure or can you successfully separate YOURSELF from the SITUATION and move on toward your goals?

Setback, Defeat or Failure?

Define it Properly!

From Webster’s New World Dictionary:

Setback - “2. to reverse or hinder the progress of …”

Defeat- “1. to win victory over; overcome; beat, 2. to bring to nothing; frustrate, 3. to make null and void, 4. to undo; destroy …”

Failure - “1. the act, state or fact of failing; specifically, a) a falling short, b) a losing of power or strength, c) a breakdown in operation or function, d) neglect or omission, e) a not succeeding in doing or becoming, f) a becoming bankrupt; 2. a person or thing that fails …”

“Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm”
- Winston Churchill

Perspectives to Consider

When dealing with Setbacks

1. STOP using “Failure” wth reference to setbacks and, IN PARTICULAR, with reference to YOURSELF!. Circumstances may conspire to produce a failure in a given venture, however, that does not make YOU a Failure!

2. Don’t take a Setback personally! A venture may have suffered a SETBACKor even failed, however, you stilll have potential to pursue other ventures. If a given Setback was a result of something you did / didn’t do - learn from it so it doesn’t happen again. If a failure was the result of a weakness you have, ADDRESS the weakness! If you require education, get it. If you lack confidence, use the wealth of Personal Development tools available to you to increase your Self-Confidence.

3. Be Prepared! Proper evaluation and thorough assessment of risk wil help you prepare to a possible setback of any given venture. Think of the application process for a loan at a bannk, for instance. Ideally, a Loans Officer wants as much detail with regard to your financial resources as possble so as to assess the risk associated with the loan. Similarly, assess the risk of the ventures you propose to enter and prepare a plan for both its possible success AND possible failure.

4. Fail Intelligently!A mouse in a maze, searching for the cheese at the centre, needs to make a correct (Success) or wrong (Failure) choice at each opening. After a mnumber of successive tries, the mouse eventually learns the faster route to the centre. In similar manner, life oftens presents us with choices and it is inevitable that we will make some wrong choices, perceived as Setbacks, Failures ot otherwise. We need to learn from wrong choices and move on to towards our goals.

5. Never Give Up! “Never give in, never give in, never; never; never; never - in nothing, great or small, large or petty - never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense”

- Winston Churchill
(The man who saw England through the Battle of Britain in World War II - What more need I say?)

How you Perceive Your Setback

Will it become a Failure or a Defeat?

Perception is so critical in so many aspects of life and life’s setbacks are no exception. One person sees “The glass half full”, while the another sees “The glass half empty”.

How you perceive any setback you face will determine the extent of its effects. The last year has seen us face, globally, the worst recession since the Great Depression of 1929 and many have been affected to varying degrees. The last year has seen virtually all of us face setbacks. Whether they become Failures or Defeats is up to us.

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With Opening Ceremonies for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games days away, it seems like a suitable time to discuss “Realizing Your Dreams”.

Almost 2,500 athletes, having trained for years to perfect their technique and shave hundredths of a second from their “Personal Best” times will compete against other athletes for the right to wear a Gold, Silver or Bronze medal in their respective events. Generally, a Gold Medal in the Olympics represents the lifelong dream of many, if not all, the athletes there.

All of these athletes, their coaches and families, have sacrificed to varying degrees in order to earn the right to represent, and compete on behalf of, their respective countries and realize their “Olympic Dream”.

What lessons can we learn from their example?

The Olympic Athlete

Selected Above Their Peers

In order to perform satisfactorily as a professional athlete, a scheduled program of training is required. In order to perform at an Olympic level, the level of training (and commitment) is markedly increased. This is evidenced in the selection process through which an athlete is selected to represent their country in their chosen sport.

An athlete must have a demonstrated ability in their sport. This is a given, however, if not an actual prodigy their ability must exceed that of virtually every other athlete in their country, on a consistent basis. This ability is, generally, demonstrated at an escalating level of sporting events as their career progresses, first at a local level, then at a regional to national level, culminating at the international level at which point they are competing against, not only their teammates but athletes from other countries.

In order to compete successfully at this level, they need to be at (or near) the top of their sport. At this level, they are (generally) no longer learning new skills, but refining them so as to shave crucial hundredths of a second off their time. They are pushing their mental barriers, to take themselves a little further beyond their current capabilities and/or limitations.

The Training Regime

Life Revolves Around Training

Training, ideally, for an Olympic level athlete is a carefully scheduled mixture of physical training and relaxation / recuperation designed to bring an athlete to their maximum performance level at “The Games”. Training is frequent enough to hone the athletes skills and body to a peak of performance ability with enough intentionally scheduled time for their bodies to recuperate / rejuvenate / recover from injury.

Furthermore, athletes don’t simply train for a couple of months prior to an event, it takes years to achieve the skill and athletic ability to compete at an Olympic level.

“In fact, while there are exceptions, coaches and trainers say it’s common for athletes to invest four to eight years training in a sport before making an Olympic team”
- Forbes July 23, 2008

Furthermore, athletes at the Olympic level are continually pushing their limitations , both physical and mental.

A Burning Desire

Passion For the Goal

In Napoleon Hill’s Philosophy of Success (as presented in “Think and Grow Rich” and “Law of Success”), he emphasizes not simply desire, but a “BURNING DESIRE” for ones goals. This is certainly the case for Olympic caliber athletes like Hayley Wickenheiser, who played with a broken wrist in the 2006 games in Torino and was named one of the 25 toughest athletes in the world by Sports Illustrated.

The “Medal Dream” of an Olympic athlete is NOT simply a dream for the athlete, but a “GOAL WITH A DEADLINE“. The 2010 Winter Olympics are scheduled between February 12 and 28th, 2010. In order to successfully compete at the peak of their ability, they must be ready for that time-frame. Furthermore, in order to reach that peak in their performance, they are scheduling their training regime years in advance.

Most great people have attained their greatest success just one step beyond their greatest failure.” - Napoleon Hill

Visualization

“The Zone”

In many sporting events these days, particularly at International events, one will see the athletes moving their bodies as they visualize their upcoming event. This is particularly evident at diving events and freestyle ski events in which they are moving their bodies in three dimensions as part of their preparations. They are visualizing the movements required of their bodies, remembering the feelings within their bodies as they successfully completed the same moves in earlier practice / competition. They are mentally programming their bodies as an integral component of their preparation.

Competitors in others events may not be as obvious in their visualization. Competitors in Luge, Bobsled and Downhill Skiing (among others) will be visualizing the track or course, mentally going over every inch, paying particular attention to those areas offering the greatest threat to their success. The competitors may only have limited opportunity to physically run the course in training before actually competing, however, they will be running the track / course, together with the associated challenges, through their heads many times before they ever compete.

Mental Programming

Reaching “The Zone”

The News Tribune posted an article entitled “Push Like an Olympic Athlete in which they describe an athlete’s performance and concentration in “The Zone”.

“The zone has been described as “a heightened sense of awareness.” Everything becomes easy. Time seems slower, so there’s plenty of time to catch the ball or to make the next turn or to leap ahead of the pack. Everything seems to flow, so that there are no individual motions, it’s all one movement. There’s an absolute sense of certainty that any desired move can be made without a miss, without a mistake. Other athletes, even other people, may be THERE, but they are dim and behind. In the zone, an athlete KNOWS he or she is invincible”.

Another perspective addresses athletes performance as a function of the stress they face and feel before and during their event. In this example, biofeedback and neurofeedback are utilized to help athletes monitor their level of stress and, more importantly, reduce it in an attempt to optimize their performance.

Other techniques that have been, and probably will be, utilized include Neurolinguistic programming (NLP), Creative Visualization, meditation for relaxation and others.

Summary

How Does This Apply To Me?

Most of us are not, and probably will not be, Olympic level athletes, let alone professional athletes but can we take any lessons away from an examination of Olympic (or elite) athletes?

First of all, they have strong, to BURNING, Desire to reach their goal of competing in the Olympics. Many, if not most, have a further goal of wining a medal, ideally the gold. Do we, similarly, have a BURNING DESIRE to reach and fulfill our goals and dreams?

Secondly, elite athletes are continually training to push the limits of their mental and physical capabilities, to extend their limitations. Are we, similarly, continually working toward our goals to the same extent, literally or figuratively, as an elite athlete works toward their goals? Are we prepared to make the similar sacrifices to achieve our goals? For example, are we willing to give up fattening foods in order to reduce our weight?

Finally, do we utilize all the tools, mental and physical, available to us to assist us in reaching our goals? Do we explore the possibilities available to us?

“Effort only fully releases its reward after a person refuses to quit.” - Napoleon Hill

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I have incorporated a fascinating set of YouTube videos featuring Peter Russell presenting his view of Consciousness comprising a fundamental aspect of the Universe, equivalent to space, time and matter. The videos comprise a single presentation by Peter Russell, divided up into 7, approximately ten minute clips.

The presentation in it’s entirety presents considerable food for thought and is well worth watching. It certainly provides some material to ponder.

Consciousness

A Working Definition
There are many different proposals with respect to the specific criteria that define consciousness, or conscious awareness. For example, recent research into coma patients has distinguished between a vegetative state and a minimally conscious state (see these “The New Scientist” articles [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6]). These brief articles hint at the ethical and scientific issues associated with defining “Consciousness”.

There have been a wide range of potential criteria proposed for defining “consciousness” and, as a result, a widely acceptable definition of the conscious state, or consciousness, has proven to be very difficult, even elusive, to establish. For the purposes of this article, we will use the following definition (taken from Wikipedia and references therein):

“Consciousness is subjective experience or awareness or wakefulness or the executive control system of the mind[1] It is an umbrella term that may refer to a variety of mental phenomena [2]. Although humans realize what everyday experiences are, consciousness refuses to be defined, philosophers note (e.g. John Searle in The Oxford Companion to Philosophy)”.[3]

“Anything that we are aware of at a given moment forms part of our consciousness, making conscious experience at once the most familiar and most mysterious aspect of our lives”

- Schneider and Velmans, 2007[4]

Awareness

An Intrinsic component of Consciousness
“Awareness”is the state or ability to perceive, to feel, or to be conscious of events, objects or sensory patterns. In this level of consciousness, sense data can be confirmed by an observer without necessarily implying understanding. More broadly, it is the state or quality of being aware of something” (Wikipedia).

In the series of YouTube video clips below (comprising sequential portion of a single presentation), Awareness is proposed as an intrinsic component of Consciousness, a means of recognizing and defining Consciousness.

Primacy of Consciousness

The following YouTube video clips comprise a single presentation by Peter Russell, sub-divided into 7 approximately 10 minute clips.

In this series of video clips, Peter Russell presents his interpretation of “Consciousness”.

Clip #1

The basic problem associated with “Consciousness” is the fact that we can’t measure it and, if we can’t measure it, there is no way to prove it exists in the framework of the scientific method.

In this first clip, Peter Russell presents a review of Consciousness and how one might begin trying to define it, with the resulting difficuties inherent in such a definition. The two foundation stones upon which he begins to develop his argument is that:

1. “One thing we can’t deny is that we are conscious:., and
2. “We can’t deny we are experiencing“.

Of course, one can’t define “Consciousness” by stating we are conscious and so he proceeds from there to the fact that something that is Conscious is also Self-Aware, integrating Awareness and the Capacity for Awareness into Consciousness.

Clip #2

Proceeding from the Ability to Experience, Peter Russell describes an analogy of a movie projector (or slide projector, etc.) as a means of producing an image on a screen, representing a “Form”. He then goes on to propose other kinds of Forms associated with Consciousness.

“Our consciousness has the potential to become every experience we ever have, or could ever have or any being could ever have”.

“We all know we’re conscious and there’s no way to explain it” which leads to “The Hard Problem”:

“How does something as immaterial as consciousness arise from something as unconscious as matter?”.

- David Chalmers (University of Arizona)

Peter Russell then introduces the term “Paradigm” as:

“The accepted theories, values, and scientific practices within which a particular field of science operates”

- Thomas Kuhn
(The structure of Scientific Revolutions)

and discusses the revolution in thinking in moving from the Geocentric Worldview of the Universe to the Copernican Worldview as an example.

Clip #3

Having defined a “Paradigm” and given an example of a “Paradigm Shift” from a Geocentric to Copernican Worldview, Peter Russell then defines the 6 steps defining the process of a Paradigm Shift, as follows:

1. The existing paradigm encounters an anomaly (an inexplicable observation),
2. Initially, the anomaly is ignored or rejected,
3. People try to explain the anomaly within the existing paradigm,
4. A new paradigm is proposed in which the anomaly is resolved,
5. The establishment rejects the new model, often ridicules its proponents, and
6. The new paradigm finally gains acceptance as it accounts for new observations.

“Every Truth passes though three stages before it is recognized:

1. First, it is ridiculed
2. Second, it is opposed
3. Third, it is regarded as self-evident

- Arthur Schopenhauer

Having defined a Paradigm, Peter Russell then defines a Metaparadigm as:

“The paradigm behind the paradigms” or,

the basic foundation upon which subsequent paradigms have been built.

The first “Metaparadigm of Science Peter Russell proposes is that:

“The real world is the material world. Space, time, and matter are primary”.

with the corresponding anomaly being “Consciousness” as:

• It cannot be doubted and
• It cannot be explained

One of the unquestioned assumptions of the current metaparadigm is that:

“Matter is insentient”

At this point, Peter Russell proposes an alternate Metaparadigm:

“Consciousness is a fundamental quality of the cosmos - as fundamental as space, time and matter”

that some level of consciousness extends down through all lifeforms to matter itself.

Clip #4

Peter Russell references parallels in the thinking of mystics with regard to Reality.

“Consciousness is in everything, Everything is in consciousness”.

Given that all of our information with regard to the world comes to us through our five senses,

“Everything we know is an experience in the mind”.

“The mind experiences qualities which are purely offspring of the mind alone”.
- A.N. Whitehead

“We assume there is an objective reality”.

Clip #5

The second unquestioned assumption of the current metaparadigm Peter Russell proposes is that:

“There is an objective reality”.

and proposes the Alternate Metaparadigm that:

“There is nothing but consciousness. Consciousness is more fundamental than space, time, and matter”.

Out of Einstein’s “Space-time” continuum comes the properties of “Space” and “Time”.

Clip #6

Peter Russell now introduces the “Principle of Least Action” as:

“In any process, Nature always does it (the process) in a way that the amount of Action is a minimum”.

After introducing some equations in Mechanical Physics, Peter Russell points out that the definition of “Action” is application of Energy acting over a period of Time, as follows:

Action (ML^2)/T = Energy (ML^2/T^2) x Time (T),
where M = mass, L = distance, “^2″ = squared and T= Time.

Furthermore, {Planck’s constant, in units of ergs / sec (or Energy / second) is equivalent to “Action”, therefore,

“Every photon of light is an identical unit of Action“.

“Whatever the underlying “Field is (whether a Unified Field or a Field of Consciousness), it’s first manifestation is Action”.

Finally, Manifestation is Action (or Activity).

From this train of thought, Peter Russell then states that “Sensory Forms” consist of “Matter”, “Space”, “Time”, “Particle / Wave (Duality)”, “Causality” and “Locality”.

Clip #7

Peter Russell concludes with a comparison of mystical statements of “I-ness”, “Am-ness” and God-hood with his argument of Consciousness as a fundamental property.

Summary

I found the presentation to be very interesting and thought provoking. His discussion of Time and Distance from the perspective of (a photon) of light to be very interesting, as it “travels” from Emission to Absorption.

As Peter Russell progressed in his arguments toward his proposal of all matter as having “some level of consciousness”, I was struck by the principle of “Anthropomorphism” with regard to his example of throwing a jellyfish on a fire. In this example, he is suggesting that we feel something (remorse?) if we were to throw a lower life form (the jellyfish) onto a fire. Obviously, this is a form of violence upon the jellyfish and what, I believe, he is implying is that we might experience recognition of another consciousness.

An alternative perspective for this example is that we are “projecting” ourselves onto the jellyfish, imagining what it might feel (if it had some level of consciousness / intelligence) and are, therefore, guilty of “Anthropomorphism“.

Personally, I find this to be a critical point in the progression of his argument. If we can accept the “intuitive” proposal that some level of consciousness extends down to the level of matter, then the progression beyond to “Consciousness” as a primary aspect of the Universe, equivalent (or even more fundamental) to Space, Time and Matter, can be evaluated

If, however, one believes that progression to be an aspect of Anthropomorphism, then the progression fails.

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In his book “Self Mastery Through Conscious Autosuggestion“, Emile Coué claims, from his own experience, that “Every illness, whatever it may be, can yield to autosuggestion … I do not say does always yield, but can yield, which is a different thing”.

Affirmations are simple generic statements, generally in the form of goals, one might find on the Internet and in many Self-Help, New Age or New Thought books. Many audio programs have been developed with such affirmations put to music. The idea is that the desires and/or goals of many people can be reduced to a number of generalized, generic statements, as follows:

• I am Successful, Rich, Healthy and Happy
• I love myself unconditionally
• I am a loving, forgiving, gentle and kind person

The following are affirmations used while at Beta in The Silva Method:

• My increasing mental faculties are for serving humanity better.
• Every day, in every way, I am getting better and better.
• Positive thoughts, suggestions and images bring me benefits and advantages I desire.
• Negative thoughts, suggestions and images have no influence over me at any level of my mind.
• I have full control and complete dominion over my sensing faculties at all levels of my mind, including the outer conscious level. And this is so.
• I energize and maintain myself in a healthy way, physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally.
• I will always maintain a perfectly healthy body, mind and immune system.

Self - Affirmations are, similarly, simple statements of fact or desired intent. They may differ from affirmations, however, in that one might formulate them for a specific circumstance or individual goal. In addition, rather than have a pre-recorded affirmation message, one speaks the affirmation(s) out loud (orally) to oneself.

Developing Your Own Affirmations

There are some general guidelines to follow when formulating one’s own, individual affirmations:

Use the PRESENT TENSE, not the future tense. The subconscious mind tries to literally bring about what it is asked of it, so one would phrase an affirmation in the form “I am rich” or “I choose to be rich”.

Be POSITIVE. Only positive statements work. The sub-conscious mind is literal and simple and cannot, therefore, understand negative affirmations. For example, if you were to use the affirmation “I am not fat”, the subconscious mind would interpret it as “I am fat”!. This, obviously, is not the intended goal.

Affirmations should be SPOKEN, WRITTEN DOWN or, ideally, BOTH. Repeat them emphatically, preferably throughout the day, at least twenty times when you first get up in the morning and twenty times in the evening just before you go to sleep.

Writing your affirmations down is a faster way of imprinting the affirmation into the subconscious mind. Napoleon Hill, in “Think and Grow Rich” suggested writing your affirmation on a 3″ x 5″ card and keeping it in your pocket. Throughout the day, whenever you get the chance, remove the card and look at it or read it. Do this several times a day. In keeping with the modern age of technology, you might want to save your affirmation in your iPhone or Blackberry.

Repetition. In order to bring about significant change in your life, affirmations must be repeated many times a day. As stated above, as a minimum, try to repeat your self affirmations twenty times a day in both the morning and evening. The objective is to get your affirmations past your conscious mind and embed them in your sub-conscious.

The technique is potentially very powerful if a program of repetition of the affirmation(s) is maintained over a period of time. The phrase “period of time” is, of course, very ambiguous. One might consider repeating the affirmation until such time as the affirmation has been realized.

For a review of the power of Affirmations (as Self-Affirmations or Auto-suggestion) in healing, refer to Emile Coue’s “Self Mastery Through Conscious Autosuggestion“.

For a wonderful example of the detailed use of affirmations, refer to The Greatest Salesman in the World

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Goal setting is the conscious, active process of identifying your goals.

How we go about identifying and setting our goals will, to a very large degree, determine how successful we are in our attempts to achieve those goals. Goals and goal setting are common themes in Personal development and the intent of this lens is to serve as an introduction to the concept.

What Do You Want in Life?

Start by Making a List

If you are new to Goals and Goal Setting, start by making a list of what you want in life. This is a list of the things YOU WANT, not your spouse, not your parents, not your friends, not your Boss, etc. Make a list of the things YOU want in life.

Divide your life up into its major phases. For example, your family, financial, work, friends, hobbies / recreation, education, etc. The categories you use are up to you, however, realize that your life does have separate phases, it can be divided (and sub-divided) into categories. Choose an initial set of categories and get to work. You can always add or subtract categories as you progress.

In each category, compile a list of things you would like to do, skills you would like to learn, places you would like to see, awards or other forms of recognition you desire … in short, a WISH LIST of what you want in each category. Be as creative, bold and imaginative as you wish. Compile your “Bucket List” in each category. The only restriction at this point is your imagination.

If you are married and have children, include YOUR list of what you want to do with your spouse, your goals and wishes for your children. Ideally, they would similarly prepare their respective lists involving you.

Prioritizing Within Each Category

Organizing your Wish List

Now you must decide what is realistic and within what timeframe.

If you are single and not dating, getting married in the next week is, arguably, not a realistic goal. However, perhaps it might be a reasonable goal over a year or two. If you have just started work at your first job, it may be unlikely that you will be the President, with a six figure income, by next month. However, perhaps a 5-10 year timeframe is realistic.

Prioritize the items in each category according to a timeframe, from those that can be achieved within a daily, weekly, monthly or yearly timeframe. You might also want to create sub-categories. For example, some goals might pertain to your current job, which is a stepping stone to your future ideal job. Perhaps you have some Personal Development items on which you wish to work in order to pursue other objectives.

Identify any items within your varous categories which require preceding steps. For example, if you are just finishing High School and you want a Ph.D., you will need a B.Sc. first. If you currently work in a research station in the Arctic and want to live in Florida, you might want to look for another job and a residence of some sort in Florida.

In addition, identify those items in any category about which you are extremely motivated to achieve, for which you have a Burning Desire to fulfill.

What are Goals?

“A Goal is a Wish with a deadline“

- Author Unknown

So, now we need to convert the items on your “Wish List”, item by item, into their corresponding “Goals”.

At the outset, be aware that it is very important to realize that in many, perhaps all, of your goals, you will encounter disappointments and even defeats in your attempts to realize those goals. However, it is you that will determine if a defeat becomes a failure to achieve any goal. How deteremined are you to reach your goal? How persistent will you be in pursuing your goal, in overcoming adversity and opposition? How badly do you want your goal? Those items on your wish list for which you have a “Burning Desire” are the items you are most likely to achieve.

Goal Setting

There are many ways to establish Goals. The method we will use here is in the form of a written contract with yourself. The intent of a written contract is to make it more formalized and to demonstrate a level of commitment to your goal(s).Goals should be SMART:

• SPECIFIC
• MEASURABLE
• ACTION ORIENTED
• REALISTIC
• TIMEBOUND

SPECIFIC - Your Goal should be stated clearly and unambiguously. The sub-conscious mind is very literal and simple and your instructions to the sub-conscious should similarly be simple and literal. In a manner similar to “Affirmations“, your goals should be in the “PRESENT TENSE“, POSITIVE AND WRITTEN DOWN, SPOKEN ALOUD or, ideally, BOTH.

MEASURABLE - The Goal you develop should be measurable, should have some means of determining if you have achieved it.

ACTION ORIENTED - Your Goal should involve a component of Action. You need to do something in order to move yourself closer toward your goal. The action required might be Direct or Indirect, but there must be some form of input from you toward realizing your goal.

REALISTIC- The Goal yu identify must be a realistic goal. You, personally, must be able to achieve the goal you set for yourself. Carefully review your WISH LIST to determine if it can realistically be converted to a corresponding Goal.

TIMEBOUND- Set a timeframe within which to accomplish your goal. The timeframe must also be realistic and it must be definite and unambiguous.

Your Contract with Yourself

Given the above “SMART” guidelines for setting yur goals, each goal will consist of about a paragraph or two, depending upon how specific you have made it.

It is easy to set up a template which you can “Cut” and “Paste” around your goal.

1. Date - Place Today’s Date above your Goal
2. Goal - Paste your goal below the date
3. Signature - Print out and Sign your goal (It is a contract after all)

You may group similar or related goals together but each should be signed separately.

Working with Your Goals

Keep Them Fresh in Your Mind

You have converted most of the items in your Wish List to Goals and, having done so, you must now keep them in front of you.

Two very useful tools are the Vision board and Mind Movies. They are highly visual methods for keeping your goals in mind and for motivating you.

Review your goals on a regular basis, once a week or once a month, and modify / revise your goals as your circumstances and/or progress changes. Most important of all, should you encounter obstacles or adversity in achieving your goals, PERSIST!. If it is a realistic goal and one you desire, persist until you overcome the adversity or find a way around the obstacle

(Note: see Randy Pausch - The Last Lecture with regard to achieving Childhood Goals and Overcoming Adversity).

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Personally, I strongly and firmly believe in the power of Creative Visualization as an indispensable tool in achieving desired goals. Having visualized your goal, however, I believe you must then take the appropriate ACTION in order to bring it to reality.

Advocates FOR the “Law of Attraction”, on the other hand, state that having visualized your goal, you then release it to the Universe in order for it to become “Manifest”.

This is the point at which my belief system diverges from the hardcore “Law of Attraction” advocates and Gurus.

Scientific Laws
A Definition

“A scientific law or scientific principle is a concise verbal or mathematical statement of a relation that expresses a fundamental principle of science, like Newton’s law of universal gravitation. A scientific law must always apply under the same conditions, and implies a causal relationship between its elements. The law must be confirmed and broadly agreed upon through the process of inductive reasoning” (Wikipedia).

The Law of Gravity
Often quoted as Analogous to “The Law of Attraction”

The law of gravity wasn’t quantified and defined until Isaac Newton, but there was a common observation from day one of mankind’s existence - when support for something is removed, it ALWAYS falls down. The Law of Gravity existed from the first moments after the Big Bang and has been repeatedly observed to act in exactly the same manner, repeatedly, regardless of whether one believes in it or not.

Law of Attraction

The “Law of Attraction” is not a scientific “Law” as it has not been quantitatively proven, let alone even physically detected. It is a man-made artifice and is, in no way, a recognized “Natural Law”, like the often quoted Law of Gravity

The danger I believe inherent to the “Law of Attraction” as widely promoted throughout the Internet and media is that, for “believers” of this pseudo-religious following, it places responsibility for EVERYTHING in one’s life on the believer.

“Oh, I must have somehow visualized the drunk, driving the run away gravel truck that ran the red light and killed my entire family”.

An extreme example, but it demonstrates the fallacy.

Vibrational Energy
“Manifesting” our Physical Reality?

The “vibrational energy” of our thoughts does not have the measured capability of extending much farther than our skull and yet proponents of the Law of Attraction would have us believe it extends out into the Intelligent Universe, which awaits our every wish.

“The magnetic fields produced by electrical activity in the brain “… are miniscule and can be measured only by using an extremely sensitive superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) in a room heavily shielded against outside magnetic forces. Plus, remember the inverse square law: the intensity of an energy wave radiating from a source is inversely proportional to the square of the distance from that source. An object twice as far away from the source of energy as another object of the same size receives only one-fourth the energy” (Scientific American, vol. 296, Issue 6, pg. 39).

“Manifesting” a Physical Object
Immense Energy Required

The energy required to “manifest” our desire from the raw energy of the Universe is stupifying. In my post, “The Law of Attraction Fails“, I calculated that the energy required to “manifest” a 26 lb briefcase containing $980,000 is equivalent to that required to send the Empire State Building almost to the Moon. The calculation is not wrong, the belief that you can “manifest” physical objects from a pool of energy is wrong. There is a phenomenal amount of energy tied up in matter, hence the power of atomic bombs (which, incidentally, do not entirely consume the matter contained).

Reality
We Define our own Reality

“”Reality” is what we take to be true. What we take to be true is what we believe. What we believe is based upon our perceptions. What we perceive depends upon what we look for. What we look for depends upon what we think. What we think depends upon what we perceive. What we perceive determines what we believe. What we believe determines what we take to be true. What we take to be true is our reality.”

-The Dancing Wu Li Masters by Gary Zukov

In short, we mentally define our own respective, individual “realities”, however, manifesting a physical reality is something entirely different.

Summary

We create our reality. Our beliefs are based on our perceptions, which we receive through our five senses. Our beliefs are culturally biased and can be changed through active effort, chemical means (i.e. hallucinogens), physical trauma to the head (and, subsequently, brain) and mental illness and, perhaps others means as well.

We can change our reality, how we perceive our physical surroundings and the manner in which we respond to our reality in order to “manifest” into our reality. We can change our behaviour, appearance, attitude, etc. in order to attract a mate, but we cannot “manifest” our ideal mate from raw energy.

The power of mental visualization, essentially the core of the “Law of Attraction”, is very powerful indeed. However, in order to “Manifest” the desired goal, one must implement a plan directed toward achieving that goal and this is the critical point at which reality diverges from the “Law of Attraction”.

To conclude, the “Law of Attraction”, as widely promoted throughout the Internet and media, has not been detected or measured, it is not universal, or consistent and is not repeatable. It is not a scientific law and is, by definition, a man-made artifice.

Comments

What has been your experience with the “Law of Attraction”? Have you “manifested” anything in your life?

I believe you can “manifest” dramatic change within your life by changing oyur belief system, your attitude, aspect of your personality and/or character.

I don’t believe you can manifest anything physical or external to yourself.

What do you think?

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