State is the most important aspect of personal development. You could dismiss every topic en every PD program available and only take State into practice, and you’ll still have the most powerful tool in the toolbox at your disposal.
But what is State? It’s the way you feel at any given moment, physically, emotionally, and mentally.
Your edge in life depends 80% on your psychology, and the other 20% on the mechanics of habits. That is a force at work at all times, and it doesn’t care about what it does to you; it just works that way, like gravity… it can work to your advantage and amusement, or it can seriously hurt you; but hey, it’s not personal, it’s just the way it works.
But if you could take control of this force, by controlling your consistent emotions, you could begin to consciously and deliberately reshape your daily experience of life.
Living in a peak State is exhilarating, and life-changing, yet it’s still a rare condition for most people.
It doesn’t have to be the case for you.
How do you raise your life to this level then?
It will require first that you let go of the past, master your emotions, and adopt an excellence mindset.
Your emotions are the foundation that peak State is built upon. They have the power to control everything in our lives –mood, decisions, actions, you name it. If you want positive progress, you need positive emotions.
The Triad of Emotional Psychology
To start creating a positive mindset, you need to understand first the Triad of Emotional Psychology and master the three forces that control your emotions: your physiology, your language, and your focus.
Your Physiology
This is the first component of the Triad. It refers to your body and all its systems.
The way you use your body affects how you feel mentally and emotionally. You must be aware of this connection: if you stand up straight, you’ll feel a sense of pride and alertness; if you slump over and neglect your body, you’ll start to feel down and negative –and consider what will happen if you get into the habit of doing any of these consistently…
The next time you find yourself in a certain mood, pay attention to your body and how you’re using it at that moment, and you’ll start to make the connection, and in no time you will start being able to change it as well.
You have the power to reset your State at will.
Your Focus
Wherever your focus goes, your energy will flow. What you put your focus on is where you’ll set your intention; consciously or unconsciously.
If you are driving on the highway and turn your head and your attention completely to your left –and hear me well, don’t try that; especially on the highway!- you will notice that your car will steer to the left; not by itself, of course, but by a combination of your focusing your attention to that direction and moving dominant parts of your body as well. This is why we know of so many cases of unconfident drivers crashing their car into the only tree or telephone pole in sight; they see it, begin to fear crashing into it, and they involuntarily steer right into it.
The same thing happens to you in other aspects.
Learning to set your focus on the positive things is one of the most essential steps toward achieving your peak State, and you will also start moving in the direction of the things you do want.
Your Language
This is the third component of the Triad. The way you speak –to yourself internally and out loud- determines how you operate in the world; especially the questions you ask.
Your brain is programmed to come up with an answer to whatever question is presented to it; so, if you were to ask “how come all these bad things happen to me?”, or “why is it that I can never make enough money?”, then your brain will come up with whatever answer could fit that question, and it doesn’t matter if it is real, it will match your current set of beliefs, and you’ll feel powerless as a result.
The way you talk to yourself will determine what emotions you feel, so choose your words and your tone wisely. You will still be talking to yourself internally; but instead of having a negative, judgmental character disapproving everything you do, you can have a coach showing you a better, most effective way to do things next time. You will benefit from the feedback, and you’d have learned something as well.
Reprogram your usual phrases through repetition, using what we call incantations. When you repeat a phrase with enough emotional intensity, you start to believe and embody it (just as with your lousy self-talk). Use the power of incantations by designing and using the ones that support you the most.
Let’s continue this topic next week.
Until then, stay strong!
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