Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz

"Psycho-Cybernetics" by Maxwell Maltz explores the concept of self-image and its impact on an individual's personality and behavior. The book introduces the idea that each person has a self-image, a mental blueprint that influences their actions, feelings, and abilities. Maltz argues that by changing one's self-image, it's possible to change their life.

Key Concepts

• Self-Image: The mental picture you have of yourself, shaped by past experiences and beliefs. [cite: 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 5, 6, 7]
• The Self-Image Can Be Changed: It is possible to change your self-image at any age and thereby start to live a new life. [cite: 614, 615, 616, 617, 618, 619, 620, 621, 622]
• Cybernetics and Goal-Striving: The book draws on cybernetics to explain how the brain and nervous system operate as a goal-striving mechanism. [cite: 195, 196, 197, 198, 199, 200, 201, 202, 212]
• Imagination and Achieving Goals: Maltz emphasizes the power of imagination in creating “synthetic experiences” to achieve goals. [cite: 30, 46, 535, 536, 537, 65, 84]
• Importance of "Experiencing": The self-image is changed through experiencing, not just intellectual knowledge. [cite: 514, 515, 516, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 84]

Changing Self-Image

Maltz details how plastic surgery led him to the discovery of the self-image. [cite: 646, 647, 648, 649, 650, 651, 652, 653, 654, 655, 656] Changing the physical image often led to changes in personality, but he also noted cases where this didn't happen. [cite: 657, 658, 659, 660, 661, 662, 663, 664, 665, 666, 667, 668, 669, 670, 671, 672, 673, 674, 675, 676, 677, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31] This led him to realize the importance of the non-physical "face of personality" or self-image. [cite: 467, 468, 469, 470, 471, 472, 473, 474, 475]

The book also covers:

• How to utilize the power of rational thinking. [cite: 5]
• Relaxing and letting your success mechanism work for you. [cite: 5, 78, 79]
• Acquiring the habit of happiness. [cite: 5]
• Ingredients of the success-type personality. [cite: 5, 60, 61]
• How to remove emotional scars. [cite: 5]
• Do-it-yourself tranquilizers for peace of mind. [cite: 6]
• Turning a crisis into a creative opportunity. [cite: 6]

Maltz's work provides a framework for understanding and influencing human behavior, emphasizing the potential for individuals to achieve a fulfilling life by understanding and working with their self-image.

1. Your mind is a goal-seeking system; give it a clear target and it will work toward it automatically.
2. Self-image is the foundation of your success or failure in life.
3. You cannot outperform the picture you hold of yourself inside.
4. Relaxed and confident thoughts produce better results than tense effort.
5. Imagine success clearly, and your subconscious will search for ways to achieve it.
6. Mistakes are feedback, not proof of failure.
7. You act like the person you believe you are.
8. Change your inner picture, and your actions will follow.
9. The nervous system responds to imagined experiences as if they were real.
10. Happiness comes from progress, not perfection.
11. Let go of emotional scars by rewriting the meaning you give them.
12. Your automatic mind works best when you trust it instead of forcing it.
13. Confidence grows from repeated mental rehearsal of success.
14. Your past does not define you, only the meaning you assign to it does.
15. A calm mind programs better outcomes.
16. You don’t rise to your goals; you fall to your self-image.
17. Visualization is rehearsal for real life.
18. When you change your perception of yourself, your world begins to change too.