“A human being all acts and feels and performs in accordance with what he imagines to be true about himself and his environment. This is a basic and fundamental law of mind. It is the way we are built.”
– Maxwell Maltz, M.D. – Psycho-Cybernetics, Updated and Expanded – page 36
In the above passage, you can see that I underlined and emphasized the word “imagines.”
I have done so because so many self-development coaches automatically associate the word “imagines” with the word “believes.”
Can you imagine something and bring it about without believing it in a deep and significant way?
Yes, you can.
This is what we refer to as “testing” something to see what happens. You’re not really sure as to whether something will make a difference or not, so you give it a whirl and take note of your results.
Here’s a simple example:
One evening, not so long ago, I was observing a baseball player who wanted to throw the ball 90 miles per hour. He was stuck and struggling, maxing out around 87. The coach who was working with him kept giving him mechanical fixes, none of which added an iota of extra velocity.
After several minutes I asked the coach if I could make a suggestion. He agreed. I pulled the athlete to the side and gave him a different mental picture, one of him effortlessly throwing the ball. It was an exaggerated, hyperbolic and nonsensical mental picture, one that could NOT be turned into reality, one that the athlete could NOT possibly believe was true. I made no comment to this athlete whatsoever about his existing beliefs, or what I thought they should be.
On the next pitch the athlete threw the ball 89 miles per hour. This got him excited. He grabbed another ball and hit 89.9. And on his next throw, using the ridiculous mental imagery I gave him, he topped 90 miles per hour for the first time in his life.
When the radar gun showed 90, he looked at me and exclaimed, “Oh my, God. I can’t believe it. This is incredible. What you teach really works.”
“You didn’t need to believe it,” I replied. “All you needed to do was imagine it – and then it happened. Remember this as it applies in every area of your life, not just baseball.”
I realize the above flies in the face of those who think you need to change your limiting beliefs before any change takes place in your life.
I have not found that to be true.
On the other hand, I have found that once a person begins to change his or her limiting mental pictures into positive, broad and expansive images, a whole lot of positive change is forthcoming… and oftentimes, at a speed that defies logic.
Here endeth the lesson.
Matt Furey
