Strategy:
homeostasis as a school,
wisdom as practice,
feeling as a language.
Firstly, this is about having the intelligence that has supported life as a school.
Secondly, it is about attending that school diligently, continuously training in the virtues recognised as the pillars that supported life, until true wisdom is achieved.
Thirdly, it is about mastering the universal language of feeling.
Anything is possible for those who know how get it done.
If you use your formulas effectively, you will be invincible. Neither pain, nor fear, nor anguish, nor anger—nor any other uncomfortable emotion—can suppress the peace, joy and serenity achieved by those who succeed in realising their goals.
In order to conserve energy, our “elephant” uses the power of the experiences acquired during the evolutionary process to advocate inertia. And so it justifies a series of behaviours that prevent us from growing in life, such as: tribal sense, laziness, selfishness, cowardice, among others.
Every day, resistance to change comes disguised as a fairy, with creative arguments to make procrastination prevail.
Change means waging a permanent war against inertia, a war with several battles.
According to behavioural and statistical studies, 10 to 20 percent of humans actively resist change, 60 to 80 percent are content with the lives they live, and 10 to 20 percent act, dedicate themselves and embrace new challenges.
If you apply this analysis to any ethnic, cultural, business group, or some other kind of group, those are the resulting figures.
In other words, 80 to 90 per cent of humans are unwilling to spend energy on growth, initiative or change. This group focuses on the problems to justify their inertia and their choices.
According to psychologist Carol S. Dweck, a professor at Stanford University, most people have a fixed mindset. Only a few have a growth mindset.
If we exist, it is because our homeostatic system was capable of managing energy efficiently. This is how we develop the will to procrastinate, to be right, to get the immediate rewards.
Adapting this will to the needs of today’s world requires the courage to act differently.
Will comes naturally.
Courage is built.
Having will is part of our biological kit to ensure survival. Will makes us seek pleasure and avoid pain as quickly as possible, immediately. To have “willpower” is to have the courage to withstand the urge to save energy and act when it is deemed necessary to the objectives at hand.
Without action, there are no results. For action to be effective, there must be models of thought appropriate to each process that is needed to obtain the result. One must have tactics.
In the World we live in, where the only certainty is change, quick adaptation to each scenario requires permanent training in the skills needed to perform any task (wisdom). Previous knowledge is transitory and ephemeral.
In the past, we would define luck as the moment when a well-prepared person finds an opportunity.
To be well-prepared meant having expertise in a field of knowledge. And then, all it took was to find an opportunity where this knowledge could be put to use.
In the present, no one will be well-prepared for the moment when their profession goes into extinction or otherwise changes radically. The only solution will be to quickly learn the tasks of a new mission.
Obtaining credentials in a particular field of knowledge does not ensure anything. It is the readiness to train in new tasks that may ensure a stable life.
This is about having the relevant attitudes, behaviours and habits to perform any task.
In other words, this is about knowing how to turn something difficult and painful into something easy and rewarding.
This takes time and depends on a system, a personal process that requires constant improvement and maintenance.
This is about being an eternal apprentice in a trade of which we will never be masters, but of which we will always be proud.
So, where should we focus our energy?
Choosing the methods that best suit us requires us to become experts in ourselves.
In order for you to speed up your journey, we suggest that you analyse the different things that there are in the most widely known training methods, and then make your choices.
The main human training methods can be divided into two groups with remarkable differences.
Group 1: Rational Methods
Methods of the first group are based on scientific studies, structured in such a way that the actions are rationally understood, practised and monitored until the results are obtained. They start with (rational) thinking in order to change behaviour. They monitor goals.
One works to provoke a feeling, through thoughts, that leads to appropriate action.
The barriers that prevent or hinder the desired results stem from the fact that we are biologically designed to save energy and be right.
Information that is transmitted to us rationally is not always absorbed, either because it does not arouse emotions capable of showing the relevance of said information, or because there are no arguments to support motivation.
Therefore, the actions needed to change behaviour are either not performed or discarded before there is time to acquire the necessary habits.
Group 2: Empirical Methods
Methods of the second group are based on empirical observation of “what works”. They realise that it is more important to take care of the system that has been around for thousands of years, always yielding excellent results, rather than having a perfect plan.
They train behaviours until these become habits and monitor results. They are capable of preparing people from the most diverse cultural and educational backgrounds for war within relatively short time spans.
The first method is based on the rational system. It requires convincing, debates, discussion groups, respect for different opinions. It takes years of training and requires prior knowledge.
The second method uses the biological kit, which is quite ancestral, with a strong emphasis on the emotional system and very little emphasis on the rational system. This method is imposed: no-one has any say. Training is progressive, albeit fast-paced, always exceeding the previous day’s thresholds. Actions are trained under strong emotion. Not even the instructors themselves know the reasons why these training programmes work, nor the scope of what is trained. I repeat:
One does not give information—one gives training.
Much of what we learn is the result of using our “intelligence from beyond the mind”, which is engraved in our biology, “in the unconscious”, in such a way that it is only perceived as a manifestation of instinct or intuition.
This makes it possible to read the environment—both internal and external—and detect anything that is strange or does not make sense, leading to the anticipation of danger.
The human brain continuously analyses the information it receives from the body and its surroundings, and compares it with the data it has accumulated in its biological kit: its feelings, emotions and memories. It picks what it deems important and stores information for the future. Much of this is done without conscious thinking.
As a result of this training, discipline, overcoming and concentrated focus on the task reshape feelings, emotions, habits and beliefs.
Trust is built by results that are clearly seen. Based on trust, beliefs are reshaped with no need for cognitive exercise.
We searched among the leading scientists for studies that justified the results obtained, meaning studies that came up with the answer as to “why” this is true. In medicine, psychology and neuroscience, we found many of the neurological answers that justify these results.
Changes in behaviour only happen when there is a striking emotion or a change of habit.
Every difficult thing turns into something faster and safer once it is converted into a habit. Every habit uses up just a small fraction of the energy it would take if the same task was to be performed for the first time.
One only changes when they have had enough of suffering or when they learn.
One can only learn quickly when a striking emotion occurs. This emotion can be occasional or intentional. When it is intentional, it has to be a product of the resolve of those who hold authority, either their own (courage to get it done) or of a third party (imposition).
The anatomy of a miracle
Seek your oracles
The first of these oracles is summarised in your biology, in your genes; they have the formulas used by the homeostatic system to preserve and maintain life by saving energy. The second oracle is summarised in your beliefs.
It is based on this that you realise what you are doing right and what you need to change.
In short, your biology is your ancestral record, and your beliefs are your life story.
The third oracle is in anthropology, where we can find evidence of what has worked for millennia and, for this reason, we can recognise the skills or virtues that are essential to life.
And the fourth oracle is in science, where issues are raised and attempts are made to apply methods that can clarify these issues.
Once you have sought your oracles, you can find out the reasons for what is going on inside you, what is stopping you from changing, what you need to train harder, and thus begin to devise strategies for each of the issues raised.
Each of the subjects listed further below should have its own chapter in the book that you will write.
These are the routes on your map.
You should research as much information as possible about them and how to train them, drawing from a wide variety of sources.
Write down your codes of wisdom
For example:
Quotes from great thinkers are useful to reflect on and look for examples in your life.
Idioms carry wisdom that is based on things that have worked for a long time. You can draw some inspiration and meaning from them, something that helps you form codes of wisdom. These codes will act as guiding lights, capable of shaping your attitudes during crucial moments.
When an idea inspires you and you feel it suits you, take notes in a notebook, where you will develop that chapter. If possible, write it down instead of typing it.
Then, develop each of the ideas written there, paragraph by paragraph. Once you are satisfied, you can type it up to better organise your texts.
The first commitment
Stop wasting your time. Start getting it done, do not put it off another second. You will never know how far you can fly if you do not spread your wings.
With each day, write down the progress you made, what went well and what did not go so well. Before you go to sleep, read the things that went well. Think about the questions for which you would like to find answers. Your unconscious mind will take care of this for you during the night.
In order to provide an example or a starting point, we sought to list the important themes below, with some definitions and ideas, so that you can develop and illustrate them from your own sources, your own mentors and your own choices.
Beliefs
Besides our biology, there is nothing more influential in your life than your beliefs, mental models, paradigms or memes. These beliefs are products of habits of thought. They summarise the way in which you have interpreted the world and recorded it in your memory.
There are only two ways to reshape beliefs: either by an emotional impact or by a new habit of thought.
The way you interpreted what happened to you, especially in the first years of your life, before adolescence, shaped the beliefs that condition your behaviour and influence your life. They build the bubble in which you live.
Your beliefs interfere with your interoceptive and reticular systems. They are like the coloured lenses in your glasses: if they are green, you will see everything green; if you switch to red, you will see everything red.
Beliefs tend to perpetuate themselves because our brain selects the information that matches them and begins defending these as unquestionable truths. As the philosopher Nietzsche said, “every conviction is a prison”.
This makes it easier to achieve success when we have a clear purpose in mind and we know that we are capable of achieving it. Our brain sorts out all the information that matches this purpose and clearly shows what has to be done to achieve it.
Our lives depend on how we see ourselves and how we see the world, and this can be very good or very bad. That is why our beliefs play a decisive role in our lives.
The mission is to reshape our limiting beliefs until they are aligned with what we want for our lives.
To change is to break out of the bubble in which we live and build another one.
Imagination is undoubtedly the greatest weapon for this. By using imagination, we can turn problems into opportunities, turn obstacles into stepping stones, and rewrite beliefs.
Through self-suggestion, repetition, patience and perseverance, we can create habits of thought, rewrite beliefs in the unconscious, make our immune system change—even in our genes, as epigenetics shows.
Émile Coué, the therapist and psychologist behind self-suggestion, stated this: “All our thoughts, good or bad, materialise and, in short, become reality.”
“Always think that what you need to do is easy, and so it will be.”
However, we must understand why it is not enough to just repeat positive thoughts. If our limiting beliefs contradict these thoughts, it is very likely that such positive thoughts will fail to produce the expected results. As long as what we want is not aligned with what we believe in, the results are unlikely to materialise. That is why it is so important to use the “dictionary” that we will be able write about our emotions, so as to reshape our beliefs, making the neuroassociations that we need.
For instance, recalling the way we felt on occasions when we did well is something that can link pleasure to the things that need to be done. On the other hand, recalling times of suffering can link pain to the things that we do not want.
In this way, we can create different visions for one same event.
When you find some behaviour that can help you, repeat it until it becomes a habit.
There are many ways in which you can accomplish this task, which is essential to the fulfilment of any purpose. Work hard, tirelessly, until you find the best way to reshape your beliefs, making it possible for your elephant and your jockey to be best friends.
Take the reins of authority
Assuming that, in ordinary life, you cannot impose training using unquestionable authority, all that remains is to transfer authority from others to yourself. Authority, in this case, means taking the lead in the process, controlling the resolve to get it done, whether you want to or not, whether you are motivated or not.
If you started it, then you are supposed to finish it. This means building up the courage to do it, as a means of strengthening self-confidence, based on a feasible plan that can achieve progressive results that sustain the energy needed for them.
It means being the guardian of diligence and acquired habits, preventing setbacks. It means keeping postures of power, from the time you get up to the time you go to bed.
Being an easy-going, generous leader will not be an option here. You must be demanding and relentless in your commitments, as if you were on a life-or-death mission.
In one hand, you will have the values and attitudes to be upheld; in the other hand, you will have the limits to be aware of.
By being courageous in training, the produced energy will fuel the strength to overcome any obstacle. The resulting joy is the most gratifying form of reward.
Answer this: Can you handle being a coach, disciple and performer at the same time? Do you have the courage?
If your answer is yes, you can follow this strategy:
- Identify the things that prevent you from changing.
- Look for leverage points (reasons, justifications). That clearly show the benefits that compel you to change, turning them into authoritative outlines. This counteracts the desire not to get it done. This breaks paradigms and beliefs. This lets you do what has to be done, with guts and courage.
- Use your creative imagination. So that your plan is made up of feasible actions, replacing the methods imposed by others with methods imposed on yourself, by yourself. This can be done, provided that you are determined not to make excuses or avoid the commitments you make within each one of the actions in your daily training programme.
- Take care of the system (the process). At each step, check your self-esteem, to see if you think you can honour the commitments set out in each stage of your plan. It works like a reflection just before making a religious vow. If you make a commitment to lose weight, you cannot stop once you reach a target, such as losing five kilograms. You have to focus on the process until you honour the agreement, instead of just focusing on the goal. Goals can be part of a process, but the commitment has to be to the process as a whole. My commitment has to be to my diet, exercise and everything that is part of the process I have chosen to achieve weight loss.
This system is all about Newton’s laws. All bodies tend to remain at rest unless a force acts on them to overcome inertia. Once inertia has been overcome, they will keep moving indefinitely, unless other forces make them slow down—such as friction and gravity. Do not let procrastination act as a friction or a brake.
If you started it, then you should finish it.
To change something in our lives, we have to start acting and keep acting until we achieve our purpose.
We need the strength to start working and keep working on whatever needs to be done. We must not stop.
To get started and take the first step, you cannot afford to wait for the ideal conditions; using the magic of the beginning, the power of the explosive impulse, is a good technique; after that, maintaining movement will require less energy. Think about this: when you are not making progress, you are going backwards; there is no room for complacency.
The first force, meant to kickstart the journey and break inertia, is called deciding. It is the affirmative answer to the question: “Can you handle being a coach and a practising student at the same time?”
Deciding gives us energy.
However, if we lack a plan, this energy is short-lived. It ends up as mere intention. We are then discouraged, and we give up. The plan fuels our energy because, in order to draw it up, we have to imagine the result we want to achieve and the fighting strategy we will use to overcome the obstacles we will face. This inspires us.
In order to maintain the energy to overcome the friction that slows down our movement, we must break through the obstacles that arise and perform the actions necessary to fulfil the plan, making an unwavering commitment to each one of them, preventing the regression that turns the plan into a castle built in the air, the product of a short-lived hallucination.
The energy needed to carry on indefinitely is fuelled by paying attention to the joy in having overcome obstacles and the pride in tracking progress.
This is the system that has been used for millions of years to win every battle and to win a war.
Suppose you live at the bottom of a mountain, and all the things you want in life are up at the top. To get them, you simply have to climb up there. Are you willing to do that? Do you think it is worth the effort? Can you do it? Take your map and set off. Every step you take, every difficulty you overcome will give you confidence, it will give you the strength to continue. This strength will prevent you from slipping, from giving up.
Do you realise that only you can do that?
There are many ways to do it, but you have to do it.
There are many proposals. You have to choose yours. But none of them spare you from spending energy to move forwards.
The secret is to work on each challenge at a manageable level of difficulty, as described by the Yerkes-Dodson law (psychologists).
If you answer “yes” to those questions, then you have a map of the routes to go through, with a description of the equipment to use, the guides, the assistants who will help you lighten the load—essentially, everything you need to get there.
All you have to do is write down your plan, make a real commitment to each of the actions needed to achieve it, and then set off.
Remember that “a genius is someone who can see the obvious; a victor is someone who gets it done”.
If you wish to succeed, you have to work on yourself more than you work on your trade. You must pay more attention to your inner self than to your appearance.
There are no impossible things, only complex ones: break them down into simple things. There is always a simpler way of doing things. Find it. If you want to eat an elephant, you have to slice it into small pieces. Do not stop until you have finished the process, even if means having to eat a tiny bit sometimes.
“Those who move mountains start by carrying small stones.”
(Chinese proverb)