Book Review: Psycho Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz

@masterraalkivictorieux Master Ra’al Ki Victorieux

Psycho-Cybernetics is a spiritual guide for self-love and resilience, emphasizing the transformative power of the mind. 🌟✨ Embrace your divine potential and navigate life with confidence! 💪❤️ #SelfImprovement #MindsetMagic #PsychoCybernetics https://wp.me/p3JLEZ-8V9

Psycho-Cybernetics is a self-help book written by American writer Maxwell Maltz in 1960. Motivational and self-help experts in personal development, including Zig Ziglar, Tony Robbins, Brian Tracy have based their techniques on Maxwell Maltz. Many of the psychological methods of training elite athletes are based on the concepts in Psycho-Cybernetics as well. The book combines the cognitive behavioral technique of teaching an individual how to regulate self-concept, using theories developed by Prescott Lecky, with the cybernetics of Norbert Wiener and John von Neumann. The book defines the mind-body connection as the core in succeeding in attaining personal goals.

Psycho-Cybernetics is more than just a self-help book; it serves as a spiritual guide that resonates deeply with the enlightened understanding of our divine potential. The emotional impact of Maltz’s words is profound, beckoning readers to reclaim their innate beauty as children of God. The text beautifully inspires self-love and appreciation, encouraging us to be resilient in the face of adversity. It offers a pathway to happiness, emphasizing our ability to transcend life’s myriad challenges and emerge stronger and more self-aware.

At its core, Psycho-Cybernetics discusses the transformative power of the mind. Written by a plastic surgeon, Maltz illuminates the striking realization that many individuals do not require surgical intervention to enhance their self-image but rather a fundamental emotional and mental shift. Through a wealth of examples and experiences, he demonstrates how self-love can drive personal growth and foster resilience. The book remains timeless and impactful, providing practical exercises that facilitate visualization and nurture our ideal selves.

Maltz found that his plastic surgery patients often had expectations that were not satisfied by the surgery, so he pursued a means of helping them set the goal of a positive outcome through visualization of that positive outcome. Patients thinking that surgery will solve their problems is an example of the XY problem. Maltz became interested in why setting goals works. He learned that the power of self-affirmation and mental visualization techniques used the connection between the mind and the body. He specified techniques to develop a positive inner goal as a means of developing a positive outer goal. This concentration on inner attitudes is essential to his approach, as he believes that a person’s outer success can never rise above the one visualized internally.

Maltz also extends his wisdom by recommending other authors whose insights complement the themes of his work. Upon its initial publication, Psycho-Cybernetics was groundbreaking, pioneering new territory in the realm of self-improvement and mental health. The updated version continues to be relevant, with Maltz’s voice resonating as a steadfast mentor through life’s trials and tribulations.

The operator and the “mechanism”

Maxwell Maltz drew inspiration from Norbert Wiener’s book, Cybernetics, which describes both animals and the self-guided missiles he helped develop in WWII as goal-seeking mechanisms.

In Psycho-Cybernetics, Maltz observed from Wiener’s work the following on cybernetic mechanisms:

• There’s a “mechanism” which:
  • can accept a “goal”
  • has sensing equipment (cameras, radar, infrared, lasers)
  • has a propulsion system
  • has a correcting device
  • has some form of memory
• The operator gives the mechanism a goal and “starts” it
• During propulsion, the mechanism subtracts what it senses from the goal from the data received
  • If on track, nothing is done and it keeps going
  • If off track, the correcting device shifts until “the goal minus what it senses” is on track.
• The mechanism refers to successful moves in its memory, hitting the goal without having to search for the answer again.

He noted that Wiener sees that man operates the same way. From this, he drew the following conclusions on a human being:

1. A person, for what is conscious, is “the operator”, which can identify and offer goals
2. What’s traditionally called the “subconscious mind” isn’t a “mind” but a cybernetic mechanism built on our nervous system.
   • it can accept a goal-image and an emotion determines if it accepts it
   • The mechanism has sensing equipment like the eyes and ears
   • The various systems, primarily the musculature and nervous systems, propel the mechanism
   • The nervous system works with other systems as the correcting device
   • The memory can be used to see past successes, making future success more likely
3. The operator gives a goal to the mechanism (called the “Automatic Success Mechanism” and “Automatic Failure Mechanism”, which refer to the same mechanism).
4. The mechanism responds no matter what, whether the goal is “positive” or “negative”. It will move toward it.
5. The most powerful goal image is an image of ourselves, because it causes a wide variety of useful or harmful behaviors from the mechanism.
6. When successful responses are found, we can remember past successes, and our mechanism will repeat the successful response.

The core of nearly all bad results is the conscious giving bad goal images to the mechanism.

Maltz viewed worry, or focusing on negative possibilities, as generating negative goal images that cause the mechanism, the subconscious, the set of human systems like the musculature, to drive toward it. At the same time, he viewed it as evidence that you could generate goal imagery, and that you could focus on positive images instead of negative.

Positive results come from a positive goal focus. To see positive goals, he says that we need a realistic and adequate self-image that recognizes these goals as possible and consistent with the self.

He refers to Prescott Lecky’s idea that whatever is not consistent with the system of ideas a person has will get rejected. To have positive goals that the mechanism will move toward, the system of ideas, primarily the self-image, needs to be set so that the positive goal image will be consistent with the other ideas. This will allow the operator to comfortably keep the goal image in mind, which the mechanism will act on.

Teachings of Psycho-Cybernetics

1. Imagination
   People act according to what they imagine to be true of themselves and the world. To imagine a better you and world, you can practice:
   • Role Playing: Engage in active visualization; act as if the best version of yourself is already real.
   • Meditation: Focus on situations you need to face, planning your actions and words in advance to achieve the desired results. Rehearse in your mind and think of positive outcomes. Build joyful future memories with ease and poise. See yourself acting as you wish.
   • Script Writing: Write the script of your best self-movie and visualize it for 21 days at the same hour.
2. Relax and Focus on Your Goal
   • Relaxation Techniques: Learn to relax your body by imagining your legs are heavy as concrete, then your arms and hands. Breathe deeply, recalling a relaxing moment from your past and focusing on the details. Redirect your attention to your present goal, forgetting past failures. Each day, wake up and affirm that everything is possible.
   • Positive Affirmations: Repeat affirmations such as, “I am capable of living the life I enjoy and deserve.”
3. Question Your Inner Critic
   • If you doubt yourself, ask why. Question the beliefs that hold you back: Why do you believe you can’t achieve what you want? Is there a rational reason? Could you be mistaken? Would you feel the same if it were about someone else? Remember, liberating yourself from false beliefs starts with the acknowledgment that, “It isn’t necessarily so.” Your job is to know what you want and work towards obtaining it.
4. Find Direction While Dreaming or Relaxing
   During the day, think about what you desire and the problems you need to solve. After contemplating a solution, affirm to yourself: “The job is done.” When you go to bed or enter a state of relaxation, stay mindful of messages from dreams or synchronicities. Trust in your unconscious mind. Learn to relax, delegate, and let go.
5. Grow Happiness
   Happiness leads to health and heightened perception. Schedule humor therapy sessions, watch comedies, and go for walks. Understand that happiness is not merely a reward at the end of a journey; it is a virtue in itself. See happiness as a mental habit and take responsibility for cultivating it.
6. Maintain a Positive Attitude
   Act passionately and with determination toward your goals. Visualize yourself taking courageous actions daily. Celebrate every success, no matter how small:
   • Sense of direction
   • Understanding
   • Courage
   • Compassion
   • Esteem
   • Self-confidence
   • Self-acceptance

Ultimately, Psycho-Cybernetics serves as a comprehensive toolbox for self-improvement. When approached as a manual, readers are equipped to follow the outlined steps, channeling their potential towards a more fulfilling existence. By engaging with this work, we embark on a journey of self-discovery, empowering ourselves to embrace our divine capacities and navigate life with confidence and grace.

Editions

Original publication

• Maxwell Maltz (1960) Psycho-Cybernetics.

Several adaptations have been produced since Maltz’s death in 1975.

• Maxwell Maltz. Commentary by Bobbe Sommer (1996) Psycho-Cybernetics 2000. Prentice Hall.
• Maxwell Maltz. Commentary by Dan Kennedy (2002) The New Psycho-Cybernetics. Prentice Hall.
• Maxwell Maltz. Introduction and commentary by Matt Furey (2015) Psycho-Cybernetics, Updated and Expanded. Tarcher Perigee.

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