THE FIVE MAIN QUALITIES OF YOUR STRONGEST SELF
“Those who awaken their Strongest Self and its higher brain functions exhibit five main qualities:
- Safety within themselves
- Choice of actions that are congruent with their higher values
- Presence in the moment rather than regrets about the past or anticipation of the future
- Focus on what can be done rather than on self-blame for loss or misfortune
- Connection to the deeper resources and support of the larger self that results in ease rather than lonely struggle.” – Neil Fiore
I don’t know if these are the main qualities (because I don’t have a list of qualities to determine that), but I do know that all of these qualities are important. I’ve seen people missing one or two of these qualities. They tend to still be okay, but I can see the stress on their face and the tone of their voice tell me that they are not able to control their inner self. The rest of this PN focuses on how to get into these states.“Calling up the stress response to deal with dangers that are not happening now is similar to pulling a fire alarm for a fire that happened twenty years ago or to fearing a fire that may happen next year.” – Neil Fiore
Neil continues with “It would be unfair to the fire department and a misuse of its time and energy to ask firefighters to respond to such an alarm, just as it’s unfair to demand that your body continually respond to threats of danger from events that cannot be tackled now. As I say in my seminars, anxiety is energy that cannot be used now. When you focus that trapped energy on action in the present moment, you release it and experience excitement and effectiveness.”
This was such a great analogy. Becoming stress about something in the past or something in the future is disrespecting your body. Rather than using our energy there, why not work on what you can control now. If it is something in the future (fail of failure / rejection), why not work on the you now to minimize the chances of that happening.A THIRD PERSPECTIVE
“To unleash the power of our true potential, we must learn to shift to a third perspective of adult leadership—replacing the inner conflict between the voices of “you have to” and “I don’t want to” with the ability of our Strongest Self to operate from a fully evolved brain that permits us to assert “I choose.”” – Neil Fiore
Another really powerful idea that I’ve never thought about. I admit – I’m always thinking I have to (which is a little better than I don’t want to), but it’s still a thought that makes it feel like not my own. However, saying I choose to is so much more empowering mentally. This is definitely something I will choose to say every morning at 6am.THE GENIUS SYNDROME
“Thoughts about the past or the future cause anxiety and stress—scattered energy levels that cannot contribute to a focused, optimal performance—and distract our minds from what we can do now. Self-critical thoughts about personal shortcomings distract us with the worry that there’s something fundamentally wrong with us. This form of self-criticism is what I call the genius syndrome.” – Neil Fiore
This is a classic example of a fixed mindset – someone who believes that nothing can be changed about themselves and then getting frustrated at themselves. Instead of doing that, view it as an opportunity to learn something new, to grow and to be even better than who we are now. That is what is called a growth mindset.GET STARTED
“Focus on what you can do, and reward yourself for all steps you take in the right direction. Find ways to say, “Good, I got started.” Show compassion for the part of you that feels sad, and appreciate what you are achieving.” – Neil Fiore
Showing up is by far the number one thing that has opened the most doors for me and is the biggest difference between those who succeed and those who envy. It’s always super hard to initiate something, leaving the comfort of your routine and venturing into the unknown. However, once you do it a few times, you’ll realize just how awesome it feels after. So if you have something that you don’t want to do, commit to 10 minutes and if after those 10 minutes are up and you still don’t want to do it, leave it alone for some other day.My Take Aways
This book definitely has some really great points to consider. For me, the whole concept of a third perspective was really empowering. In fact, I told myself that I am choosing to wake up at 6am to start my day – and it worked! (for those confused, I did this post over two days). I would love to pick up a copy of this book to further explore other more empowering thoughts for me to integrate into my life. If any of these got you thinking, maybe you should pick up a copy as well. Here’s a link to Amazon (please note that I will be getting a small amount from Amazon, though it does not affect how much you pay – Amazon just makes less money than if you were to go onto the website yourself). I also suggest you check out the actual Philosopher’s Notes (note they even have courses that consolidate many of the concepts in the books that Brian Joshnson covers and puts them into videos that are really easy to digest). This is the first program that I’ve signed up for and am definitely getting my money’s worth!
For those who’ve read it – are there any other concepts that blew your mind?
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