Learn how the mind uses “Okay” and “I Don’t Care” to keep us from reaching our potential. In a nutshell, Making Your Mind Magnificant, by Steven Campbell, is the best book in years on how to change one’s life.
I recently hosted Steven Campbell as a guest speaker for the career transition ministry I have helped to facilitate over the past 15 years. He was captivating and much of what he shared that night continues to bounce around in my head. He focused on creating change in our life by changing our self-images—images that we carry in our head based on our self-talk, what others have told us, and how others have reacted to us.
Through stories and metaphors, Campbell shows how our brain accepts what we are telling ourselves without question! When we say to ourselves, “No way! I can’t do that!” The mind simply says, “Okay. You can’t!” and blocks all the ways we can.
On the other hand, if we say “I can absolutely do this.” The mind says, “Okay, of course, you can do that” and helps us find a way to do it with the energy needed.
And if we go a step further and ask our brain if this is true, our brain says, “I don’t care.” What we tell ourselves is accepted as truth without question. No arguments.
“Okay” and “I don’t care” are two phrases that have stuck with me ever since Campbell’s talk. They really do, when you think about it, capture how our brain responds to our self-talk.
At the end of the evening, I picked up Campbell’s book, Making Your Mind Magnificent: Use the New Brain Science to Transform Your Life, End Negative Thinking, Improve Focus and Clarity, and Be Happier, to see what other gems he had up his sleeve.
At first, as I began to read the book, my first reaction was that it was a good supplement to his outstanding talk but it was best to be purchased after hearing him in person. (Something I strongly recommend if he is in your area. He is an excellent presenter.)
But now that I have finished the book, have reviewed my notes, and as I write this review, I have changed my mind. This is an outstanding book that stands on its own.
Campbell has drawn from cutting-edge research on how the brain works to teach us how to use our mind as a mentor and a motivator. Rather than letting our self-talk guide the shape of our lives, we turn the tables and use our minds to be the positive pro-active driver of our existence and untapped potential.
As Campbell states, “By the end of this book you will know how to make your mind magnificent…so your brain can now consistently work for you, not against you!”
Making Your Mind Magnificent covers:
- How our mind learns
- 15 Brain Principles that underlie why change is so hard, the roots and role of beliefs and attitudes, the role of our comfort zone, the role of strong pictures to move us, and how we do not act according to the truth
- A deep dive on affirmations and how we have gotten them all wrong
- The three requisites for effective change
- How to create affirmations that move us to become our best self (with examples)
- The importance of goals and who to create them (we do this wrong too!)
- Restrictive and constructive motivation
- Pessimism and optimism
- Activating events, beliefs, and consequences
- Demands on ourselves, on others, on situations, and on the universe
- The importance of preferences
- The three principles of creating new self-images (there are more than one – as fathers, as husbands, as lovers, as brothers, as friends, as workers, etc)
- The beauty and importance of “The Next Time…”
This is a great book for anyone seeking change. Campbell notes, however, that the book is not enough by itself. You must to the hard work and apply what the book suggests. While there are no easy paths to change, Making Your Mind Magnificent gives us a clear path.
In addition to reading this book, I highly recommend checking out Campbell’s website (www.StevenCampbell.com) and hearing him in person to get the full measure of what he has to offer and how it can be applied.
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Thomas M. Loarie is a seasoned and pioneering CEO in the medical device field and a senior editorial advisor and columnist for Catholic Business Journal. For a more robust bio click herE.He may be reached at TLoarie@CatholicBusinessJournal.biz