Self

Psycho-Cybernetics: 8 key ideas

by Maxwell Maltz

The core ideas of Psycho-Cybernetics, each in under a minute, written in our own words. Want the full depth? Get the book.

1. IDEA 1 OF 8

   Self-image shapes behaviour

   Maltz, a plastic surgeon, noticed that some patients still felt ugly even after successful surgery.

   He concluded that a person's inner self-image, more than outward appearance, shapes how they feel and act.

2. IDEA 2 OF 8

   Surgery revealed the inner picture

   Maltz describes patients whose personalities changed after surgery and others who did not change at all.

   He linked the difference to their self-image. In his account, how a patient saw themselves mattered more than the change in outer looks.

3. IDEA 3 OF 8

   The mind seeks goals

   Maltz compares the mind to a servo-mechanism, a device that steers towards a target by correcting errors along the way.

   In his view, the brain works like this when it is given a clear goal, adjusting its course as feedback arrives.

4. IDEA 4 OF 8

   Imagination rehearses success

   Maltz argues that vividly imagining a desired outcome can influence behaviour, because the nervous system responds to imagined experiences.

   In his view, the mind cannot easily tell a vivid imagined scene from a real one, so practice in imagination may shape later actions.

5. IDEA 5 OF 8

   A success mechanism can be trained

   Maltz describes a built-in success mechanism that works when given clear goals.

   In his account, this inner system works toward whatever target it is given, and it improves with repeated use. He treats it as a natural ability of the mind.

6. IDEA 6 OF 8

   Failure has patterns

   Maltz describes a failure mechanism made of habits such as frustration, insecurity and resentment.

   In his account, such habits of thought work against a person's aims by pulling attention toward what has gone wrong.

7. IDEA 7 OF 8

   Happiness is a habit

   Maltz argues that happiness can be cultivated as a mental habit.

   In his view, steady habits of thought, such as looking for the good in a situation, shape a person's mood over time.

8. IDEA 8 OF 8

   False beliefs can be undone

   Maltz describes dehypnotising oneself from limiting beliefs adopted in the past.

   In his account, beliefs picked up from early experiences or others' words can quietly limit what a person tries, until they are questioned and replaced.