“Computers cannot think for themselves … and sloppily programmed inputs inevitably lead to incorrect outputs.” (1957, Army Specialist William D. Mellin)
Hence, the birth of GIGO (garbage-in/garbage-out). This concept enjoys broad applications to any discipline that involves inputting and outputting. For me, GIGO applies to what we feed our minds. Garbage-in/garbage-out. Good-in/good-out. If we fortify our minds with the positive, we enjoy a greater probability of good stuff coming out of our minds. This is Positive Mental Programming (PMP).
PMP covers a broad range of inputs: what we read, the movies we watch, the people with whom we associate, our habits, and how we talk to ourselves. Feasting on a steady diet of positive inputs prepares us for a journey into the world of possibilities. We have a choice for how we program our minds and how we react to the world around us. That is stimulus-response psychology.
Often times, we cannot ignore negative events; they exist. That’s reality, though we have a choice for how we process them. Choice plays a major role in PMP.
Focus on what you want to achieve versus what you want to avoid.
When I coached little league baseball, I noticed that many young players “stepped in the bucket” when the pitcher hurled the ball. This meant that they stepped away from home plate with their lead foot. I could have said, “Don’t back away.” Backing away would have been on their minds. Instead, we coached them to “step into the pitch.” Their focus was on what they should do versus not do—achieve, not avoid.
I see this in my own golf game. I could say, “Don’t look up.” I prefer to tell myself, “Keep my head steady.” For similar reasons, I quit playing water balls decades ago. I was telling myself that I anticipated dumping one in the drink. I’ve had much greater success focusing on the part of the green that I want to hit versus the water hazard I want to avoid.
Things that we wish to avoid involve fear or anxiety—performance killers. They often include words like “don’t” or “can’t.” Things we wish to achieve include positive anticipation. They contain words like “will” or “can.”
In a major presentation, negative self-talk sounds like, “Don’t blow this” or “If I don’t make this happen, I’ll miss my quota.” Both create performance anxiety. Better self-talk (PMP) sounds like: “I’ve got this” or “I’m prepared for this” or “I’ve been here before.”
One sure-fire way to tell what you’re focusing on is anticipation or apprehension. Anticipation is positive energy. Apprehension is negative energy. If you program your mind for achievement versus avoidance, you invoke a positive, self-fulfilling prophecy. If you are predicting your future, why not forecast something positive?
Tom Reilly is the author of sixteen books, including his latest, Hope in The Shadows of War
