THE ART OF SELF DISCIPLINE -Paul A Hauck

Preface: This is the last in a series of four books:

1. Depression: Usually results from self-blame, self-pity, other-pity

2. Hostility: Frustration and anger from a] I must have my own way

b] People are bad and don’t give me what I want

3. Fear: Apprehension and worry result from obsessing on concerns

4. Self Discipline: Without self discipline cannot overcome the others

No maturity or success without it. Cannot get what you want

Success requires doing often what you don’t want to do

Three Obstacles To Self Discipline

Used to getting things too easily. Face it: It’s a damn tough world

Demand immediate satisfaction, and unwilling to defer gratification

Expect the world should be different, and refuse to face reality

Unwilling to work hard to plow thru the muck to get to the good stuff

Perfectionism: If it can’t be perfect, won’t do it

More important to do, than to do well. Only disgrace is nottrying

Not: “If it can’t be done well it shouldn’t be done at all”

Start and finish—that is how to define success, and to overcome

Feelings of inferiority: Judge self by progress, not performance

Stop caring about winning, and just play for the fun of the game

Put pressure on the effort, not the outcome

Techniques of Self Discipline

Prioritize, and finish one job before starting next—have tunnel vision

Set specific goals—long term and short. Do them before a reward

Never allow pleasure before work

Make notes and to-do lists. Don’t rely on memory

Just get started, especially if stoked, but even if not

Nibble at big jobs—break them into many small jobs

Just keep plugging! It may seem interminable, but it will get done

The tortoise always beats the hare in the long run

Be stoical—endure discomfort, boredom, pain, etc

People who hide from pain receive the most pain

Associate with people who are disciplined and are models

Burn bridges to remove alternatives

Take risk: Failure is not a catastrophe: can’t learn without

Don’t watch, do. Do anything not excessively dangerous

Any time you slip, force yourself to make up for it and pay a price

Force yourself to cool down before doing something impetuous

Good salespeople will fight this—for a reason

–Maltz

Self Image

Mental picture of self–most unconsciously formed

All actions, beliefs, abilities consistent with despite conscious

effort or will power

It can be changed

Determined by identification with successes or failures

Must have adequate and realistic self-image

Must be a reasonable basis for a good self image

Cybernetics

Subconscious “mind” is not a mind

A goal-striving servo mechanism directed by the mind

Has no direct link to outer world

Works automatically to achieve programmed goals

Must have clear goal- -good or bad–to work on

See goal so clearly it is real to subconscious

Goals are fed in by imagination

Underlying goal is self image

Learn, practice, experience, and act to program subconscious

Develop self image; achieve conscious goals

Imagery, act out, act as if

Success Mechanism

Creative imagination allows conscious choice of goals

2 types of servo mechanisms

Target known–go forward, make/correct errors

Once successful response, it is remembered—forget failures

Target unknown

Must assume answer exists somewhere–and set out to find

“Impossible” is only an opinion–not a fact

Operation

1. Must be a goal, which must be conceived of as presently in

existence

2. Need only conceive of end, not means

3. Do not fear mistakes–servo-mechanism works this way

4. Once have had a success mechanism has learned

remember success, forget failures

5. Do not jam creative mechanism by over-anxiety

“Let it” don’t “make it” work

No guarantees–it operates on faith

Imagination

We act due to imagination, not will

Always act by what imagine to be true about self, environment

Imagination always beats will

CNS cannot distinguish reality from imagination

Reacts automatically and appropriately to programming received

Mental pictures allow real practice

Imagine situations, then solve them in mind

Must have clear mental picture of correct thing

“See” result and “know” it will work

To change (self-image, behavior, skill) must see self in new role

Relax and let creative mechanism perform

e.g. mentally ill instructed to answer, act as normal person

Have to imagine this to do–and begin to feel adjusted

Consciously hold desired self-image 30 minutes daily

Relax. and make it as vivid as possible–much detail

Effort has adverse affect

Builds new “memories” consistent with goals

False Beliefs

If convinced something true, has same power as hypnosis

People live down to self-image–95% do this

e.g. Physical strength–can work against yourself

Knowledge of inferior ability does not limit, feeling does

Striving to be superior exacerbates–use own standard

Dehypnotize through relaxation and imagination

Hypnosis proves power to change instantly

Rational Thinking

Fallacy that rational, conscious thinking has no power over

unconscious

No need to dredge up unconscious from past

Do not give power to the past

Present thinking must be controlled

Negative experiences useful to provide negative feedback

As soon as correction made, forget error–do not dwell on

Quit thinking about them–do think about positives

Ideas changed not by will, but by other ideas

Therapy: look for inconsistent ideas; recognize, replace

Show negative concepts inconsistent–mind rejects

Wrestle with, emotionally, questions and work hard:

1) rational reason to believe? 2) could be mistaken? 3) same conclusion if someone else in circumstances? 4) would I continue to feel, act this way if no good reason?

Rational thought must be accompanied by deep desire

Use enthusiasm, anger

Decide what want, not what don’t want

Pay strict attention to the goal

Rational mind sets goal but does not “do” the job

Do work, let results take care of themselves

Successful Relaxation

Forebrain “1” is conscious mind

Gathers info, evaluates, judges, poses problems, sets goals

Cannot create, “do” work, solve problems

Dependence of forebrain causes excess care

Too result oriented

Once decision reached, dismiss responsibility re outcome

Creative thinking comes automatically after intense effort

Gather info, evaluate, etc., then relax

Keep alert w/o stress to avoid jamming creativity

Rules for creativity

Do worrying before the decision

Concentrate on the present

Plan future, but don’t plan how to react to it

Live in daytight compartments

When start to worry, ask “what going on right now I

need to respond to?”

Do one thing at a time–concentrate on it

Sleep on it–go over in mind before sleeping

Relax while working

Habit of Happiness

State in which thinking pleasant good deal of time

Habit, attitude–must be learned and practiced

Practice in cold-blooded manner–make conscious decision

Do not allow dominance of mind by outside conditions

Natural state is positive, i.e. striving for a goal

Happiness simply symptom of normal functioning

Happiness requires problems–react aggressively and positively

Bravery results from practicing danger–actually or in

imagination

Good is as real as evil

Practice: cheerfulness, friendliness, tolerance, smiling, calm

Act as if success inevitable

Successful Personality–A Model

Deal effectively, appropriately with reality, environment

Sense of direction–once goal reached must have another

Understanding–perceptions, communication, fact v. opinion

Must be a truth seeker

Courage–must act aggressively. Pick alternative. Guidance system

Works only when moving. Constant exposure to fear immunizes

Charity–respect for others aids self-respect

Esteem

Self-confidence–remember successes, forget failures

Self-acceptance–recognize lack of perfection–and start from there

Put Failure to Work

Use failure symptoms for negative feedback–and move away

“Master Teachers” Glance at negatives, focus on positives

Take immediate corrective action

Substitute the opposite success characteristic

Each negative seen as a way to solve a problem

Have “meaning” and “purpose” but not realistic

Must consciously recognize don’t work

Frustration–works for infants, hope life will take pity

Aggression–follows uncontrolled frustration.

Must control and direct it. It gives power

Insecurity–results from comparison with perfection.

Get moving to break

Loneliness–

Uncertainty–learn more from mistakes than success

Resentment–deadly poison, causes spiral down. Martyrdom.

Self-pity is worst possible habit. Caused by own response to

circumstances. Destroys self-determination.

Emptiness–lose capacity to enjoy–nothing is enough. Result of

not using creative abilities. Way of avoiding effort and re-

sponsibility. Must strive for own–not others–view of success.

Emotional Scars

Like physical, form emotional self-protective “scars”; emotional

wall. Also lead to marred self-image

Functional people: 1) see selves as liked, wanted, acceptable, able

2) accept selves as are 3) feel oneness with others 4) have

store of info and knowledge

Immunize v. emotional hurt

Be too big to feel threatened–toughen up (don’t get hard)

People with low self-esteem easily hurt

Be self-reliant and responsible

Give affection, approval, acceptance–let people know you like them

Be a little vulnerable

Relax–Have to “do something” to feel fear, anger, hurt

Keeps scars from forming

Feeling hurt is our response–relax and make no response

To remove old hurts, forgive

The forgiveness, as well as the wrong, must be forgotten

Occurs only when accept that there is nothing to forgive

Emotions work when help deal with present, not past

Must accept, not blame, self also

Personality

“Personality”: freed creative power and self expression

Symptoms of inhibition: shy, self-conscious, hostile, guilt, etc.

Frustration in all areas

Excess negative feed back causes–i.e. self criticism

Feedback should modify action, not stop it or overcorrect

Trying too hard causes “purpose tremor”

Poise: immunity to strangers and strange situations

Practice being less careful, less concerned, less conscientious.

Speak and act without thinking

Don’t “stutter all over”

Tranquilizers

Tranquilizers work by reducing response to stimuli

Over-response is a habit which can be cured

Outside stimuli have no power except what you give them

We are conditioned to respond, like telephone ring

Simply decide to do nothing as a response

React only in a way which gets you to your goal

To assist this, decide to delay response

Do not feel emotion if muscles relaxed

One has emotional thermostat just like physical one

Build a quiet place in your mind–in detail

Use at times during day and to sleep at night

Clear mind with between projects

Do not react to strawmen– “what ifs”–react only to present

Crisis Into Opportunity

Crisis can either increase or decrease capability

Difference is how one learns to react to crisis

Crisis performance: 1) learn skills while not under pressure 2)

react to crisis aggressively, not defensively 3) keep perspective

Practice in advance: no pressure, relaxed

Practice in mind

Think what you will do, what you want to happen

Not about what others will do or what might happen to you

Aggressive reaction brings power–act to generate strength

Keep your positive goal in mind–most crises are opportunities

Only one emotion: excitement. Depends on how we interpret.

Interpretation is determined by the goal

Success reinforces positive use of emotion

Use only as much emotion as required

Excess harms performance: “jitters”

Winning Feeling

When feel successful and self confident, will act successfully

Creative mechanism set for success

Picture goal and its achievement vividly enough to catch feeling

Replay successes in mind

Skill learning is trial and error until number of success register

in mind

Successful pattern is stored in subconscious (engram)

Unsuccessful engrams can be modified by recall with change

of attitude

To repeat, must reactivate feeling and pattern–“relive”

Must remember in great detail–more “played”, stronger gets

After succeeding, lower sights from time to time

Start with “suppose”, then “possible”, then imagery in more and

more detail

Never take counsel of fears–attitudes, not facts

Worry is a habit

If react to negative feelings aggressively, power is developed

Cannot control by willpower–displace wlpositives

With habit negative thought triggers displacement

Conditioned response

Negatives then increase positive response

Since programming/reprogramming up to you, you are responsible

“overbeliefs” in selected “truths” directs the program

–McGinnis

 

If you follow the following principles, you will always be mentally healthy and functional, and you will never need a psychologist.

 

“TOUGH-MINDED OPTIMISM”

Realistic acceptance of reality, combined with hope

As effective as psychotherapy, if no major depression

Pessimism leads to cynicism: no faith so no effort

Comparison with other self-help philosophies:

“Power of positive thinking” implies no limits, which

is unrealistic

“Everything will turn out fine” encourages passivity and

fatalism

“You create your own reality” is crap

“My family was dysfunctional” abrogates responsibility ANTICIPATE PROBLEMS

Accept and verbalize them–pain is part of life

Look for the good in bad situations, but don’t give phony

pep talks

Use bad for a good lesson–look for and accept the lesson

Don’t be Pollyanna–much is impossible

Be a problem solver–try to make at least some difference

Look for options, even though none is excellent

Get started–it’s half the battle

ACCEPT PARTIAL SOLUTIONS

Don’t be a perfectionist–be flexible

Accept what cannot be changed; give up if necessary

Try a lot; have many failures, but many successes

You won’t find life worth living; make it worth living

Half of something is better than all of nothing

BELIEVE YOU CONTROL YOUR FUTURE

Do something initially to generate small successes

Face reality as it is; change yourself if necessary

Exercise will; choose your attitude

Believe you have almost unlimited capacity

Believe your best is yet to be

INCREASE YOUR ENERGY

Entropy: all systems run down–must reenergize

Associate with energetic people, including children

Expand interests and knowledge–try new things

Develop spiritually–use the Sabbath

INTERRUPT NEGATIVE THOUGHTS

Monitor thoughts–negative ones are a habit

Displace them with good thoughts

Snap a rubber band on your wrist

Try to view things in a more favorable light

Choose not to be defensive

You can’t choose how you feel–but you can choose

how you react

PRACTICE ADMIRATION AND GRATITUDE

Say “thank you”; admire things which are good

Be grateful; enjoy what you have

REHEARSE SUCCESS

Think in. pictures; it’s more effective than practice

Imagination is more important than knowledge

Avoid worry and develop faith

Complaining is a habit; don’t rehearse failure

Always talk about the good news–concentrate on successes

PRACTICE LOVE

Serve others and have a basic belief in human nature

Avoid hostility by tolerance and forgiveness

 

Do these things!

Even if you don’t understand it, do these things!

Even if you don’t feel like it, do these things!

   –Helmstetter

Manage your choices

The end result of your life is the sum of all your choices

If you manage your choices, you will manage your life

Learning what and how to choose is most important

Choose: Faith, strength, honesty, belief in self, optimism, love,

goals and directions, to accept others, to make own decisions, to accept responsibility for yourself, to work for what you believe, to learn from mistakes, to choose consciously for yourself, etc.

We have free agency. Using it in a self-directed way is a choice

Manage self only by conscious control of every choice

Anyone who is able–and willing–to think can do it

Must have courage to change, to take control

“If do what always done, will get what always gotten”

Do you think things thru, work, and see them thru to a complete conclusion?

Who we are is the result of all our choices

It takes conscious decision and effort to overcome bad ones

By continual wrong choices we can even give up agency

“Highest levels of heaven are those who choose to be there”

Develop the right mental programs

We talk to ourselves all the time, what we say determines what we are. Make a choice of being positive

Negative self-talk is deadly–subconscious accepts as true

Always talk in first person, present tense to build good mental programs

Talk not about what is, but what you choose

Create positive programs in your brain

e.g. items in first paragraph: I am strong. I am optimistic

What we continually think about creates patterns in our brain

Consciously consider: What do I talk to myself about?

The strongest patterns you’ve created set your choices

Patterns create mental programs, which determine how we act

We are programmed by experience and others to make manywrong choices

We can overcome old, and give ourselves new, programs

Requires taking control of our thoughts for proper patterns

Our subconscious will create any role we consciously give

Develop proper patterns by conscious thought and practice

Always ask: 1] Is this a choice? 2] Decide: This choice is mine! 3] Obtain necessary info 4] Examine the

alternatives, then choose the best, even if it’s not good

4] Say: My choice is ___. I made this choice because___ .

Build a habit. It becomes natural and stops procrastination

If we exercise the right to choose, we exercise the right to change. Choices begun today can reprogram our future

Our pattern of choices add up to 1 of 3 programs:

1] Build us up, 2] tear us down, 3] stay even

Examine own patterns and determine which of 3 you are

Look at each area of life

To become Pattern 1: 1] Ask: Where am I now? 2] Is it working? 3] Look at others for models, good and bad 4] Recognize own negative choices and patterns 5] Make a list of choices that would improve your patterns 6] Set goals for change 7] Begin changing now 8] Assess progress 9] Recognize and reward your successes

Choose!

For several reasons, we often fail to make choices we should:

Unclear goals, unclear self-image = unclear choices and failure.

Remember: All your little choices add up to you

Sometimes fail to recognize them as choices

Brain on autopilot: don’t even realize choice is being made

Sometimes don’t know what we should do, or how

Requires a conscious decision for self-education

Sometimes just not willing or afraid to make right choice

“Do what is right, let the consequence follow”

Society teaches us not to think–keep doing it the old way

Want us to be a school of fish: same speed and direction

3/4ths of our initial total programming is like this

If want to make better choices, must learn to think

Exercise agency, make conscious choices

Ask: What subconscious programs are making my choices?

Practicing on all the little choices sets up the big ones

Remember, when you have a problem, if you face it and make a decision you will feel better

Every primary choice requires supporting choices

All must be reviewed, determined, and carried out

If fail to do so, primary choice will fail

Write down primary and supporting choices for big decisions

They form a team

Primary choice sets the goal, supporting ones get the job done

One of our choices is our attitude

Ask: How do I feel? How would I like to feel? How do I choose to feel?

How we feel about anything is a choice of attitude

Prove this by observing others: Attitudes vary even when circumstances don’t.

It is always the sum of their choices

Quichrbichn! We make our attitude worse by complaining

May seem a harmless habit–(and there’s lots to fuss about)

But creates damaging mental programs imprinted on mind

It reduces energy and affects attitude. It attracts negativity

It accomplishes nothing, and makes you miss any good

A bad event can ruin whole day–if choose to let it

Have limited time and energy. Use to complain or achieve

Choose to complain only if it will do some good

Choosing not to complain is being an adult

Emotional choices are usually wrong

Reason is overcome by feeling, e.g. anger, fear, passion

1] Recognize the danger 2] practice objectivity 3] put off the decision 4] control emotions (Great servants, but lousy masters)

Actions (except involuntary ones) are always a choice

Ask: What am I doing? What would I like to do? What do I choose to do?

Want to know what choices you’ve made? How effective?

Look at where you are in life

Many believe happiness, love, success, are fate, circumstances, or luck [The kind of people who buy lottery tickets]

Like everything else, these are choices: 3 of most important

If don’t believe so, then failing to accept responsibility

Happiness is an attitude. Attitudes are always up to you:

Happiness is therefore always a choice

Lincoln: “Most people as happy as make up mind to be”

Each morning, choose to be happy today–and keep doing it

Seems to be easy for some; impossible for others

May not be able to change circumstances, but can change attitude

Then, maybe, you can change your circumstances

Can certainly do best with given set of circumstances

Success, and happiness, defined and determined by that

Feeling of being in love always destroyed by realities of living

The fireworks and the bells always die

Must make the choice to make it work–self-responsibility

Choose to respect and love, and to be respected and loved

Make the necessary supporting choices

How will you love? What will you give to get it?

Are you willing to pay the price?

No one can achieve success automatically or easily

Society programs us to be mediocre; tells us what can’t do

Must choose to remake the program. It is a choice

If don’t make conscious choice, then choose to fail

Start believing–and telling self–what can do. Kill negatives

Believe and choose: I can!

Decide: Primary choice, supporting choices, price will pay

A Plan for Choosing

Look at the choices you make–imagine what new ones could do

in your life!

Ask yourself: “Who am I? What do I want?” What will it take?

What price am I willing to pay?

Are the things I want what are really important and fulfilling?

Write down primary and supporting choices in each of the following: My family. My home. My personal relationships. My education (formal and informal). My career. My income and money management. My other goals and self-expectations. My health, fitness, and appearance. My spare time. My happiness. My spirituality. My service to others. My attitude. My friendliness. My self esteem. My personal style. My problem solving. My faith. My thoughts. Other important areas.

Remember to work and balance all the following: spiritual, mental, emotional, social, physical

Take control! Consciously define your choices

Write new choices on 3 x 5 cards, carry, and read

No one can do it but you. So do it!

As Kimball said:Do it! Do it right! Do it right now!

–William Glasser

[After World War II many GIs were in mental institutions and could not be cured thru therapy. Glasser was put in charge of the program, and sought for a new system of therapy which could be effective. Reality Therapy was the answer. The principles can also be used in the informal “counseling” we all do.]

CONCEPT

Mental illnesses involve one of two characteristics

Neurotics: Afraid of reality [All of us, to some extent]

Psychotics: Deny reality [Need serious professional help]

People are social animals, with 2 basic needs

1] Love and be loved. 2] Be worthwhile to self and others

To be healthy, must have at least one responsible person for whom one cares and with whom one has an association

One must have the ability to care and to accept care

To fill these needs requires a satisfactory level of behavior

In that sense, no such thing as “unconditional love”

Success, relationships, and happiness occur thru accepting responsibility and acting responsible

It must occur continually, and the result is self respect

We must learn and develop ability to function effectively

It does not come naturally thru instinct

Failure causes pain and irresponsible behavior

REALITY THERAPY

Definition: The attempt to teach in an artificial environment what should have been learned growing up

May be formal or informal; professional or from friends

Process requires: Intense personal committment and caring by the therapist; Mutual acceptance and respect; Examination of values, goals, daily behavior; Confrontation of reality;

Rejection of non-responsible behavior; Learning of new ways to behave and to fill needs responsibly

Therapy is conversation involving interests, goals, values, etc.

With analysis of effectiveness and ways to improve

Relate to present life: The past and subconscious are ignored

Emphasize “what” not “why”, e.g. “What are you doing?”

Not “Why are you doing it?”

Investigate, together, new opportunities, goals, behaviors

Analyst must tell own struggles, failures, ways to cope

Change occurs thru learning to fill needs more responsibly

Aberrant behavior is evasion/inability to accept responsibility

Patient must decide current behavior is not responsible

Analyst must accept person but never aberrant behavior

No matter how much it upsets the patient

No acceptance of excuse that it’s caused by the past

Ignore it, if possible, to focus on change to good behavior

Keep forcing issue: “How does this behavior help?”

Liberals sympathy for others is disguised self-pity

New responsible behavior must be learned

Often people don’t know how to act, or what is effective

Reality and responsibility continuously emphasized and reinforced

Models provided (Analyst must be responsible model)

Put together goals and plans

Dream; look for opportunities and potential

Work for an initial change in behavior, and work from that

Look for, and reinforce, good qualities and behaviors

DIFFERENCES: Reality Therapy v. Pschotherapy

Psychotherapy

Classifications of mental illness, treated by diagnosis

Probe into past for root of illness

Transference to analyst, i.e. he “becomes” the problem person from the past

Must gain insight into unconscious mind

Avoids issue of morality

Analyst remains detached, impersonal: “No opinion”

Therapy usually becomes a permanent, expensive process

Reality Therapy

Patient is not considered “mentally ill”

Simply not acting responsibly

Work only in the present, work to fill present needs

Analyst relates as self, not as transference figure

Ignore unconscious motivation

It merely reinforces aberrant behavior

Insights do not motivate change, merely give an excuse

Emphasize right and wrong

Become involved, as a friend with a conscience

Therapy is completed quickly, at minimal cost

-Malcomb Gladwell

Two types decisions: Logical and Intuitive [He doesn’t like that word]. 3 questions book claims to answer:

1. Decisions made quickly can be as good-better than-those reasoned [That point is proved]

2. Need to know when they can be trusted, since they can fail [Shows some factors that are problematic]

Does not provide any assurance that you can know when to trust snap decisions

3. Snap impressions can be educated and controlled [Shows some ways to do this]

1. Decisions made quickly [2 sec. “thin-slicing”] can be as good as-better than-those reasoned

These are based on unconscious patterns of appearance, behavior, etc.

Need to be accurate, know when accurate, know how to interpret

Unconscious picks out the things that really matter. Recognized by a “feeling”: You know

Most people suspicious of [because can’t explain], but some situations demand, as can be life or death

Snap decisions are unconscious [a “locked door”], therefore can’t be analyzed. Trying wrecks them

2. Need to know when they can be trusted, since they can fail. Certain factors portend failure

“Priming” creates a predisposition to a poor snap decision

Bias, prejudice, expectations, relation to ideas already in the mind

Tho aware of conscious attitudes toward these things, totally unaware of unconscious

Can be apparently “innocuous” causes, e.g. exposure to dumb info can reduce test scores; or v.v.

Need to get quickly below surface and not allow it to blind, e.g. “W. Harding error”

He looked so much like a President…”If it looks like a duck…” but it may not be

People are manipulated by someone who looks a part he is trying to play

Never judge anything on appearance or first impression [they are from behind the “locked door”]

E.g., If must judge something you have a bias re, look at opposites about it before judging [p97]

“Verbal overshadowing”: L brain is verbal, R works in pictures-there is a conflict between them

Explaining a logical decision can strengthen it; trying to explain an intuitive one damages it

3. Snap impressions can be educated and controlled

E.g. Gottman system has 100s of codes to analyze marital success by conversation between partners

1 hr conversation can be analyzed with 95% accuracy for marriage success long term

But even when the minimal, but most imp, features are learned, 3 min is usually sufficient

4 things: Look for Defensiveness, Criticism [usually W.], Stonewall [H], Contempt [the Killer]

Key: Study, observation, experience train the unconscious to make the snap decision correctly

Important to decide how much info to get to make a decision; a fine balance

Too much can lead to analysis paralysis or to false overconfidence

Different types of decisions require either analytical or intuitive approach

Right vs. wrong way to ask people what they want: [40 p. illustration that may have meant something…]

Judgments about other people are the most common and most important we make, and the first is instant

Info that shows on your face is what is in your mind

Can even change own feelings just by changing what is on your face]

“Mind reading” failure [reading someone’s face] is common [50 p interminable illus.]

It is at the root of much interpersonal conflict. Can be catastrophic

People who aren’t effective [autistics are worst] are out of sync in social circumstances

People need to recognize and practice [and there is a tape that teaches it]

Any time heart rate exceeds 145, cognitions are shut down; over 175 panic mode kicks in

Causes over-reaction, total reliance on prejudices and stereotypes and, finally out-of-control

It’s what happens, e.g., when cops chase someone and then go berserk when they catch him

Only solution is to force self to slow down-don’t go racing in