5 Habits to Improve Your Luck
This is an introduction to "How to Train Your Potential to Strengthen Your Luck" by Naruyuki Hayashi. When buying a book with a title like this, I usually feel a bit anxious, wondering, "Is this okay? Is it occult stuff?" but my curiosity wins out and I buy it anyway.
The "conditions for unleashing potential" written in this book seemed very much to the point. I will introduce them while also sharing my personal opinions. The author is a neurosurgeon, a brain scientist, and has experience coaching Olympic teams.
1. Do not use negative words
Do not use negative words such as "I can't," "It's over," or "It's painful." The author explains that the reason for this is that holding negative emotions has a negative impact on the brain's information processing, preventing you from demonstrating your true ability. Also, when guiding children or students, he recommends starting with affirmation, such as "I see" or "That makes sense," rather than starting with negation by saying, "This way is no good."
Avoiding negative words is one of the most important lessons I have learned from NLP. Although the logic differs from the author's, if you are told, "Don't think of a pink elephant!" you will inevitably think of one. In other words, the brain has difficulty understanding negative forms; for example, if you are told, "Don't drop it," the image of "dropping" pops up vividly, which has a negative effect on your actual behavior.
There is a more detailed explanation including other aspects at this link, so please take a look if you are interested.
Things you should not do when setting goals – 3 points for goal setting in NLP | NLP NOTE
2. Act within two seconds of being asked
The author argues that to achieve results in anything, you need to give it your all, and it is not good to approach things while calculating gains and losses. Therefore, if you are asked to do something, you are more likely to achieve results by acting before you think. Above all, since the person who asked you will be grateful, it seems likely to improve human relationships as well.
When I do consulting or coaching in the workplace, I try to have them decide on at least one thing they can do "today, after this meeting," if possible. Or, I sometimes incorporate the action into a workshop during the meeting and work on it together. I have learned from experience that people's willpower is unreliable (laughs), so I operate based on that premise.
3. Focus on one idea and go for it
The brain is not good at multitasking, and to catch up with groups or individuals who are already leading the way, you need to put in more effort than they do. Therefore, you need to focus your aim on one thing and work on it. The more of an honor student someone is, the more they fear failure and enter a defensive strategy, becoming unable to surpass themselves. The author argues that you must recognize that you are "just a human being" and that you will not get results unless you put in extraordinary effort.
Although the perspective is slightly different, there is a saying that "it is better to read one book many times than to read many books once." By deciding, "I will only do this," and reading a masterpiece many times, the author's words may indeed penetrate more deeply and be more likely to lead to action.
4. Utilize synchronous firing
Regarding "synchronous firing," the author writes about feeling the same emotions as an actor while watching a movie, or feeling that you are in better shape than your opponent at a critical moment, and even then, thinking "I want to show the audience a better performance than my rival" rather than "I want to win." By making full use of such a sense of synchronous firing, you can achieve surprising results.
Regarding this synchronous firing, as far as I know, I thought it might be close to the "community feeling" in Adlerian psychology. Since we are connected to people in communities such as family, the local area, and the workplace, I think it is an image where synchronization is unleashed by acting while feeling such a community.
5. Visualize an accurate image
Regarding sports form, it is common to think you are moving correctly when you are actually wrong. In other words, it is important whether or not you have a solid image of the action that "produces results."
For example, taking how to proceed with work as an example, rather than just saying "I'll do it well," you are more likely to succeed if you have a vivid image such as "At ## o'clock, I will focus on ## and ##, and reach an agreement by ##." Also, if you have an image to that extent, the possibility of sensing changes in the actual field and correcting your actions increases.
Summary
When we hear the word potential, it tends to be perceived as something intangible, but the five habits written in this book were born from the author's experience coaching Olympic teams, and I think they are wonderful things backed by practice. I introduced them while relating them to my learning of psychology so far.
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