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Arnold Schwarzenegger Keys To Success Rational?

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What I mean by this first of all is what Arnold suggests in his book "The Education of BodyBuilder". Obviously Arnold has achieved quite a bit but what I found interesting is his way of dealing with things. He basically just forced himself to think postive, that he would achieve his goals. He spent so much time doing that so he wouldn't give up, he won the highest honors in Body Building many times over, he became the biggest movie star on the planet (at least the highest paid) and now his is govorner.

The question though is, "is this a proper way of thinking within a objectivist context?"

The reason I ask is because of how beneficial it has been for me. Before I read that book I had little self-discipline even though I knew what I should do. I also had little success. Once I read his method though I figured I would try it out. Just all out being positive, telling myself I would achieve my goals (even though I realized it was highly unlikely), no matter what I just wouldn't accept "no" or failure or anything. I was shocked by how well it worked. I have achieved things I never thought were even remotely possible for me.

But after all that I have to wonder if it is correct to keep feeding myself things that figure to not be true or unlikely to happen all just because it is how I keep myself motivated (really motivated) that way and don't figure to do the stuff otherwise.

Interested to see other views...

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I think this falls under the;

If you think you can, you're right

If you think you can't, you're right

idea. Basically, you actually have to believe you can do project in question for it to happen. It's highly unlikely that if you think you can't do something that you will. Seems pretty logical to me.

Edited by Styles2112
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This is nothing new. The thing this achieves is not the ability, but the willingness to do something. Most likely you already had the ability to do a certain thing, but not the will. When you have not the will to do someting, it seems impossible (unless your ability is far beyond that which is required).

Is it good to think like that?

If you're simply saying yourself that you can do it, I'd say no. But if instead you think about the rewards which your success will bring, then yes. That is the essence of motivation.

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This is the essence of the benevolent-universe premise, btw; that you live in a world where, although success might not be guaranteed, but it is achievable and, even more, likely.

I have found more and more that when I have setbacks, if I just say, "okay, what am I going to do?" I come up with a thousand possibilities, and I know I can always get back up on my feet again, which is a much better position than I was in five or even two years ago.

The next step, for me, is to start actually pursuing goals instead of just reacting to problems. :)

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I've found that fear of failure is very debilitating. Simply thinking positively can be helpful. However, when you are confronting a particularly difficult situation, taking a step back and contemplating the worst possible scenario is also a useful technique. What you often find is that an outcome you imagine to be very bad, really isn't all that bad. Even if the worst happens, life will continue (assuming you're not confronting a life or death situation) and you can recover from temporary setbacks. I guess this is fairly similar to what JMSnow described.

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  • 1 month later...
What I mean by this first of all is what Arnold suggests in his book "The Education of BodyBuilder". Obviously Arnold has achieved quite a bit but what I found interesting is his way of dealing with things. He basically just forced himself to think postive, that he would achieve his goals.

Arnold is a firm believer, like a lot of professional athletes, in the power of visualization as a tool to improving performance. In his book Encyclopedia Of Modern Bodybuilding he devotes a chapter to the importance of visualization and mental imagery as a necessary tool to concentrating and making the most of a work-out.

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I don't have a very positive opinion of Arnold after reading some account of his behavior during body building competitions in Mike Mentzer's books. Definitely considering Mike's allegiance to Objectivism, I would be more interested to learn body building from him, than from Arnold. Though if you have any nice URLs with very sound, rational writing by Arnold I would be curious to see them! Playing mental tricks like always thinking positive aren't as necessary if you have fully and rationally plotted out all the steps necessary to actualize whatever it is that you wish to achieve. Though I suppose it could be a value in the case that you MUST do something at which, regardless of your continued perseverance, you are not particularly skilled.

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I don't have a very positive opinion of Arnold after reading some account of his behavior during body building competitions in Mike Mentzer's books. Definitely considering Mike's allegiance to Objectivism, I would be more interested to learn body building from him, than from Arnold. Though if you have any nice URLs with very sound, rational writing by Arnold I would be curious to see them! Playing mental tricks like always thinking positive aren't as necessary if you have fully and rationally plotted out all the steps necessary to actualize whatever it is that you wish to achieve. Though I suppose it could be a value in the case that you MUST do something at which, regardless of your continued perseverance, you are not particularly skilled.

That is really really strange to me, I didn't know that Mike Mentzer was an objectivist. That is really interesting because I was reading one of his books one time and he sounded really rational compared to most non fiction that I read. Very similar to objectivist ideals.

What things did Arnold do that you think are not so postiive. I'm not denying this just curious. The reason I like Arnold was simply because he set a goal to be the best body builder in the world and he achieved it many times over (though Mr. Olympia is surrounded by controversy). Then he set his goal to be the biggest Movie Star and achieved that too (not saying that he is a great actor at all however).

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That is really really strange to me, I didn't know that Mike Mentzer was an objectivist. 

What things did Arnold do that you think are not so postiive.

Strange that you didn't notice Mike was an objectivist! Actually in all of the books of his that I have seen, it was apparent even from the very first page. (There tend to be Rand or Aristotle quotes aplenty.)

As for Arnold -- I can't remember 100% clearly, so don't call me on this if it ends up a bit off the mark, but I seem to recall a description of a competition where he very definitely crossed the line from egoist into egotist. Basically something of a very disrespectful and unsportsman-like attitude towards the competition. Basically I had a very strong feeling, that while his achievements may be respect-worthy, his personality and attitude was not -- in the least.

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Strange that you didn't notice Mike was an objectivist! Actually in all of the books of his that I have seen, it was apparent even from the very first page. (There tend to be Rand or Aristotle quotes aplenty.)

As for Arnold -- I can't remember 100% clearly, so don't call me on this if it ends up a bit off the mark, but I seem to recall a description of a competition where he very definitely crossed the line from egoist into egotist. Basically something of a very disrespectful and unsportsman-like attitude towards the competition. Basically I had a very strong feeling, that while his achievements may be respect-worthy, his personality and attitude was not -- in the least.

Found out that the book I have is actually a book about his methods vs. one written by him.

As far as Arnold goes I don't doubt that he nessasarily did something that was unsportsman like though I find it contridictory because he said how much he disliked that sort of action from a contestant.

I agree too that parts of his personality are probably not great but that doesn't diminish the mental attitude he used to achieve his goals. I'm not his biggest fan or anything but a person can't just write him off for some aspects. I mean Rohmel (Can't spell his name, but the german military commander in WW2) was fighting for an extremely evil cause but he was still a military genious (from what I have heard) and his methods and ideas on military tactics are valid regardless of his cause

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Found out that the book I have is actually a book about his methods vs. one written by him.

What's the title of that book? It sounds like something I need to read. All the philosophy in the world still isn't getting me motivated or disciplined. :thumbsup:

Thanks!

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