Under The Skin - Tony Robbins Flashcards
I try to get people to find ways celebrate life in the midst of the fact that we’re all going to die.
It’s not about being happy. It’s about choosing a life that is meaningful.
A sense of fulfilment comes from 2 factors:
1/ Are you growing?
2/ Are you giving?
We live in a society that conditions us from day one.
What do you want your life to be about?
Life is a bitch if all you’re going to do is fight through and make a living like everybody does.
When you find something to care about greater than the individual, there is a level of energy that changes your life.
It doesn’t start with ideas. Ideas are a dime a dozen (practically worthless). It starts with energy.
It’s the experience of feeling like you’re made for something, that you’re making progress and not settling.
Ego-pride (look at me) vs sincere pride (fuck I actually did this)
Until we find a meaningful life, we will always look for substitutes (drugs, sex, food etc) which makes empty inside.
Your biography is not your destiny.
The past does not equal the future unless you live there
If you drive into the future using a rear-view mirror, then yes you’re going to crash.
There are patterns - patterns that make people angry, crazy, lonely, frustrated and patterns that make people passionate, strong, committed, gregarious, humble, playful, fun, connected and grateful.
It’s too hard to change your identity, but you can transform your patterns. Patterns are easy to change.
“If you want to take the island, burn the boats”
Do you hate the person or hate the behaviour? The way to reach someone is through a level of compassion that they might not be used to.
It’s not about being great, it’s about having a well-trained mind.
I don’t negotiate with myself. I say and I do. I’m not here to discuss this shit with my mind. Muscle is only developed when it’s trained.
The only thing that gets in the way are the beliefs we hold about how life is supposed to be, and all the expectations we have (which need to be weeded out).
I interviewed Michael Jordan years ago and I asked what made him the best in the world. He said, I can tell you and it won’t sound like hyperbole or false modesty. He said ‘I didn’t even make the high school basketball team. Every day I demand more from myself than anybody else could possibly expect. I don’t compete with other people; I compete with what I’m capable of’
If you’re in a peak state of mind, you’ll perform at a better level, and you’ll connect at a better level. This is a high-energy / energy-rich state.
If you in a low-energy state, then nothing works.
How do you feel when somebody says ‘you’re mistaken vs you’re wrong vs you’re lying’?
Creativity and discipline are high-energy states.
Any low energy state is one where you will suffer.
90 second rule to get out of states where you are suffering (this is the survival / animal mechanism).
Humans have a unique capacity, not shared by other animals. We can make ourselves angry or depressed by just a thought.
We also have the capacity to make ourselves feel grateful or satisfied.
Do you think that you were the first person to have these thoughts?
1/ Love may not last
2/ You will not succeed at work
These thoughts have been around for hundreds of years.
Change your physiology. If somebody is depressed they are going to use their body in a different way, speak at a different tempo etc. Changing your physiology will change your biochemistry.
Animate your nervous system so that you can push through the difficulties.
If you want to master something then develop a pattern: you need to first understand it cognitively, then do it so often that you condition your mind to do it, and that your body does it naturally.
Myelin is a microscopic neural substance that adds vast amounts of speed and accuracy to your movements and thoughts. How big the layer of protective myelin around your axons is determines how fast and how accurately electrons can go from one neuron to the next, and therefore, how good you are at performing the corresponding skill.
The more myelin you develop (through deep practice), the better any skill gets hardwired into your body and brain.
Scientists have discovered that myelin might just be the holy grail: the foundation of all forms of greatness, from Michelangelo’s to Michael Jordan’s. The good news about myelin is that it isn’t fixed at birth; to the contrary, it grows, and like anything that grows, it can be cultivated and nourished.
Deep practice builds myelin (white matter) and you become wired to perform at a higher level.
“The only people without problems are those in graveyards.”
It’s about getting a better quality of problem.
If I can learn from somebody else’s problems I can compress decades into days.
Some of these ideas might not get traction in a world that is so tightly focussed on materialism and individualism.
Our culture makes us externalise and therefore some people have deficient inner worlds.
A belief is a poor substitute for an experience.
The most important areas of your life to deal with:
Your body Your emotions Your relationships Meaning Your time
