Jack Canfield's Success Principles
Introduction and the First PrincipleThe Success Principles is one of Jack Canfield's most popular books. Canfield is already very well known for his co authorship of the 'Chicken Soup for the Soul' series.The Success Principles book takes as its theme that successful people all do the same things, and that if we do those same things, we will be successful too. He emphasises that the principles ALWAYS work if we work the principles. What follows is a presentation of these principles as objects for investigation within a meditation practice. Meditation is not something that is to be kept separate from our 'real' lives,and it is not something that only addresses the emotional and psychological. Meditation is a resource that can help us negotiate the physical, 'practical' world. Perhaps we could even say that if your meditation practice does not help you become successful in your chosen field, something is amiss? Success Principle 1"The bottom line is that you are the one who is creating your life the way it is. The life you currently live is the result of all your past thoughts and actions. You are in charge of your current thoughts and your present feelings. You are in charge of what you say and what you do. You are in charge of what goes into your mind - the books and magazines you read, the movies and television shows you watch, and the people you hang out with. Every action is under your control. To be more successful, all you have to do is act in ways that produce more of what you want. That's it. It's that simple!"Principle 1 speaks of responsibility and power. The Success Principles connects these two quite explicitly. It is because we are 100% responsible for our lives that we have the power to change them. It is a compelling, uncompromising and attractive message. This is a bottom line teaching. We created the results we are experiencing now and we are currently creating the results that we will experience in the future. therefore if we wish to encounter different results, we need to change our thoughtts, feelings, beliefs and actions NOW, as this is the only way we will create different results in the future. In the Success Principles Jack Canfield further refines his point by writing that we are responsible for the response we make to any event, and he gives an example of different drivers' attitudes to the same traffic chaos as an illustration of how it is not the actual events that determine our experience. This is a very 'black or white' analysis of life. Its power lies in its certainty, which in turn motivates purposeful action. Is it really true?Are we really 100% responsible for creating our lives? Perhaps on a higher level,everything is karmic, and perhaps someone with a developed enough consciousness could determine or perceive those causes and effects. Most of us have less insight into the possible nature of causality and might find the idea that we caused accidents and earthquakes a bit of a stretch... Perhaps it is more accurate to say that we control our response to situations. It might be the case that I did not create the drunk driver who crashed into my car but I did have a choice about my response to that event. I think this is true, and that it takes a lot of work for it to be true. My experience is that I actually have very little control of the thoughts, feelings and emotions that arise. I only really have control of the thoughts, feelings and emotions that I deliberately choose to think, elicit or nurture. Thus I can do certain NLP techniques that may change the way I feel about a situation but on another level,sadness comes, anger comes, happiness comes. They are just the passing scenery of the mind. They are just there. I can learn to control my response to these visitors. This is part of what meditation is. We choose to cultivate a a mindful awareness of the thoughts, feelings and emotions that pass through the mind. So I would agree that we can learn to influence, to strongly influence our response to events. I do not think my experience shows that I have actually created all of the events themselves. So, having worked on our 'response ability',we are in a position to deliberately create, or move towards our chosen goals. It is a bit like the often quoted metaphor of flying a plane. The pilot is often off course owing to the weather conditions. The skill of the pilot is in re orienting on the destination. The pilot is responsible for creating the skills of flying; he is not responsible for the weather! If I choose to act 'as if' I am 100% responsible for the events in my life and something then goes wrong, I perceive that situation differently than if I believe it is random. When I choose to behave as if I am in control I accept the disturbing event as just more weather and I use my skills and resourcefulness to get back on track. This 'control' may or may not really be true. It just works better if I behave as if it is! A meditative approach to this principle is a tad softer than Jack Canfield's original version in the Success Principles. We do not really know if we are 100% responsible or not, and we don't really have the level of control that Canfield insists is necessary; (which is why so many people think they fail with this kind of book). However we can cultivate our awareness. We can pay attention to our 'stories' and gain greater insight into how those stories are holding back our success. From a meditative point of view, let's take this principle as a subject for investigation. To what extent do we create our lives? What are our habitual responses to situations and how do they effect our actions and results in the world? This is investigating our karma, isn't it? If we have goals, how can we shape our lives to better attain them? Take the principle as a working hypothesis and see how far it can take you if you choose to act as if it was true. To be continued...
|
