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Mozart's psychotic little secret and why you must adopt it today! I'm 100% positive this Genius Gem will put a spring in your step for good!

Amadeus Wolfgang Mozart. Now there's a name for a genius. I'm sure there are hundreds and thousands of things we could learn about genius from Mozart. But I've selected one and it's a dandy. You'll love it!

Back in the early 1990's, a group of psychologists took an interest in Mozart's mail. They didn't have to steam open any envelopes or anything like that. After all he'd been dead for 200 years, so hopefully the mail had long since been delivered, read, digested, filed and housed in a museum! But I digress. What those psychologists found in reading 600 surviving letters that Mozart wrote is that he was psychotic!

Psychotic?

Yep. Positively psychotic.

No. Wait. He was psychotically positive! Also described as pathologically optimistic!

Steady on! A psychotic is someone who suffers from a mental disorder that affects their whole personality. Pathology is the study of disease. These university shrinks were almost implying that Mozart had something wrong with him. That his was a strange kind of mental disease that put a positive spin on everything that happened to him.

Phooey! Sign me up for some of that! I'll gladly take a mental disorder that allows you to see the good in everything you do. Isn't that what every success book since the Bible has suggested?

Fortunately wiser heads have come to the defence of Mr Mozart. That archdeacon of Mind Development, Tony Buzan, has seen the value and genius in Mozart's attitude and named it Amadeity - a psychology of appropriate positivity.

THE OPTIMIST CREED

Promise Yourself -

To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet.
To make all your friends feel that there is something in them.
To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.
To think only of the best, to work only for the best and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.
To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.
To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.

To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

Many have found inspiration in The Optimist Creed. In hospitals, the creed has been used to help patients recover from illness. In locker rooms, coaches have used it to motivate their players.

Optimist International adopted this creed in 1922. It was originally published in 1912 in a book titled: "Your Forces and How to Use Them." The author was Christian D. Larson, a prolific writer and lecturer who believed that people have tremendous latent powers, which could be harnessed for success with the proper attitude.

Source: http://www.optimist.org

What a show!

One example of Mozart's unquenchable optimism occurs in a letter he wrote to his wife describing a concert. It was the opening performance of a new opera he had written. His letter reads as a glowing description of how well the performance went, describing all the positive points of the opera as he saw it. Only at the end does he mention in passing that there were only 10 people in the audience!

Turns out some Prince was giving a party in one part of town, the Hessian troops were on manouvres in another and so all the opera going public were otherwise engaged! I think he should have fired his booking agent! However Mozart saw it as a glorious success regardless.

Mozart was an exuberant man with extraordinary self-confidence. His "inability to believe that he might be a failure, even when his concerts were a disaster, was an essential part of his genius". People reveal themselves in their true colours when they are under pressure.

The real test of character is, does it last in negative circumstances? In war, some people revert to an animalistic self-preservation instinct while others assume an almost saint-like quality of good will for others.

Do the twist!

You want to be developing this ability to put a positive twist in your assessment of the events of your life. It's that classic theme of seeing the glass as half-full rather than half-empty. Counting one's blessings. Gratitude being a 'great attitude'.

Optimistic, positive people think that setbacks are caused by external factors that are temporary and that can be changed. Their self-talk is, "I can do it!"

Pessimistic, worry-wart people think that setbacks are a reflection on them, that they are to blame, and that nothing can be done. They whine to themselves, "I can't do it!" or “They probably won’t like it…”.

“Pessimists are more often right, but optimists accomplish more.”

~ Cathy Woodgold

Resolve right now, never to be in a position where I can label you a worry-wart! Isn’t that the most hideous description I could ever give you? You don’t want to be a carbuncle on the ass of humanity, do you? So turn yourself into a shining beacon of light, optimism and enthusiasm.

Change the picture!

Richard Bandler and John Grinder invented NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming). They wrote the book “Reframing” which is a classic on how to develop Amadeity – the ability to put a positive spin on the events that happen to you. If it’s not on your bookshelf already, I urge you to make a space for it.

Reframing is literally a process of making the pictures in your head appear different, so that you can respond to them in a different way. When you think of a situation, you think of it in a certain context. That context is like a picture frame around the event that affects the way you see that event. When you change the frame or context around an event, you change the meaning of an event.

“An optimist is a man who gets treed by a lion but enjoys the scenery.”

~ Walter Winchell

If you are a high-powered attorney, going to work with a hickey or love bite on your neck might be mortifyingly embarrassing. But for a 13 year old virgin, it’s like a badge of honour, a veritable rite of passage.

When you change the context, you change the meaning and that meaning will affect the way we emotionally respond far more than the actual event itself.

Marketers are experts at changing context and meaning. They will reframe a high-priced item not as an expense but an investment. The context might be “available for a limited time only” – buy now or (SHOCK! HORROR!) miss out!

Spin Questions!

Here are some classic reframing questions to help you put a positive spin on the events that happen to you.

1. What is great about this?

Example:

Reaction: Oh shoot, I have a flat tyre! Damn it! Why me? I’ve got an important meeting in 10 minutes!

Reframe Question: What is great about the fact that I have a flat tyre this morning, and I’ll be late to work?

Possible response: I’m so lucky it didn’t blow while I was driving. I am safe. I have a spare. Thank God, Joe showed me how to use the jack. Wow, the Universe is really looking out for me. I’ll just phone and rearrange the meeting, then go into work and miss all the rush hour traffic.

2. What can I learn from this event? What is this trying to teach me?

Example:

Your abusive boyfriend runs off with a waitress.

Reframe:

What a loser he was anyway! I’m better of without him. He doesn’t deserve me. I am going to hold myself to a higher standard. The Universe has done me a favour by getting him out of my life. I’ve learnt that I don’t really want a wild macho man who parties every night, what I really want is a decent, kind man who will respect me and who I can respect.

3. How does or could this event serve me?

Example: You get called upon to go to a party. You hate parties, especially where you don’t know anyone.

Thought: Oh God. I’ve got to go to that damned party. How do I get myself into these situations? It’ll be boring and awkward. I just want to stay home. I hate it that I have to go.

Reframe: I am so lucky to get invited to go to that party. Someone thought of me and wants my company there. I’m going to go and meet all kinds of new people. Who knows? I might meet the love of my life, a new friend or someone who can help me get my new novel published. I am going to enjoy myself no matter what!

4. What am I grateful for?

This is a great depression cure. A swift kick in the head to “poor me” thinking. When things aren’t going as well as you would like them to be, look around at your life and notice all the great things that you have to be grateful for.

The fact is that you might only be earning $25,000 and not the $90,000 that you want. But you have a roof over your head. At this moment, you are perfectly safe. There is clean water in your taps. You have electricity. You have this information before you. You have eyes to read with. You are obviously well nourished enough to have the energy to read and understand. You get it? Appreciate the small things, which you usually give no thought to. Because for the people that don’t have these things, they are not small things. They are huge things. A blind billionaire would give you his fortune for the simple blessing of being able to see.

In the first world, we all live like millionaires anyway. The computers, technology, food stuffs, ideas, entertainment that we all have such ready easy access to, are the results of other people’s ideas, billions of dollars of research, development, manufacturing, marketing, distribution and sales outlets. You are the beneficiary of trillions of dollars of wealth. You live better than a king would have 200 years ago, even 100 years ago, even 50 years ago.

There’s always a whole heap of good stuff going on in your life. You and I look at snow, and we see it as one thing: snow. An Eskimo can identify 50 different kinds of snow. I can run to snow, slush, sleet and that’s about it. That Eskimo has a richer experience than me because he knows 50 different snows and I only know 3.

The more things you can identify to be grateful for, the richer you will feel (and the happier!). Count your blessings, because the rich get richer; the more blessings you can recognise the more blessings you will have. Unto her who has much, more will be given. From those who feel lack, more will be taken away.

5. Oh well! Never Mind. What’s next?

This is a great “street” reframe! It’s basically, “Who gives a fuck? I’m going for it anyway, you can’t keep me from my goal!” Whatever your woes are, one of the greatest stress releasers is to simply shrug your shoulders and say, “Oh well…”

You immediately dump the weight of the world from your back. It’s a real kicker!

For all you writers out there, dreaming of the best sellers list, those rejection slips come in like a slap in the face. You just have to hold to your craft, persist in the face of rejection and keep saying, “Next!”

You don’t get rejected; you do the rejecting. If a publisher or literary agent is so dumb that they can’t recognise your talent, you wouldn’t want them representing you anyway. Thank god you didn’t get stuck with that bunch of losers! Onwards and upwards to your glorious career!

6. What was funny about that?

“You’ve gotta laugh!”

It’s a classic reframe that we all know about. You simply look at the event and see the funny side.

You were at a business lunch. You went to the restroom and returned to the table with your skirt stuck in the back of your underwear. You blushed redder than a shepherd’s sunset and wanted a hole in the ground to open and swallow you up!

But what a hoot! You can dine out with your girlfriends on that one for years!

7. How would Jesus / Oprah / Mozart deal with that situation?

Look at the events of your life through different eyes. When you change the perspective, you change the experience. Look at something from the other person’s point of view – walk a mile in their moccasins.

But then take an observer’s point of view too. Someone uninvolved is watching you and the other person, a non-judgemental fly-on-the-wall, like a big brother camera looking into your little world.

You can also look at the events of your life, through the eyes of your heroes and heroines. How would they respond?

“The Twelve Key Characteristics Of The Dynamic Optimist!”

INTERPRETING EXPERIENCE POSITIVELY:

(1) Selective Focus: Emphasizing the enjoyable, constructive, open aspects of life.

(2) Refraining from Complaining: Avoiding pointless complaining and whining about one’s difficulties. Taking the world as it is and not complaining that life isn’t fair.

(3) Questioning Limits: A constructive skepticism that challenges the limiting beliefs held by ourselves, our associates, and our society. A fundamental creative openness to possibilities.

(4) Sense of Abundance: Feeling free to do what you want, rather than feeling compelled by circumstances or people. Recognizing the world to be full of opportunities. Being for things, not against things.

(5) Humor: Seeing one’s own shortcomings with a sense of humor. Allowing healthy, good-natured humor to reveal new perspectives and combat dogmatic thinking.

INFLUENCING OUTCOMES POSITIVELY:

(6) Rational: Using reason rather than being lead by fears and desires. Objectively assessing situations and taking action based on understanding reality apart from our wishes.

(7) Self-Improving: Optimists see the self as a process and seek continual improvement. Their drive to improve is not pushed by fear but pulled by an inspiring self-image.

(8) Experimental: Frequently trying fresh approaches, staying out of ruts, actively seeking more effective ways of achieving goals, and being willing to take calculated risks.

(9) Self-Confident: Believing that we can bring about good things. A fundamental conviction of competence in living.

(10) Self-Worth: Believing one is worthy of success and happiness. Without this, attempts to improve one’s life will lack motivation.

(11) Personal Responsibility: Taking charge and creating the conditions for success. Being aware of how we determine our chances of success. This crucially involves integrity: living according to one’s values.

(12) Selecting Environment: Being attracted to positive people and situations. Seeking out those who will support and inspire, not discourage, distract, and undermine.

Extracted From “Dynamic Optimism - An Extropian Cognitive-Emotional Virtue” by futurist Max More.

See whole article at: http://www.maxmore.com/optimism.htm

A Glorious Glossary Moment:

Agathism: "The doctrine that all things tend towards ultimate good, as distinguished from optimism, which holds that all things are now for the best."

Meliorism: “Looking forward with the belief that the world and things in general are heading for the better.”

Optimism: “The tendency to take a hopeful view of things.”

PMA: “Positive Mental Attitude characterised by high self-esteem, responsibility, expanded awareness, the joy of work, persistence, seeing opportunity in every adversity and benefits in every problem, and the vision to make the improbable possible.”

Wily says:

I am totally, completely, positively, 100% convinced that you are a genius. Are you? You betcha ass you are!

Got Feedback? I'd love to hear from YOU! Email me: wily[at]wilywalnut.com

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