Tony Robbins provides some interesting insight into the means in which an individual can improve his or her life. Yes, Robbins has a tendency to oversimplify the means in which people can improve their lives but at the core of his discussions there is a sincere message in regards to his mission of aiding people in improving their lives.
One of the more interesting aspects that Robbins examines is the notion that the ability to tie pleasure toward an activity while removing feelings of pain associated with the same actions.
This is a brilliant concept that is spelled out in Robbins’ book AWAKEN THE GIANT WITHIN and it bears a little examination here.
So what does this “pleasure-pain” concept truly refer to? Consider the example of wanting to write a novel and being a fantastic and world famous writer. Now, if you to resent the world with a bestselling novel then you have to first start by handing the novel (all 300+ pages folks) to the publishing house. Of course, you can not hand anything over to the publishing house unless you sit down in a chair and actually crank out those 300+ pages.
That means spending a lot of time alone in a room and working on a novel. That is a huge time and work commitment. In fact, it can be overwhelming and it can be overwhelming to the degree of turning the whole venture into a very painful process. But, folks, what is so painful about being a world famous novelist? Nothing! But people do not look at the end result.
Instead, they look at the long and dragged out process that comes with a number of painful aspects of tedium, writer’s block, et al. However, this concept is only in a person’s head! That is, it is a weak mental outlook on the situation as opposed to looking at the positives.
So, the pleasure pain principle comes into play when a person looks at the task at hand and instead of seeing the long road of pain they see a long road of opportunity.
That is, they see the end result which is being a world famous novelist. This approach is the root of success as it involves self improvement via changing one’s outlook on life as well as one’s outlook towards one’s work.
Change your state of mind and you can change your results. This is a Robbins’ maxim that is well worth taking to heart.