"Attitudinal Isometrics (TM)... A Workout For Building Strength
of Character"
by Rev Dr John L. Clements
Published on this site: May 20th, 2005 - See
more articles from this month...
From the early nineteen thirties to the mid-sixties, a significant
fraction of magazines in the English-speaking world ran a series
of linked ads. They all showed the wasp-waisted, wide-shouldered,
bulging-biceped, swimtrunk wearing Charles Atlas standing in various
poses and claiming: "I can make a new man of you in 7 days!"
Thousands of men responded to the ads. Most ended up disappointed
not with the exercise system they received, but with their own failure
to persevere beyond the initial seven-day period! Presumably, they
had never read the words of Dr Samuel Johnson: "Great works
are performed, not by strength, but perseverance".
Got a dream to fulfil? Got a problem to solve? Got a corporate
entity to build up? Then I've got an exercise system to help you!
I call it Attitudinal Isometrics. Schematically, it looks like this:
CORRECT THINKING + CORRECT ATTITUDE + CORRECT ACTION =
HERCULEAN SUCCESS!
It is not, however, a magic formula. Some who try it will end up
disappointed - not because it doesn't work, but because they won't
work at it!
All exercise systems involve movement. Attitudinal Isometrics involves
mental movement, and can be analyzed into four basic dynamics:
from --> negativity... to --> positivity
from --> reactivity... to --> proactivity
from --> self-interest... to --> public service
from --> inconsistency... to --> constancy
Practised regularly, Attitudinal Isometrics promotes strength of
character. And without that, we can't really expect to succeed at
anything, can we?
- WILDE WISDOM
The first exercise in the Attitudinal Isometrics gymnasium is
the movement from negativity to positivity. Oscar Wilde had a
first-rate piece of advice for the negativist: "Get up and
out, young man the day is bursting with moments!"
A moment is an infinitely short window of time yet it's the only
window open to us! Positive action can occur only in the present
moment (rather than in the irredeemable past or unknowable future).
Therefore, the time for sowing the seeds of achievement is now.
A microsecond's delay equals a harvest of opportunities lost!
Of course, a positive attitude doesn't guarantee success; but
it does keep our eyes, ears, mind and body focused on the goal.
Future outcomes won't just happen we have to get up and out, and
intercept the fruitful moments that the day is bursting with!
- PROACTIVITY VERSUS PROZAC
The second Attitudinal Isometrics exercise is the movement from
reactivity to proactivity. Supposing you have an unpleasant task
to complete, and don't quite know how to start. What's your usual
procedure? Do you picture the finished results and throw yourself
into the task? Or do you picture all the possible problems and
throw yourself into a depression? "Well, the truth is, Dr
John," I hear you say, "some tasks just seem futile
especially when I'm not sure whether I'll succeed or not."
Oh, really? Let me ask you this, then: Why should your level of
proactivity be dependent on your skill in predicting the future?
Let's be realistic: we can't predict anything much. Outcomes
of events are cloaked in a veil of complexity; we can't ever foresee
all the possible consequences much less decide ahead of time which
one will occur. That being the case, the only sensible option
is to get started regardless! It's a well known self-motivation
technique: acting "as if" the desired outcome is a foregone
conclusion makes you less likely to engage a psychological reverse
gear halfway through the task.
- OTHERS BEFORE SELF
The third Attitudinal Isometrics exercise (and it has to be a
practical exercise rather than a theoretical one) is the movement
from self-interest to public service that is, from a mindset focused
on the self to one focused on others. Perhaps you've always imagined
that, in some future world where you've attained your personal
goals, you'll then be in a position to serve others, and thereby
make the world a better place...? Wrong! You'll only get what
you want by giving others what they want. It's an integral part
of the course for success.
Nor do you need any special position to serve others. You do,
however, need a special mindset; and you have to develop it first
before your personal goals can be attained.
The mental muscle that will empower you to serve others is already
part of your character. You simply need to exercise it along the
appropriate dynamic, using the appropriate mental apparatus! Help
out at a charity headquarters; take a senior citizen to the shopping
mall; work in a soup kitchen; set up a church group in your community.
Start with one hour a week, and progress to ten. Consider it a
form of existential tithing. You'll be amazed how you can transform
the lives of others - and feel better about yourself in the process!
- THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING CONSTANT
The fourth and most important dynamic in the Attitudinal Isometrics
gym is the movement from inconsistency to constancy. For most
of human history, people simply had to keep going, keep working,
keep adapting just to survive. In the modern Western world, however,
things are somewhat easier. Result: a widespread tendency to justify
inaction today with the empty promise of action tomorrow.
But tomorrow is the time to test your endurance. This evening
is the time to gather your energies. This hour is the time to
prsevere. This minute is the time to galvanise your resolve. This
second is the time to practise your Attitudinal Isometrics And
this moment is the moment to start!
Rev Dr John L. Clements is an international writer,
speaker, life coach and author of "Excellence Becomes
You: proven principles to raise your life from mediocrity
to excellence"
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