It used to baffle me to see people being cynical or negative. It was even more confusing when they were cynical or negative about the Law of Attraction, the movie The Secret, my book Zero Limits, or me.
That never made sense.
But I just had a revelation that parted the clouds and showed me the sanity behind the madness.
In short, people who are cynical or negative enjoy it.
They feel good when they find fault with others.
But why?
Answer: they get a burst of serotonin in their brain when they feel they are better than someone else.
It’s a status rush.
They are, to be blunt, happily cynical.
But there’s a problem with that “Smiling Pessimist” approach to life.
It all made sense to me when Dr. Loretta Breuning sent me her books. I didn’t (and still don’t) know her, but she dropped me an email and said she was sending me her three latest books, Beyond Cynical, Meet Your Happy Chemicals, and I, Mammal. Each sounded fascinating, and I truly wanted to see them all.
But I had no idea the first one I picked up would blow the lid off my mind and lead to a profound insight into human behavior, mine as well as yours.
Beyond Cynical: Transcend Your Mammalian Negativity, grabbed me as soon as I read the back cover copy:
“Cynicism feels good because it triggers the brain chemicals that make us happy. It triggers dopamine by making things seem predictable. It boosts serotonin by making you feel superior to ‘the jerks.’ It stimulates oxytocin by cementing social alliances. Cynicism relieves cortisol as you fight or flee in your mind. Negativity is natural, but you can go beyond it if you choose.”
Wow!
All those negative, cynical people were actually enjoying their tirades because their brain was flooding them with feel good chemicals.
Of course, they had no idea their negativity was a cocaine rush and almost as addicting.
They just felt it was “natural.”
And the more they did it, the more the “happy” chemicals flooded their brain, making them want to continue in the behavior, even when their negativity and cynicism hurt others.
They were addicted to the feeling good that comes from feeling bad.
The problem is, this cynical approach to life doesn’t improve life.
As Dr. Breuning writes in Beyond Cynical, “You may think your outrage serves the greater good, but it is just a habit wired into your neurons. You can do more for yourself and the world by going beyond it.”
The good news is that negativity and cynicism can be replaced with something far more healthy, happy, and productive.
After all, as Dr. Breuning points out, being cynical ultimately isn’t helping you or the planet in any constructive way. She says it makes you powerless. A smarter approach would be to train yourself to become realistically optimistic.
It’s called PARE in Dr. Breuning’s world. That stands for Personal Agency and Realistic Expectations. She explains it this way:
“Personal Agency is the awareness that you can meet your real needs through your own actions. Realistic Expectations are the knowledge that rewards are unpredictable, and frustration is not a survival threat. When you PARE, you enjoy the act of meeting your needs instead of lamenting the world’s failure to meet them for you.”
She goes on to explain that you can build a PARE habit “…in six weeks by spending one minute thinking about something good three times a day.”
Sounds easy enough.
I’ve got one minute three times a day.
You probably do, too.
According to the author, though, it may be tough going to overturn an old habit. After all, the neuron highway for negativity may be already paved, and completed before you were six years old. You have to go “off road” a few times to begin to build a new path. Once you do, though, the new habit will have a new highway and your new positive behavior will then be natural and automatic.
I know this firsthand.
Back around 1974, I sat on the steps of the house I lived in at Kent State University, feeling unhappy. A couple walked by, saw me sulking, and the woman said, “You look like the unhappiest man on earth.” I told the story to a college friend who said, “You’re just naturally depressed.”
Today no one says I am unhappy, negative, depressed, cynical or anything of the sort. Over time, I retrained my brain to see the positive in life, and to get my brain chemical rush from optimism. Today people say, “You’re lucky. You’re just naturally happy.”
Hmmm.
I was naturally unhappy once.
Today I’m naturally happy.
Which is true?
“Natural” seems to be something we can create and then it is viewed as natural.
While Dr. Breuning doesn’t talk about the Law of Attraction, she does explain that we get what we expect. She says, “We don’t imagine ourselves sifting the world for evidence that confirms our expectations. But that is what the brain is designed to do.”
Expect the world to be messed up and people bad, and you’ll find evidence for it. Your brain will “attract it” by making it seem obvious to you.
But by the same token, expect the world to be abundant and people good, and your very same brain will “attract it” by filtering out everything that doesn’t match your expectations.
One dopamine-triggering later chapter in Beyond Cynical describes all the huge topics many people complain about today — such as climate crisis, economic crisis, and social crisis — and balances them with a more objective and historic overview that proves things today are actually better and getting better.
Dr. Breuning isn’t saying the world is perfect; she admits to problems that need a PARE attitude to resolve. But she says things are better. A cynic won’t see the better, and may never see how to make current issues better. They, too, will get what they expect.
As I pointed out in the book, Zero Limits, and in the sequel, At Zero (coming in January), your brain can’t process all the 11,000,000 bits of data flying at you in every second, so it learns to filter out what you don’t need to know. But the filter it uses is based on what you expect.
What do you expect?
Until you become aware of how your brain works, you will expect what you were already trained to expect. For most, that’s just plain fear. To go beyond it, you need to retrain your brain to see something else.
I am loving Beyond Cynical because it is making me conscious of how my brain operates. Much of Dr. Breuning’s book draws from research into animal behavior, which makes sense as we basically are just animals with wallets.
She quotes Robert Ardrey, who said —
“We are not fallen angels, but risen apes.”
She’s not describing animals because they are a model of love, but because they are wired to survive in any way possible, doing things that feel good but that may not actually be good.
That same mammal programming is in you and me. It drives us to food, sex, and status. The insights we gain from her book can make us far more productive, kind, and healthy.
When I want to reach for something to eat, for example, I ask myself if this is what my body actually needs, or has my brain learned that food stimulates chemicals in my system, leads to the happy feeling of survival, and that that stimulation itself feels good?
No animal would think that deeply about food: see bananas, access survival odds of going for them with other monkeys around, and decide to eat and run or just run.
From that new awareness of how my mammal brain is operating, as a conscious human looking at my food choices, I can make a healthier decision.
And as I wrote this post, a part of me felt the serotonin of feeling superior to all the naysayers out there. I enjoyed writing this, because I feel the article is a benefit to mankind as it informs you of books that can make a difference. But I’m very aware that a feel good survival chemical went off as I wrote this for you.
I liked it, too.
These three books are influencing my view of the world. I now see myself, and others, as “risen apes.” We aren’t awakened yet. We are still driven by mammalian impulses to keep us surviving. With conscious effort, we can transcend these urges. With these books, you can get a head start.
You can probably draw numerous eyeopening insights about yourself and others by reading Beyond Cynical (and the other books) by Dr. Lorettta Breuning — that is, as long as you aren’t cynical about it.
Her website is Inner Mammal Institute.
Ao Akua,
PS — If you truly want to feel good, expand your mind, and step into the world of unlimited abundance where you don’t have to fight other mammals for bananas, be sure to register for Attract Money Now LIVE. Details at Attract Money Now LIVE!
I’ve been in Chicago recording a breakthrough new program for Nightingale-Conant.
As when I recorded my previous programs, such as The Missing Secret and The Abundance Paradigm, I don’t go into the studio with a script. I trust myself to be inspired to say the right thing at the right time. I speak from my heart. This leaves me open to receive new information.
Well, something surprising happened in the process of recording this new program.
It began with me explaining advanced ho’oponopono, sharing new insights and stories, and going beyond what I revealed in the bestselling book, Zero Limits, as well as my forthcoming book, At Zero.
As I recorded this new program, inspiration came in and led me further and deeper than my original intent.
I even went beyond ho’oponopono itself, realizing the limitations that method has.
I ended up discovering a new law.
This new law is how you create miracles with speed and accuracy.
It’s a law that few know because it goes deeper than what other programs and techniques reveal.
You may already know about the Law of Attraction, but this new law goes beyond that.
The Law of Attraction is like having training wheels on your bike or being in grade school. At some point you need to drop the training wheels, and you need to move to the next grade.
It’s time to leave the superficial and go to the transcendental.
It’s time to go beyond the Law of Attraction.
This new law is the next step.
It leaves the Law of Attraction in the dust.
I call it The Law of Zero.
I’ve never written about this, or spoken about this, ever before, as it came to me via inspiration while recording in Chicago.
The Law of Zero enables and empowers regular people like you and me to do two things that are staggering.
Even miraculous.
This is merging with the power source of life itself to help you have, do, or be whatever you can imagine.
And even more.
My new program with Nightingale-Conant will explain the three levels of mind that you need to travel through in order to activate the Law of Zero.
The new program is called “The Zero Point.”
It will be available next year.
Meanwhile, I will be explaining The Law of Zero, the three levels of mind, and how to use this new information to create miracles in your life at my November Attract Money Now LIVE event in Austin, Texas.
It is the only place to get this information until my new audio program comes out next year.
If you are ready to be divinely empowered, and to leave limitations behind, please go here —
http://www.attractmoneynowlive.com
Ao Akua,
PS — I will be raising the price of admission to this once-in-a-lifetime event, and seats are limited to only 200 people, so I urge you to reserve your spot right now. Have faith and take the jump. You deserve this. Go to http://www.attractmoneynowlive.com
Note: My earlier programs with Nightingale-Conant are at http://www.nightingale.com/authors/joe-vitale/
Here’s something unusual. My Vedic Astrologer, Joni Patry, delivered a live in-depth reading of my birth chart for an Internet show. Vedic Astrology is very different than Western Astrologer. A great overview of how it works is right here. You can view it below. Enjoy.
If you are serious about learning how to attract money and wealth, then check out my new product with Dr. Steve G. Jones at Wealth Master Interviews. Meanwhile, here is a seven minute taste of things you can expect:
Someone recently sent me this question by email —
“I have followed you and purchased many of your products for several years now. I am emailing you with one request. What is the ONE method that really is the secret? The one method, without any back-end products, that truly results in success? I have the will to make it happen. What is the ONE way?”
I thought about it and almost didn’t reply. After all, I’ve answered variations of this question repeatedly, in a wide variety of ways, in my books, blog posts, audios, events, and more, for over decades now.
But then I thought, what if a new reader has this question on their mind?
Since that may be the case, here’s my answer:
If you wanted to become a licensed private pilot, so you could fly small planes around the country, would you ask, “What is the one method that will assure my success as a pilot?”
I received my pilot’s license in 1972. I know for a fact there is no “one secret” to being a pilot. I had to learn everything from weather patterns to reading maps to FAA laws to how to handle a plane in all kinds of situations, and more. I went to flight school, but I also went to ground school, read supportive materials, and more.
There’s isn’t one way to be a pilot.
When I became a copywriter, I had to study books, old and new, and practice, sometimes with failure, sometimes with success, and test, test, test. I had to learn formulas, and templates, and the psychology of influence. I studied every copywriting course in existence, some long out of print. I bought copywriting manuals, books, audios, entire events on DVD, and more.
There is no one way to be a copywriter.
When I became a musician, I had to learn music, chords, song structure, and more. I also had to practice, with and without voice lessons, guitar lessons, songwriting lessons, and with and without time in the recording studio. I read books. I attended classes. I talked to musicians. I’m still doing it.
There is no one way to be a musician.
When I gained a name for myself as an Internet marketer way back in the mid 1990s, everyone would ask me, “What’s the one thing you did that made you rich and famous?”
Again, I had to learn it all. The early days of online marketing were a free for all, with everyone trying everything, trying to figure out “the one secret” to making money online. Along the way a lot of amazingly creative things were tried. Some worked. Many didn’t. Yet even today, after decades of being online, I can’t say there is “one” way to stardom online.
There is no one way to be an Internet success.
I’ve heard variations of the “What is the one secret?” question for decades. I often tell people there IS one secret to success. The secret is, “DO EVERYTHING!”
Do everything!
Try it all. Read the books. Listen to the audios. Attend the events. Test ideas. Invent ideas. Get feedback. Try again. Buy supportive materials. Invest in your learning. It’s “the” secret to success in just about everything you could name.
Say you want your child to go to college. Would you stop after he was in the first grade? Would you not buy him or her crayons, or books, or study materials, or new clothes for school? And if he or she was struggling, would you not invest in a tutor or summer school?
Again, there is no one way to be educated.
But if I was backed into a corner and asked, “Come on, Joe, what really is THE secret?,” I’d probably say something like this:
“Follow your dream.”
Joseph Campbell said, “Follow your bliss.”
I’ve often said, “Follow your enthusiasm.”
By following the inner prompts from within, you will take action, and as you take action, you will get feedback, and as you learn from that feedback and persist, you will, over time, have an adventurous life and maybe even be wise enough to enjoy it all, the struggles as well as the successes.
There is no one secret.
The Law of Attraction is A secret.
Gravity is A law.
Action is A principle.
And so it goes.
None of it stands alone.
The person who asked the question at the top of this post just needs to recognize there is work to do, and then go do it. Those back-end products might help you along the way, so I’d be grateful for them, too.
When I was learning to be a pilot, I took courses, bought extra books, and more, all to give me an edge. Same with becoming a copywriter, or a marketer, or a musician. Those “back-end” products truly helped me understand and integrate what I was learning. And I still invest in support materials today, as well as in coaching, for whatever the next challenge happens to be.
The person who asked the question says they have “…the will to make it happen.”
If that’s true, then nothing will stop you and all is available for you.
Actively follow your dream.
That’s “The Only Secret” to success.
Ao Akua,
joe
PS — There’s no “one method” to wealth attraction, either, but discover what can work for you at my November event in Austin, Texas. Click the image below for details –