Chapter 6. The Magic of Thinking Big (visualized)
You are What You Think You Are
Key takeaway
Your thinking and self-image governs what you achieve. Like a thermostat, it sets the level of your accomplishments.
Three central points:
Build a better you by thinking of yourself as already being the person you want to become. Your brain can't tell the difference between imagined and real experiences.
Look important because it helps you think important. Your appearance affects how you think about yourself and how others react to you.
Think success, don't think failure. Focus your mind on your best qualities and desired outcomes instead of your weaknesses.
This isn't delusional thinking – it's about recognizing your true potential and acting accordingly.
Success comes from managing your thoughts about yourself rather than from raw talent or intelligence alone.
My thoughts
I'm a day late with this newsletter – our household has the flu. Fever, coughs and massive amounts of snot.
But that and this chapter got me thinking about mind over matter. As there certainly is truth in “you are what you think you are”, but I can't think away my fever.
Even so, during my PhD and current job I learned about the intriguing connection between mind and body.
Take clinical studies. We always include two groups: one gets the experimental treatment, the other gets a placebo (dummy treatment).
Why give fake medicine instead of nothing?
Because of the placebo effect – when belief in treatment triggers healing. Simply taking a pill you trust can help you recover, regardless of what's in it.
Pretty magical.
The placebo effect has decades of documentation and scientific evidence. But there's a darker side: the nocebo effect.
If you believe something will harm you, it often does.
Consider statins, cholesterol-lowering medication. Many patients expect muscle pain as a side effect – and experience it. Sometimes caused by the statins, sometimes not, but the pain is real regardless.
In one study1, patients alternated monthly between statins and placebos, unaware which they were taking. And their self-reported symptoms often showed no link to statin use.
When shown their own illogical data, half the patients who had quit statins because of pain resumed treatment. So by seeing the disconnect between statins and symptoms, they neutralized the nocebo effect.
It’s interesting to think about these mental influences in your daily life.
The phrase "fake it till you make it” always sounded hollow to me, but that’s essentially what this chapter tells us to do.
Except that you’re not really faking - you’re seeing yourself as you truly could be.
And the placebo and nocebo effects show that as long as you believe in that self-image, the rest will magically follow.
So maybe I cán think away the flu?
More visuals
This chapter also had a famous story about three bricklayers with hugely different thoughts on their work, which
has written and illustrated about in this post.Another great illustrator for this topic is Marloes from Lines by Loes.
For instance, she illustrated:
There is really much more to see on her public profiles and her newsletter is also a big recommendation, check it out!
Useful quotes
Look your best and you will think and act your best
Think: I’m important. I do have what it takes. I am a first-class performer.
The only real basis other people have for judging your abilities is your actions.
The job attitudes of our direct reports are direct reflections of our own job attitudes.
Reading status
Almost halfway. Seven more chapters to go :)
If you’re new here, you can still follow along by getting the book by David J. Schwartz here2 or read back any of the previous visualized chapters using the links below.
Next week we dive into the a chapter about Manage Your Environment: Go First Class.
✔ Ch 6. You are What You Think You Are (this week)
Ch 7. Manage Your Environment: Go First Class (next week)
Ch 8. Make Your Attitudes Your Allies
Ch 9. Think Right Toward People
Ch 10. Get the Action Habit
Ch 11. How to Turn Defeat into Victory
Ch 12. Use Goals to Help you Grow
Ch 13. How to Think like a Leader
There are multiple studies on the nocebo effect, especially with statins, but this is the one I’m reffering to here.
I use an Amazon affiliate link. When you buy anything on Amazon using this link, you support my work without it costing you a penny. Win-win ❤