Is there really a way for “average” people to connect with their virtually limitless possibilities? Long before anyone heard of Tony Robbins and Stephen Covey, the great psychologist Abraham Maslow claimed that they did. In fact, Maslow was the original self-empowerment teacher who launched the modern motivational revolution. Maslow’s ideas on self-actualization, creativity, and well-being still influence not only psychology, but modern healthcare, education, management theory, organizational development, and even theology.
However, the concept that Maslow called his most important discovery, MetaValues (or what he designated Self-values), has been neglected and is in danger of being lost. Maslow insisted that the MetaValues are internal resources available to everyone. They change lives. They drive and inspire the top one percent of the world’s achievers, people that Dr. Maslow designated as Self-Actualizers. He claimed that MetaValues will one day lead to an explosion of human potential and foster: “A new image of man, a new image of society, a new image of nature, a new philosophy of science, a new economy, a new everything…”
The conventional view has prevailed that the self-actualizers are super people who live at sustained maximum levels of productivity and consciousness that are unattainable for most people. But modern discoveries have shown that the process of self-actualization can be a living, experienceable reality for the average person. The proven methodologies of Abraham Maslow’s most important insights into our virtually limitless possibilities can lift the lid on human potential. But how do we access this inner power? Follow the remarkable story of how this power to access internal reserves was acquired long ago by an Olympic trainer for American athletes.
Every battle is won or lost before fighting
The year was 1979. Charles Garfield, an American Olympic weightlifting coach, had been reading in Milan. After his talks, he began having conversations with a group of athletic performance experts from the Soviet Union who questioned many of Garfield’s training ideas. Several days of good-natured debate followed. During one of these late-night discussions, Garfield hinted that the only reason the Russian Block athletes had achieved such amazing results in competition was that they used drugs. This accusation offended Soviet experts. They insisted that Garfield accompany them to a gym, where they promised that they would reveal their secrets to world-class performance.
It was very late and the Soviets had to pull strings to get someone to open the training facility. Once inside, they carefully unpacked a large number of impressive instruments and hooked Garfield up to them. They then began intensively interviewing Garfield, making calculations and taking notes. How often did Garfield exercise with weights? Garfield replied that he had not done any major exercise for eight years. Back then, in his prime, he had bench-pressed 365 pounds. How much did Garfield think he could bench press now? Garfield suggested that he might be able to do 300 pounds, certainly not more than that. How long did he think it would take him to work up to 365 pounds? Garfield calculated that it would take him nine months to a year to reach his old record.
Then, at the urging of the trainers, Garfield attempted a 300-pound bench press. It was very difficult; he just made the lift. Now the Soviets began to make calculations and measurements again, even taking a blood test. At last, they announced that they were ready to complete their demo.
Garfield sat on a bench, still connected to the monitor network. They told him to relax, to lie down and relax. Soviet scientists convinced him to sink into a deeper and deeper state of relaxation. Although wide awake and alert, Garfield eventually felt calmer than he ever had in his life. The Soviets suggested that his arms were getting warm and heavy. Garfield began to feel a noticeable tingling throughout his body. After forty minutes in a deep, meditative, and receptive state, the trainers kindly suggested that he sit and gaze at the bar in front of him. He had been loaded at 365 pounds, sixty-five pounds more than the weight he had just lifted before!
“Imagine walking up to the bar with complete confidence,” a trainer whispered in her ear. “See yourself lying down and really pressing the weight. In your mind you should feel the cool bar, the rough, ridged area to grip; hear the rattle of the weights; hear your own breathing.” The suggestion triggered an immediate anxiety reaction from Garfield which sent the monitor readings into orbit. But the Soviet trainers were calmly confident. They continually assured him of their power. They urged him to see himself raising the bar.
His monologue began to displace and replace the negative self-talk that had been going on in Garfield’s mind. They told her to zoom in and out of the positive visual images playing in his mind; see yourself from above, from the side; see his hands up close. Repeatedly, they went through the visualization process, asking him to imagine what his muscles would feel like when he completed the lift. In his famous book, “Peak Performance,” Garfield wrote of the amazing transformation taking place in his consciousness:
“Amazingly, everything began to come together for me… The images now imprinted in my mind began to guide my physical movements. Slowly and patiently, their voices sure but soft, the Soviets guided me through the elevator. I convinced myself that I could do it. The world around me seemed to fade away, giving way to self-confidence, belief in myself, and then deliberate action.”
When the Soviet experts saw that Garfield had reached the moment of maximum physical and mental resonance, they quickly disengaged him from the team. Garfield walked over, positioned himself, and quickly lifted the weight.
Charles Garfield never forgot the experience. He began developing new ideas about the possibilities of what he calls Peak Performance and applying them to US Olympians, with impressive results. He began writing books and lecturing on the untapped potential of all Americans, not just athletes. Garfield became a major figure in the Apollo program, training American astronauts. He saw a definite overlap between the work of Russian and American psychologists, especially Abraham Maslow. Garfield wrote:
“…I now have no doubt that the Soviets have long been aware of the work of American psychologist Abraham Maslow and his exploration of what he called ‘peak experiences’ and the emotional underpinnings that accompany those moments.”
Garfield’s experience in Milan was a natural and repeatable scientific experiment. It wasn’t a magic trick, but rather a demonstration of the importance of installing the right mental “software” before attempting to achieve maximum performance. Think about it. Nothing had materially changed in Garfield. He had exactly the same muscular build and mental capacity when he completed the lift as when he was sure it was impossible. The Soviets had managed to temporarily displace Garfield’s assumptions about his abilities by activating a newfound faith and confidence. His experience vividly demonstrated that our ability to do is directly correlated with the belief that we can do. Garfield’s feat was a valuable demonstration that a vivid state of mind of anticipated success is overwhelmingly powerful.
But is this something that you and I can aspire to? Can these lessons be applied to our own challenges? Later, after researching more than 1,500 top performers over a period of eighteen years, Charles Garfield concluded that any of us can learn the basic skills that exceptional performers have. Today, like never before in human history, we are challenged to manage change and embrace the future. Just like the athletes and astronauts of the last century, we must leave behind the limiting beliefs that keep us in our comfort zones.
More on the practical application of these principles in Part 2.