GREATEST REWARD THEORY

Relentless positive focus
Expectations
Rules for life
In and Out
If / Then 
Reward vs Pain 

WILL THIS BE REWARDING?

All decisions are based on will this be rewarding or will this be painful? And though we know some things can seem ‘painful’ in the short term ultimately they can be rewarding. And though some things can seem rewarding in the short term we know they are ultimately pain in the end. 

WHAT SHOULD I DO?

So we are deciphering and trying to arrive at the ultimate conclusion: what should we do in this moment?  How should we behave? What thoughts should we think? Whom should we associate with? 
And simultaneously we’re also ruling out all the things that we shouldn’t be doing, thinking or associating with. 

It’s a lot! Which explains why one might feel ‘stress’ the sorting mechanism or the filter has seemingly MORE to filter than it can handle and so it gets stressed.

REDUCTION OF STIMULI = LESS FILTERING

There is more to filter now than ever before.. our biology hasn’t upgraded as fast as the environmental stimulus. And so it’s doing the best it can with what it has .. and at the same time processors, information, connectivity .. are growing at an exponential rate and the mind / body / choice mechanism must maintain a certain level of simplicity to keep from getting overloaded. It must simplify , reduce and be ever more thoughtful and wise about what it will or won’t consume – to reduce the amount of filtering necessary to function at optimum levels. 

REDUCTION of stimuli then is the first major course to restoring sanity and recharging body and mind. One way I do this is through using an eye mask and ear plugs. By entering this internal world the only stimuli I have left is my thoughts, which at times is enough! 

In the physical environment reducing all your choices down into some key values or goals that you have for your life will help you become a better filter as well.  

INTERNAL vs EXTERNAL

So if you noticed the first major filter we use is INTERNAL vs EXTERNAL .. and to go internal we reduce outside stimuli. Sometimes shutting the eyes alone is not enough especially if you find yourself in a noisy or easily interrupted environment so using an eye mask and ear plugs might be the added buffer you need from the outside world to go within. 

We’ll talk more about what to do once you go within in a moment but for now this is the first way to ‘arrive’ at the position where you’re only filtering internal stimuli.

KEY VALUES AND GOALS

For external stimuli, reducing everything down into some core values or outcomes that you’d like to realize will help you say NO to most other things. If you don’t have clear values or outcomes you won’t really know how to filter – and find yourself drawn to whatever grabs attention the most. The thing that dings, chimes, or stimulates you the most – not necessarily the most beneficial thing to your physical or mental health! 

GREATEST REWARD THEORY

So now this brings us to WHAT IS the most beneficial things you could be focus on in the external environment.

PHYSICAL HEALTH

The first thing is your physical body. It’s your interface with the physical world and you only get one. So making an outcome like VITALITY high on your priority list is a great place to start. This now means you’ll have to STOP all the things that zap your vitality and focus on all the things that enhance it. There’s no perfect formula for this but as you study your body and notice the various things that add to your energy or take away from it, you’ll get better at optimizing for energy. 

MENTAL HEALTH

The second most powerful thing you can do is optimize your mental health. Focusing on positive thoughts and dwelling on the most high – takes great discipline. Especially during today’s world. It can help to play affirmations and positive videos throughout the day. Listen to positive sound tracks and essentially stimulate your mind with positive, motivating, inspiring things as much as possible to cultivate that garden of positivity. 

Now I’m not suggesting that you avoid or ignore any warning signs or signals from the mind that you should pay attention to something for survival. I’m suggesting that you cultivate as much positivity as possible so you can resolve those things from a high state. And stay focused on solutions rather than the problems. 

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

The third most powerful thing you can do is to organize your physical environment itself. Since you’ll be spending a lot of time here (wherever ‘here’ or ‘home’ is for you) .. it should be optimized to reflect your internal values .. such as vitality or mental health, and any other outcome or value you determine to be a high priority. 

A tidy environment, where everything has its place.. and you have plenty of white space to capture new ideas or inspiration, such as white boards, sheets of paper etc. And organized storage and filing of this information will help your mind and body to relax and for you to feel more welcome by the environment around you. Hang up imagery that creates positive emotional triggers, such as family photos and favorite experiences. Update this environment regularly as your brain responds well to new / novelty even if you’re just cycling through the same images it will have a greater positive benefit. 
By creating these Positive Emotional Triggers or PETs in your environment, you make it easier to focus on the positive and be invited by the environment to have a better day even without having to consciously think about doing it. 

IT TAKES WILL TO INITIATE AND DISCIPLINE TO MAINTAIN

As you may have noticed in the three examples – initially doing any of these things takes will to initiate. But after initiated – there’s a residual effect that requires less discipline. 
For example once you’ve decided to put on the eye mask and ear plugs.. its EASIER to stay in the internal state and start optimizing your internal world. Because the eye mask and ear plugs help you to stay there. 

HIGHER STATES & LESS FRICTION MAKE IT EASIER

Once you’ve decided to make vitality an important part of your every day life, and you start removing the things from your life that no longer serve you – you find it EASIER to stay there in a higher state, making it EASIER to make additional changes. 

Once you’ve decided that you’re going to really optimize your mental health and start playing affirmations, positive videos and create PETs (Positive Emotional Triggers) in your environment – you make it EASIER to feel good even when you’re not thinking about it. 

The easier it is to be and feel the way you want to be and feel, the MORE LIKELY you are to realize those outcomes. That’s because when we REDUCE FRICTION to the flow of our life force energy, the easier it is for that life force energy to flow where we want it to.

 We utilize a little conscious thought and discipline in establishing the guardrails and path for our consciousness to flow, and so it does. Essentially we are the system creators for our own life force energy, beginning with our internal worlds, our personal body and our personal environment. 

THE EASIER IT IS, THE MORE LIKELY WE ARE TO DO IT AND EXPERIENCE THE REWARDS FOR DOING SO

The easier we make it for our energy to flow in the direction of where we want it to, the more likely and more frequent we are to show up in those places, doing those things, making it easier to become habitual, making it easier to do them on a regular basis, making it easier to experience the rewards of doing those things and eliminating the negative outcomes associated with not doing those things. Essentially we create a very fulfilling and lucky life in this way.. by setting it up so that the probability of having this kind of life is probable, not just possible.