Your Key to a Better Lifeby Maxwell MaltzThe most important psychological of this century is the discovery of the self-image. Whether we realize it or not, each of us carries about with us a mental blueprint or picture of ourselves. It may be vague and ill-defined to our conscious gaze. In fact, it may not be consciously recognizable at all. But it is there, complete down to the last detail. This self-image is our own conception of the sort of person I am. It has been built up from our own beliefs about ourselves. But most of these beliefs about ourselves have unconsciously been formed our past experiences, our successes and failures, our humiliations, our triumphs, and the way other people have reacted to us, especially in early childhood. From all these we mentally construct a self, (or a picture of a self). Once an idea or a belief about ourselves goes into this picture it becomes true, as far as we personally are concerned. We do not question its validity, but proceed to act upon it just as if it were true.This self-image becomes a golden key to living a better life because of two important discoveries:1. All your actions, feelings, behavior - even your abilities - are always consistent with this self-image.In short, you will act like the sort of person you conceive yourself to be. Not only this, but you literally cannot act otherwise, in spite of all your conscious efforts or will power. The man who conceives himself to be a failure type person will find some way to fail, in spite of all his good intentions, or his will power, even if opportunity is literally dumped in his lap. The person who conceives himself to be a victim of injustice, one who was meant to suffer will invariably find circumstances to verify his opinions.The self-image is a premise, a base, or a foundation upon which your entire personality, your behavior, and even your circumstances are built. Because of this our experiences seem to verify, and thereby strengthen our self-images, and a vicious or a beneficent cycle, as the case may be, is set up.For example, a schoolboy who sees himself as an F type student, or one who is dumb in mathematics, will invariably find that his report card bears him out. He then has proof. A young girl who has an image of herself as the sort of person nobody likes, will find indeed that she is avoided at the school dance. She literally invites rejection. Her woebegone expression, her hang-dog manner, her over-anxiousness to please, or perhaps her unconscious hostility towards those she anticipates will affront her - all act to drive away those whom she would attract. In the same manner, a salesman or a businessman will also find that his actual experiences tend to prove his self-image is correct.Because of this objective proof it very seldom occurs to a person that his trouble lies in his self-image or his own evaluation of himself. Tell the schoolboy that he only thinks he cannot master algebra, and he will doubt your sanity. He has tried and tried, and still his report card tells the story. Tell the salesman that it is only an idea that he cannot earn more than a certain figure, and he can prove you wrong by his order book. He knows only too well how hard he has tried and failed. Yet, as we shall see later, almost miraculous changes have occurred both in grades of students, and in the earning capacity of salesmen - when they were prevailed upon to change their self-images.2. The self-image can be changed. Numerous case histories have shown that one is never too young nor too old to change his self-image and thereby start to live a new life.One of the reasons it has seemed so difficult for a person to change his habits, his personality, or his way of life, has been that heretofore nearly all efforts at change have been directed to the circumference of the self, so to speak, rather than to the center. Numerous patients have said to me something like the following: If you are talking about positive thinking, Ive tried that before, and it just doesnt work for me. However, a little questioning invariably brings out that these individuals have employed positive thinking, or attempted to employ it, either upon particular external circumstances, or upon some particular habit or character defect (I will get that job. I will be more calm and relaxed in the future. This business venture will turn out right for me, etc.) But they had never thought to change their thinking of the self which was to accomplish these things.Jesus warned us about the folly of putting a patch of new material upon an old garment, or of putting new wine into old bottles. Positive thinking cannot be used effectively as a patch or a crutch to the same old self-image. In fact, it is literally impossible to really think positively about a particular situation, as long as you hold a negative concept of self. And, numerous experiments have shown that once the concept of self is changed, other