Zuehlke

The Law of Acting As-If

If you do not get past the first paragraph, here is the secret to learning new skills. Ask yourself this question:

If you were already a master at this new skill, specifically what would you be doing differently?

Itemized differences must be observable: facial expressions, mudras (hand gestures), postures, or changes in the pitch, rhythm and tone of your voice. Your thoughts must change including beliefs and expectations. You have to expect to succeed or there is no improvement.

In speed reading the first noticeable deviation from snailing 200 words per minute with up to 70% comprehension, is how you use your eyes.

a) Go Lizard, means activating your peripheral vision to see

up to six words wide instead of your old-tyme one-word

wide.

b)You use a handheld pacer to read and underline the text to activate your vestibulo-ocular-reflex.

c) You use our Notefisting schema to ask yourself seven

questions of the text as you read.

c)You use your Peg and Link system to 2x your long- term memory.

Mental Movies

To change an old skill to a new and better one, the key step is to create a new DVD to file in your hippocampus (memory bank). Imagine each skill you own having a DVD you access each time you use it. Tying your shoes, typing and surfing the internet have imbedded programs. To learn a new way, you must replace the old with a new DVD, playing your new skill mental movie.

How

Sit down, close your eyes and practice seeing yourself using the new, better skill. In speed reading it is first, moving your head left-to-right and vice-versa as you second, mentally visualize using your finger to move down (underline) the text.

You nonconscious mind (right brain) does not differentiate between physical practice (training) and mental (mirror neurons) rehearsal. Both reinforce (strengthen) your neural network connections. Practice makes perfect is a law of learning and improved memory.

Google: Stephen Kosslyn, Harvard research.

Tiger Woods in golf and other pros in baseball, football and tennis, physically and mentally (meditate) imagine super success before they play their sport.

Professor William James

Back in 1897 at Harvard Dr. James explain his theory of acting as-if in a lecture called The Will To Believe. He summed it up, Evidence will come to verify new beliefs and activities (skills) that we could not have been achieved any other way.

He saw the law of Acting as-if as a lever to change our status-quo. James said, When you begin a new skill, you continue to act as if the old skill is still dominant. Humans get friendly with their comfort-zone, even when it disables the improved outcome they desire.

The first step is to mentally and physically inhibit the activities of your old skill. It requires a new intention to improve, and daily practice to create a new status-quo.

Acting Plus

To install a new skill and place it on auto-pilot, we must first feel as-if, believe as-if, think as-if, and finally act as-if, the new skill is the only way to behave. In speed reading, we install the new system on our right-brain, while snailing (stardard reading) remains within our left-brain.

Transitional Curve

You have seen the results of a learning curve. Some folks have a long (slow) learning curve, while others are blessed with a short (quick) one. It is often the difference in your career fast-track and promotions.

Remember before you could ride a bike, drive your car or use the computer? Your Learning Curve in those areas was based on implanting entirely new skills.

We also have a transitional curve, when we attempt to change a skill already on auto-pilot. Speed reading is an improvement over snailing because you read and remember three books, articles and reports in the time others can hardly finish one.

How to Improve Your Transitional Curve

You first convince yourself there is a significant benefit in changing the status-quo. Next, you practice daily using the new skill, and avoiding the old programming. You rehearse (practice) by making mental-movies using and enjoying the benefits of the new approach.

Can you imagine a short movie staring you being handed a $10,000 bonus check for being executive of the year? Students can practice seeing themselves with an A+ on their finals. Acting as-if helps create the reality by building your self-confidence and new beliefs of mastery.

Endwords

We have asked this question of two thousand:

What was the last significant skill you learned since graduating?

More than 89% could not recall one new skill. In the process of information processing, (learning to read), it ends with Ms. Harrison in the 3rd grade. Imagine, your learning strategies today are identical to those you were taught at age 9.

Perhaps change is appropriate to improve your speed, comprehension and long-term memory. Over the next eighteen months the information on the Internet will double. Will you own the working skills, or do you defer to your competition?

See ya,

copyright 2007 H. Bernard Wechsler www.speedlearning.org hbw@speedlearning.org