The PMA Effect

by John Joseph

So let me ask you, what’s your passion? What are you here to give? What gift can you offer the planet that no one else can offer in quite the same way? What makes you jump out of bed in the morning? That thing you never get sick and tired of? That thing you get so engrossed in that you never want to stop? You find that, my friends, and you will be one happy, badass, motherfucking human.

Personally, I chant the acronym KISS constantly: “Keep It Simple, Stupid.” I know not to overcomplicate things by overthinking them. I try to be like that child, believing that anything and everything is possible. You have to keep dreaming. Once you stop, it’s a slow death inside.

I’m willing to bet the farm you can do things you’ve never imagined possible. But only if you take the steps, make the plan, and start—not next week, not tomorrow, but today.

The real test is how you treat others you can’t gain something from. When you show an attitude of service and respect through your actions and not just your words, and you practice that day after day, you become a more positive person.

willpower only manifests through routine discipline. I don’t give a shit how smart you are; you have to stay focused and disciplined to get anywhere in this world. You have to have a plan and then execute it. If you float through life without a plan, it’s only natural that you’ll find yourself surrendering and caving to the dictates of your enemy mind and thus setting yourself up for a life of misery. That’s why I keep writing down my plans and putting them on my corkboard. Then I execute again and again.

Well-disciplined people are also perseverant. They have self-control and are not easily allured by distractions that draw them away from what they’re trying to achieve.

You’re not allowed to be a slacker and then complain when things don’t turn out the way you want.

I spoke to endurance athletes, combat-experienced Navy SEALs, Army Rangers, high-level martial artists, UFC fighters, and a number of others. In talking with them the one thing I understood was that they were all able to roll with the punches, as we say. If they got knocked down, they didn’t let that apparent failure define them. They got up and kept going toward their goal. That’s because resilient people don’t let adversity define them. They see negative setbacks as temporary.

This is why I highly recommend developing a strong fitness routine and getting in shape, which can do wonders for your mental toughness and resilience. Being fit gives you a certain sense of control over challenges that may come up.

author and motivational speaker Jean Chatzky: “Resilience isn’t a single skill. It’s a variety of skills and coping mechanisms. To bounce back from bumps in the road as well as failures, you should focus on emphasizing the positive.”

The nature of anything nonpermanent is it causes hankering and lamentation. You hanker for something, you get it, and after a while you’re dissatisfied and off chasing the next mirage. It’s called the law of diminishing returns.

You have to do things especially when you don’t want to. A deep resistance to a particular task usually indicates a deep need for it—those tasks are usually related to self-improvement.

wise words from author Eckhart Tolle: “To complain is always nonacceptance of what is. It invariably carries an unconscious negative charge. When you complain, you make yourself into a victim. When you speak out, you are in power. So change the situation by taking action or by speaking out if necessary or possible; leave the situation or accept it. All else is madness.”

In the Vedas it says that of the five senses, the tongue is the most difficult and voracious to control.

Always remain in the consciousness that nothing is owed to you. The entitled can never be happy.

“Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habit. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.” —Lao Tzu