The Method, step 2: conceive of new emotions

Step 2, the Method’s first active step, is to pick your direction, the key word being your. You will transform yourself based on your emotions, based on your wiring, meaning based on your values, meaning, and purpose. Not anyone else’s. You already clarified your boundaries in step 1 so you won’t do anything you consider wrong.

The beauty of this step is that because of it, the more you transform your life, the more you make it consistent with what you consider important — your emotions, values, meaning, and purpose. Therefore the more you will live the life you want, free of external constraints other people impose on you.

Your next step will be to think of ways to create these emotions through changing the other three parts of your emotional cycle, so choose ones you’ll like to experience.

Here are new emotions that would fit with the three examples from step 1.

Running a marathon

New emotions: Excitement, dedication, discipline

Becoming more entrepreneurial

New emotions: Excitement, leadership, accountability

Improving Public Speaking

New emotions: Excitement, fun, nothing to lose

How do you choose what new emotions to adopt?

Besides choosing ones consistent with your wiring, the Method is based in taking responsibility and creating circumstances for oneself. One of the most effective ways to create situations and emotions you want is to use the principle “Don’t look for blame but take responsibility for making things better to the extent you can.” Blaming the world might make me feel better in the short-term, but blaming others (or “the world” or “the universe”) leads me to believe I don’t have the power to improve my situation so I don’t.

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About Joshua

Former rocket scientist now entrepreneur, leadership coach, speaker, and artist, Joshua Spodek (PhD ’00, Astrophysics; MBA ’06; both Columbia University) has succeeded at many big things that few people even try. More importantly, he loves everything he does. A modern renaissance man, he studied with Nobel Prize winners and helped build a European Space Agency X-ray satellite to observe supernova remnants, then started a business now operating globally based on several of his patents. He coaches leadership with the Columbia Business School Program on Social Intelligence and taught at New York University and the New School. He earned five Ivy-League diplomas; has shown his art in solo gallery shows and museums and installed large public art in New York and around the world; socializes with Academy Award winners; ran five marathons; and competed at national and global sporting events. He has been quoted and profiled in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, USA Today, Fortune, CNN, and the major broadcast networks. Esquire Magazine named him “Best and Brightest” in its annual Genius issue. More here: http://joshuaspodek.com/about
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2 Responses to The Method, step 2: conceive of new emotions

  1. Pingback: The Method, step 3: conceive of new environments, beliefs, and behaviors | Joshua Spodek

  2. Pingback: The Method: exercise in new beliefs | Joshua Spodek

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