How a Plastic Surgeon Revolutionized Self-Image and Neuroscience
You may have heard about Dr. Maxwell Maltz’s book, Psycho-Cybernetics. The story behind this book is fascinating. Published in 1960, it was the first major work on positive imagery.
However, Dr. Maltz was not a psychologist but a plastic surgeon. He corrected defects or injuries on people’s faces and observed that post-surgery, many of his patients experienced significant changes in their personalities. Their way of speaking, walking, and even the tone of their voices changed.
Interestingly, some patients, despite undergoing successful surgeries, insisted that there had been no change in their appearance. Even when reassured by family and friends, they couldn’t perceive any difference. Dr. Maltz was surprised, almost as if these patients were deliberately ignoring the changes. This led him to develop a theory: our self-image, comprising our internal strengths and weaknesses, governs our behavior. Physical changes only matter if they alter our self-image.
Dr. Maltz argued that we cannot surpass our self-image. Many people are so attached to their self-image that they fail to notice changes like those brought about by plastic surgery. He illustrated this with a story about a university basketball player. The player believed he couldn’t make a three-pointer shot, a notion ingrained in him since childhood. To challenge this belief, his coach told him that practice wouldn’t end until he made ten shots. Initially, the player treated it as a joke, but as time went on, he realized the coach was serious. He eventually made the shots, but his self-doubt persisted. Despite the achievement, he didn’t believe he could do it in a match and was soon dropped from the team.
Maltz’s theory posits that our brains work based on the images and feedback we create. When we set goals and work towards them, small changes in our self-image start to manifest. If we don’t make these changes, old habits resurface, and we revert to our starting point. Over time, appropriate changes in self-image help us achieve our goals. This theory still holds in modern neuroscience. Scientists claim that the brain cannot differentiate between imagination and reality. Whether we worry about the future or face an actual situation, the brain reacts similarly, releasing the same neurochemicals and triggering the same hormones. This process, known as “Neurons That Fire Together,” shapes our thought patterns and belief systems.
Visualization also activates the Reticular Activating System (RAS), which scans and filters new signals from the environment. When we focus on an idea for a long time, our brain starts noticing related news, information, and opportunities. Visualizing our goals helps us see ideas and information that we might have previously overlooked.
Many people today find comfort in visualization through feel-good videos and articles. But what makes visualization effective? Insights from psychologists and coaches, who achieve measurable results with young athletes, can help. Freestyle skier Emily Cook offers a valuable tip: understand why you are visualizing — whether it’s to eliminate fear or reinforce a technique. She wrote and recorded her visualization techniques and listened to them daily, finding this practice extremely helpful.
For those struggling with visualization, Cook suggests writing down and recording the technique, then using it as a guided visualization. A study from the University of California provides further insights. Students were asked to visualize achieving good grades and the joy of getting a good job. However, this group performed 20% worse than another group that visualized the revision process. The latter group spent more time studying and achieved better grades.
This study was repeated with tennis players and golfers, who not only practiced more but also improved their practice quality. An Ohio State University study involved music students visualizing in two groups. The first group saw themselves playing music in the first person, while the second group visualized themselves in the third person, performing on stage. The latter group performed better, possibly because third-person visualization requires more mental effort, activating more neural connections.
The content of this story is from the book Psycho-Cybernetics by Dr. Maxwell Maltz. If you interested to read this book then you can check this out HERE.
Sports psychologist Dr. Michael Jarvey emphasizes creating a fully immersive experience during visualization. Athletes should use all five senses — seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling, and touching — during visualization. This detailed rehearsal helps the body react automatically in real situations.
German psychologist Gabriel Oettingen, known for her work on motivational thinking, uses a technique called “mental contrasting,” where both success and potential obstacles are visualized. By planning steps to overcome challenges, people can stay motivated and achieve their goals.
Visualization has been successfully employed by business managers, housewives, students, athletes, and various professionals. Practicing detailed visualization can lead to positive changes in your self-image and subconscious mind.
