IMDb Credits

I’ve been watching Will Smith, mainly on TV, since he first showed up on UK TV in the mid-1990s as the "Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air". I’m sure I’m far from the only one and among readers here some will know his work far better than me.

Since his first appearance, he’s notched up at least 770 credits on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb). That's a remarkable achievement over about 27 years.

He is not just defined by his acting abilities. His list of roles includes writing, composing, singing/rapping, acting, directing, producing plus many celebrity appearances.

Among his “talents” (he’d tell you they’re not talents), he takes pride in his work ethic. He always likes to be first to arrive and the last to leave ... and simply loves to help others. He credits his Mother and Grandmother with instilling this mindset.

His natural inclination towards helping others has led to him becoming something of an accidental self-help guru. He simply loves to share his philosophy of life.

Unlike most self-help gurus, he’s not trying to make a living from his words of wisdom, although I’m sure they help his excellent image. Also, his thinking is communicated clearly and to the point.

6 Words Of Wisdom

Here I share just one example that I think delivers a simple yet profound insight.

Now 52 years old (2021) he’s kept himself amazingly fit and healthy.

When, in the past, he’s been asked about this, he’s talked about self-discipline.

He states that he believes that self-discipline is the definition of self-love.

I repeat that... he believes that self-discipline is the definition of self-love

He expands on that idea citing an inner voice (my words... in effect a part of his subconscious mind that automatically looks after his interests).

He says that whenever he wants to do something that might be satisfying but not necessarily good for him his inner voice interrupts with: “I love you too much to ...... “ (fill in the blanks).

For example... “I love you too much to eat that pizza”. Beautifully simple... and his inner voice forces his conscious mind to make a decision. He then has to take responsibility consciously for his actions.

Self-discipline is essentially a conscious mind activity. I am certain from the way Will Smith talks that this sentence... “I love you too much to...”, is a well-developed habit for him.

Some of you may have come across this simple habit before... I hadn’t until yesterday... so over the next few weeks and months, I’ll be installing these 6 words: “I love you too much to...” in order to develop the habit of the interrupting, challenging, inner voice.

Change Of Mindset

Mindset is a function of a collection of subconscious habits.

Developing a habit is something of a meta-system. As the habit develops it starts joining in and reinforcing itself. But although change can sometimes be fast, it sometimes takes a great deal of repetition. This is an area I've been working with since the early 1980s.

When I first studied this, much of the evidence was criticised as being non-scientific and purely anecdotal. Over the years, many studies of how the brain and minds work supports the value of self-talk.

You start by consciously repeating a few words to yourself... and (importantly) consciously clarifying the context.

Since self-discipline is about making and taking responsibility for a decision, I might say to myself (that is, say consciously, to my subconscious):
“Whenever I’m tempted to do something that is not in my best interests at the time, please remind me that you love me too much to do whatever it is... so that I'm forced to consciously decide my next step”.

I will effectively be asking my subconscious to help me act with awareness.

After a few days of repetition (typically 10 times, twice each day) the words and context begin to be taken on by the subconscious mind. Then after a while, the subconscious begins to play them back when the conditions of the context are met.

This is how affirmations work of course. But most people fail to consciously describe a context and don’t use affirmations long enough.

It's true that some habits, especially when installed visually and with appropriate feelings, can be implemented very fast. Most of the time (especially when just talking to self) installation takes something between 30 and 90 days of repetition.

In my case, it will most likely get used for disciplines such as:

I love you too much to... take the car when you can walk.
I love you too much to... watch that video when this post is half-written.
I love you too much to... eat that slice of chocolate cake.
etc

(So, after a few days I'll be reinforcing the message, in addition to self-talk, visualising the activity being interrupted and conjuring up good feelings related to getting things done.)

If you feel that self-discipline is sometimes a challenge for you, then I challenge you to consider doing the same.

If you wish, you can of course search online for Will Smith and self-discipline. His self-talk insights surprised me.

If you have anything to add... please do... I look forward to the conversation.
:-)
Richard