Psychological Optimisation for the Thinking Person

Psychological Optimisation for the Thinking Person

The Optimal Mind

Have you ever wondered why there are dozens of new self-help, business and executive coaching books released every month?

Have you ever wondered why there are dozens of new self-help, business and executive coaching books released every month?

Why is it that even when the material from these books, seminars and coaches seems useful on the surface, months later you may realise you haven’t actually integrated it into your life to the degree you might have wished?

Why is it that even when the material from these books, seminars and coaches seems useful on the surface, months later you may realise you haven’t actually integrated it into your life to the degree you might have wished?

Even books that dominate the cultural landscape for a few years seem to reliably fade from public consciousness, and the train moves on…

Even books that dominate the cultural landscape for a few years seem to reliably fade from public consciousness, and the train moves on…

I'll put a Proposition to you...

In all areas of your life, you are making assumptions you don’t even know you are making when trying to analyse, achieve or perform.

This is even the case for things you think are objectively true and largely immune to interpretation…

The boiling point of water is 100 degrees Celsius. But wait, you say, this is about as objectively true as anything can realistically be!

Is it?

The quality of your life, the effectiveness of your strategies, and the level of your outcomes, performance, contentment and results in life are directly related to the quality of your conditioning and assumptions.

Let’s look back at the boiling point of water...

It is 100 degrees Celsius. This is settled science, you say. You can walk around New York or Sydney testing that everywhere, and it is 100 degrees. Plus, you learnt it at school. Plus...

What assumption are you making when you say the boiling point of water is 100 degrees Celsius? You get some points if you say, "Well, the Celsius scale is an artificially created scale, so it is not 'real' in that sense".

Give yourself another minute or two to ponder…

The assumption you are making that you most likely don’t know you are making when you proclaim that the boiling point of water is 100 degrees is...

that you are at sea level.

IF YOU WENT HIGH UP IN THE HIMALAYAS...​

you will find that water may boil at 85 degrees Celsius or even lower, depending on how high you are.

In fact, it is entirely plausible, depending on the degree to which Western ideas have been transmitted, that the children of that city or village may be taught that water boils at 85 degrees Celsius, and this will be proven empirically to them. As far as anyone who lives there is concerned, this will be a settled fact.

And if you are in a mission-critical situation in your life that depends on proverbial boiling water and you are a New Yorker in the Himalayas or a Himalayan in New York, you might get confusing, suboptimal or downright dangerous results.

IF YOU WENT HIGH UP IN THE HIMALAYAS...​

you will find that water may boil at 85 degrees Celsius or even lower, depending on how high you are.

In fact, it is entirely plausible, depending on the degree to which Western ideas have been transmitted, that the children of that city or village may be taught that water boils at 85 degrees Celsius, and this will be proven empirically to them. As far as anyone who lives there is concerned, this will be a settled fact.

And if you are in a mission-critical situation in your life that depends on proverbial boiling water and you are a New Yorker in the Himalayas or a Himalayan in New York, you might get confusing, suboptimal or downright dangerous results.

The problem we have...

is that we can build very high-resolution theories and structures on top of very low-resolution assumptions and not make much headway towards what we are aiming at, or at the very least achieve frustratingly inconsistent results.

The optimal mind is not about slick "New Technologies" or buzzwords.

It is about going those extra steps to seeing what psychological and philosophical foundation your actions are built on and improving their quality.

It is not about throwing out everything you have or know about professional or personal development. It is about getting more out of what you already “know” and what you come across in the future.

It is not saying, “This is right, and everyone else is wrong.” It is creating the assumptions, filters and processes that are high quality and functional to serve you most effectively in pursuing and living the life you want. You might be surprised at how smooth that process can be. You don’t have to walk between New York and Los Angeles – you can take a plane. Once you are in the groove, you may wonder why you didn’t do it before. The structural challenge is that it is difficult to be independent of our own observations, so everything is obvious when it is obvious and not before…

Angus Munro Headshot

Angus Munro

Principal, Optimal Mind

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Qualifications

  • Master of Clinical Psychology Macquarie University
  • Bachelor of Science (Psychology) - First Class Honours University of Southern Queensland
  • Graduate Diploma of Psychological Studies University of Southern Queensland
  • Master of Business Administration University of Southern Queensland
  • Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting/Finance) University of New South Wales

Professional Associations

  • Registered Psychologist with the Psychology Board of Australia (PBA)
  • Associate Member of the Australian Psychological Society (AMAPS)
  • Member of the APS College of Clinical Psychologists
  • Member of the Australian Association for Cognitive and Behaviour Therapy (AACBT)
  • Member of the Association for Contextual Behavioural Science (ACBS)
  • Member of the Anxiety Practitioner's Network (APN)
  • Member of the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Interest Group of the APS
  • Member of Australian Clinical Psychology Association (ACPA)
  • Member of the Coaching Psychology Interest Group of the APS

From a very young age, I developed two pivotal axioms that have influenced the way I think and work with clients. I will let you know what they are shortly.

One day, when I was around two and a half, my mother was on the phone while I was in the back garden. I looked through the gate and saw the big park across the road. I had been there before with my mother. It was a nice day, and it seemed enticing. I wanted to go and play and explore. My barrier was this large gate.

The picture shows the exact gate the same as it was decades ago.

I stood in front of that gate for a few minutes. I decided it was an obstacle I would overcome. I worked out a way to overcome it and did. Looking back now at this gate, I don’t know how my two-and-a-half-year-old self could even dream that big on that day. Perhaps it was a form of functional stubbornness or innocent idealism or both, or something else. Children that age probably see Harry Potter as a documentary. I went to the furthest reaches of the park, enjoying my play and exploration. Even though this was so close to my house, it was like an undiscovered country to me.

Needless to say, at some point panic arose as my mother worked out I was no longer at home. Drama ensued, and I was located and brought home.

I still remember my parents arguing about who left the gate open. It was an argument built on a faulty assumption. That day birthed two axioms that have permeated my life and thinking ever since:

WHO MADE THAT RULE?

and

THERE IS ALWAYS A WAY.

The Gate - TOM

WHO MADE THAT RULE?

and

THERE IS ALWAYS A WAY.

From a very young age, I developed two pivotal axioms that have influenced the way I think and work with clients. I will let you know what they are shortly.

One day, when I was around two and a half, my mother was on the phone while I was in the back garden. I looked through the gate and saw the big park across the road. I had been there before with my mother. It was a nice day, and it seemed enticing. I wanted to go and play and explore. My barrier was this large gate.

The picture shows the exact gate the same as it was decades ago.

I stood in front of that gate for a few minutes. I decided it was an obstacle I would overcome. I worked out a way to overcome it and did. Looking back now at this gate, I don’t know how my two-and-a-half-year-old self could even dream that big on that day. Perhaps it was a form of functional stubbornness or innocent idealism or both, or something else. Children that age probably see Harry Potter as a documentary. I went to the furthest reaches of the park, enjoying my play and exploration. Even though this was so close to my house, it was like an undiscovered country to me.

Needless to say, at some point panic arose as my mother worked out I was no longer at home. Drama ensued, and I was located and brought home.

I still remember my parents arguing about who left the gate open. It was an argument built on a faulty assumption. That day birthed two axioms that have permeated my life and thinking ever since:

WHO MADE THAT RULE?

and

THERE IS ALWAYS A WAY.

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