Summary of Nate Zinsser's The Confident Mind

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.

Book Preview: #1 You can armor yourself against any unexpected turn of events and the difficulties of life by building a personal mental fortress. You start with some strong foundations, and naturally, because this is a mental bank account, your foundations are mental too.

#2 The four pillars of a kick-ass confident attitude are the mind-body connection, human imperfection, the action of the autonomic nervous system, and the delayed returns of continued practice.

#3 The mind-body connection was first established in the 1960s and 1970s, when many Westerners began paying attention to Eastern practices like yoga and meditation. The results were conclusive: when subjects changed how they thought and cultivated a peaceful, serene emotional state, their bodies responded with dramatic reductions in blood pressure, oxygen consumption, and heart rate.

#4 The connection between your thoughts, feelings, and physical state is constantly working to either enhance or degrade your performance. If your emotional state is driven by a flood of worrisome thoughts, it produces an accelerated heart rate, higher blood pressure, increased muscle tension, tunnel vision, and a cascade of stress hormones.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Mar 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781669354505

IRB Media

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Book preview

Insights on Nate Zinsser's The Confident Mind

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 9

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

You can armor yourself against any unexpected turn of events and the difficulties of life by building a personal mental fortress. You start with some strong foundations, and naturally, because this is a mental bank account, your foundations are mental too.

#2

The four pillars of a kick-ass confident attitude are the mind-body connection, human imperfection, the action of the autonomic nervous system, and the delayed returns of continued practice.

#3

The mind-body connection was first established in the 1960s and 1970s, when many Westerners began paying attention to Eastern practices like yoga and meditation. The results were conclusive: when subjects changed how they thought and cultivated a peaceful, serene emotional state, their bodies responded with dramatic reductions in blood pressure, oxygen consumption, and heart rate.

#4

The connection between your thoughts, feelings, and physical state is constantly working to either enhance or degrade your performance. If your emotional state is driven by a flood of worrisome thoughts, it produces an accelerated heart rate, higher blood pressure, increased muscle tension, tunnel vision, and a cascade of stress hormones.

#5

The sewer cycle is the opposite of the constructive cycle. It is characterized by negative thoughts about yourself and your performance, and it leads to poor performance and no victory. The good news is that you have a choice: you can choose to linger on the proper thoughts about yourself and your performance, or you can choose to be more consistently helpful in your thinking.

#6

Perfectionism is the drive to achieve high standards, but it can become destructive when taken to extremes. When you punish yourself for every mistake, error, and imperfection, you cannot be confident.

#7

Perfectionism can be healthy and motivating, but you must not demand it of yourself. Instead, strive for perfection, but don’t expect it. Learn to be curious about your imperfections, and view them as valuable sources of information.

#8

functional perfectionism is the act of striving to do your best, but also accepting that you might not get it right all the