Wisdom Strategy Research Institute

Cybernetics is one of the core sets of distinctions making up the very foundation of what sets WSRI apart in the field of personal development. Since, it's our foundation, I thought that our members and readers should have a fundamental understanding of it.

The Greek word for "steersman" which is the root word that Cybernetics comes from, was first used by Plato to mean "self - governing". Along the same line, many mechanical devices have mechanisms called governors or regulators, which generally help the device to maintain optimal operating conditions.

There are 3 primary conditions necessary for a system to be considered a cybernetic system: a goal, feedback, and adjustment in response to the feedback.

The aim of a Cybernetic Calibration Systems Package is to create inside of the individual a permanent, durable, and pervasive pattern of perception, evaluation, emotion, behavior, and result around a particular topic.

Many other systems attempt this, and achieve it to varying degrees of success. A common experience that many people have in personal development programs is sometimes called the "suntan effect." Which is to say that you go to a seminar, or listen to some CD's or read a book, or whatever, and initially you get some positive movement, you get some results.

However, then what happens? As time goes by - a couple of days, weeks or months later, the "boost", the inspiration has faded, just like a suntan fades a couple of weeks after you stop being in the sunlight.

Why is that? There was no automatic mechanism that was built or installed during the process that accounted for real life. Nothing accounted for invariable variance in result, also called feedback, and smooth correction to regain or deepen the initial inspiration.

When you experience this for yourself, it truly is quite profound and empowering.

Your brain is naturally an amazing cybernetic device of the highest caliber.

A key difference between a master of anything and an amateur, is that the master can make the result happen no matter what, in the face of virtually any circumstances. The amateurs results are fragile in that the amateur is rather dependent on a very narrow set of circumstances being present in order to get results.

One thing is certain, life will happen. Things will happen. Most of them will not be conducive to your goals and results. As the well known psychologist Alfred Bandura has described, the more our environment is at odds with our goals, the easier it is for the average person to become discouraged, and lose faith, and therefore momentum.

When this happens, we either over-compensate and try to too hard, or under-compensate to protect ourselves, and give less than our best. In either case, the usual result is a further worsening of our results. Then the cycle repeats over and over, until ... either we leave the situation and abandon our goal, or we settle for a level of result that is much less than we had hoped for.

The problem was not in the goal being too lofty, as many would suggest, it was in how the negative feedback is responded to that makes all the difference. This is the hidden key, that cybernetics sheds light on.