THE BIG IDEAS Your Erroneous Zones

Taking Charge
Escape negative thinking and take control of your life.
Of yourself. BY DR. WAYNE W. DYER · AVON BOOKS © 1993 · 320 PAGES

Self-Reliance
A veritable religion.

Self-worth
vs. Other-worth. “With death so endless a proposition and life so breathtakingly brief, ask yourself,
‘Should I avoid doing the things I really want to do?’ ‘Should I live my life as others
There Is Nothing
To worry about! want me to?” ‘Are things important to accumulate?’ ‘Is putting it off the way to
Guilt live?’ Chances are your answers can be summed up in a few words: Live… Be You…
Is useless. Enjoy… Love.”
Believe in Yourself ~ Dr. Wayne W. Dyer from Your Erroneous Zones
Fully!
Your Erroneous Zones was Wayne Dyer’s first book and I love the stories he tells about how
Security:
A different kind. hard he worked to help make it a best-seller (over six millions copies sold!). It’s a no-nonsense,
straight to point, how to quit letting negative thinking dominate your life kinda book. Just the
Paralyzed
By perfection? kind I love. :)

“Musterbation” Dyer’s super quotable and the book’s packed with Big Ideas. Let’s have some fun exploring some
Quit it! :)
of my favorites, shall we? :)
How Simple...
Just do it!
TAKING CHARGE OF YOURSELF
Look Hard at Your Life
And LIVE! “Taking charge of yourself involves more than simply trying on new thoughts for size. It requires
a determination to be happy and to challenge and destroy each and every thought that creates a
self-mobilizing unhappiness in you.”

If you’ve read any of Wayne Dyer’s books, you know that one of his primary messages is:
“Surely your sojourn on “Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change.”
earth is so brief, it ought
If we intend to take charge of ourselves and change our lives by changing the way we look at
to be pleasing to you. In a
things, we can’t do so casually.
word, it’s your life; do with
We can’t just try on some new thoughts for size. We’ve gotta have the determination to be
it what *you* want.”
happy and then “challenge and destroy each and every thought that creates self-mobilizing
~ Wayne Dyer
unhappiness” for us.

So, what thoughts do you KNOW aren’t serving you? Now a good time to destroy ‘em?

A VERITABLE RELIGION OF THE SELF

“Using yourself as a guide and not needing the approval of an outside force is the most religious
experience you can have. It is a veritable religion of the self in which an individual determines
his own behavior based upon his own conscience and the laws of his culture that work for him,
rather than because someone has directed how he should behave. A careful look at Jesus Christ
will reveal an extremely self-actualized person, an individual who preached self-reliance, and
was not afraid to incur disapproval. Yet many of his followers have twisted his teachings into a
catechism of fear and self-hate.”

Self-reliance.

It’s perhaps THE key message of the book. Dyer and I are both *huge* fans of Ralph Waldo

1 PhilosophersNotes | Your Erroneous Zones

 Emerson and his essay, Self-Reliance. Magical mojo. (Check out my Notes!)
“The need for approval
is based on a single In Self-Reliance, Emerson says: “And truly it demands something godlike in him who cast off
assumption. ‘Don’t trust the common motives of humanity and ventured to trust himself for a taskmaster.”
yourself—check it out with And reminds us: “God will not have his work made manifest by cowards.”
someone else first.’”
How’s your self-reliance?
~ Wayne Dyer

SELF-WORTH VS. OTHER-WORTH

“Self-worth cannot be verified by others. You are worthy because you say it is so. If you depend
on others for your value it is other-worth.”

“Other-worth.” That’s classic. :)

Do you depend on others for your sense of worth? Please stop doing that!!!

We talk about this theme a lot because ALL the great teachers tell us how important it is to
remain independent of the good or bad opinion of others.

Seneca comes to mind here (see Notes on Letters from a Stoic). He says: “Away with the world’s
opinion of you—it’s always unsettled and divided.”

Just yesterday I was reminded of this wisdom when I got an email from some random guy telling
me how much he dislikes my Notes and how I should quit sharing my opinions because, I quote:
“No one cares what you think.”

Hah. Sweet. Thanks, dood! :)

Thankfully, in addition to a clear commitment to my work/style, I’ve received hundreds of

emails from people telling me how much my energy and personal voice has inspired them
to transform their lives and I’ve learned to see that someone’s criticism (or praise) is just a
projection of what’s going on with them, so I’m less attached to other people’s opinions of me.
The really funny part is that on the same day I got a few other messages from peeps saying how
much they liked the particular Note that he found so lame.

Alas: “Away with the world’s opinion of you—it’s always unsettled and divided.”

And ,Samuel Goldwyn says: “Don’t pay any attention to the critics. Don’t even ignore them.”

How ‘bout you? Are you getting caught up worrying too much about what others think of you?!?
Step back and realize that we simply CAN’T please everyone all the time and if we structure our
lives attempting to do that, we’re in trouble. We’ve gotta find that inner sense of self-worth that’s
TOTALLY independent of the good or bad opinions of others!!

So, let’s notice when we feel tempted to trade our “self-worth” for “other-worth,” eh?!? :)

THERE IS NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT!

“Recognize the
preposterousness of worry.
Ask yourself over and over,
‘Is there anything that will
ever change as a result of
my worrying about it?’”
~ Wayne Dyer
“There is nothing to worry about! Absolutely nothing. You can spend the rest of your life,
beginning right now, worrying about the future, and no amount of your worry will change
a thing. Remember that worry is defined as being immobilized in the present as a result of
things that are going or not going to happen in the future. You must be careful not to confuse
worrying with planning for the future. If you are planning, and the present-moment activity will
contribute to a more effective future, then this is not worry. It is worry only when you are in any
way immobilized now about a future happening.”
Worry. It qualifies as one of *the* lamest things we can do. :)
Dyer says this: “If you believe that feeling bad or worrying long enough will change a past or
future event, then you are residing on another planet with a different reality system.”

2 PhilosophersNotes | Your Erroneous Zones

 Hah. Reminds me of Gay Hendricks’ wisdom from his book, The Big Leap (see Notes) where
“Give yourself shorter
tells us that worry is one of the key ways we sabotage ourselves and create artificial “upper
and shorter periods of
limits” to our highest potential enjoyment in life.
‘worry time.’”
He says: “Worrying is usually a sign that we’re Upper-Limiting. It is usually not a sign that
~ Wayne Dyer
we’re thinking about something useful. The crucial sign that we’re worrying unnecessarily
is when we’re worrying about something we have no control over. Worrying is useful only if
it concerns a topic we can actually do something about, and if it leads to our taking positive
action right away. All other worry is just Upper Limit noise, designed by our unconscious to
keep us safely within our Zone of Excellence or Zone of Competence.”

The question is simple: Can you do something about whatever it is you’re worrying about? If you
can, do it. If you can’t do anything about it, know that WORRYING about it is a complete and
utter waste of time!! Accept what is and then take the next most constructive action you can!

So… Are YOU working out your worry muscles at the moment? Can you do anything about
what’s stressing you out? If so, ROCK IT. You’ll feel sooooo much better the moment you take
action!! If you can’t do anything about it, can you step back and see the bigger picture, accepting
what is and alchemizing it into the most positive experience you can—perhaps by seeing the
lesson in it or recognizing that yes, that part of your life sucks but you only notice it so much
because so many OTHER areas are awesome?!? (Sweet. :)

As Dyer says: “Begin to view your present moments as times to live, rather than to obsess about
the future. When you catch yourself worrying, ask yourself, ‘What am I avoiding now by using up
“You can choose to make this moment with worry?’ Then begin to attack whatever it is you’re avoiding. The best antidote
to worry is action.”
any experience enjoyable
and challenging.”
GUILT IS USELESS
~ Wayne Dyer
“Guilt is the most useless of all erroneous behaviors. It is by far the greatest waste of emotional
energy. Why? Because, by definition, you are feeling immobilized in the present over something
that has already taken place, and no amount of guilt can ever change history.”

Guilt.

It’s a waste of emotional energy. Last time I checked, you can’t change the past so wasting energy
being guilty doesn’t do a whole lot, eh?

In The Diamond Cutter (see Notes on the book by Geshe Michael Roach in which he applies the
classic Tibetan sutra by the same name to the creation of his diamond business), we learned:
“There’s no word in Tibetan for ‘guilty.’ The closest thing is ‘intelligent regret that decides to do
things differently.’”

Imagine that! They don’t even HAVE a word for “guilt” in Tibetan!!

The closest thing is “intelligent regret that decides to do things differently.”

Got something you’re feeling guilty about? Let’s swap it out with intelligent regret and (joyfully!)
decide to do things differently next time. :)

“Teach those in your life

BELIEVING IN YOURSELF FULLY
who attempt to manipulate
“If you believe in yourself fully, no activity is beyond your potential. The entire gamut of
you with guilt that you are
human experience is yours to enjoy, once you decide to venture into territory where you don’t
perfectly capable of handling
have  guarantees.”
their disappointment in you.”
Have you convinced yourself that something is beyond your potential?!?
~ Wayne Dyer
Check in on that. Cuz, if you *really* want to experience it, it’s not. Of course, achieving anything

PhilosophersNotes | Your Erroneous Zones 3

 takes not only the knowing we can, but also the diligence, patience and persistence to bring it to
“Not to succeed in a
life in the face of all the evidence it’s impossible. And, ultimately, as Henry Ford says: “Whether
particular endeavor is not
you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.”
to fail as a person. It is
simply not being successful Are you venturing into territory where you don’t have any guarantees?!? Stay strong. Believe in

with that particular

yourself and take consistent, bold action in line with your deep belief in yourself!

trial at that particular

present moment.”
A DIFFERENT KIND OF SECURITY
~ Wayne Dyer “… there is a different kind of security that is worth pursuing, and this is the internal security
of trusting yourself to handle anything that may come down the pike. This is the only lasting
security, the only real security. Things can break down, a depression can wipe out your money,
your house can be repossessed, but you, you can be a rock of self-esteem. You can believe so
much in you and your internal strength that things or others will be seen as mere pleasant but
superfluous adjuncts to your life.”

Reminds me Eric Butterworth’s mojo in his GREAT book Spiritual Economics (see Notes). He
says: “The word secure comes from two small Latin words: se meaning ‘without’ and cure
meaning ‘care’—being without care, freedom from anxiety. Victor Hugo articulates this very
special sense in this lovely couplet:

‘Be like the bird

That pausing in her flight
While on boughs too slight,
Feels them give way
Beneath her, and yet sings,
Knowing she hath wings.’”

Dyer also says: “Only the insecure strive for security.”

How do we get that belief in our inner strength?

One of the keys: We need to be in integrity with our highest values.

When we consistently do the things that align with our highest vision of ourselves—whether it’s
getting up early to meditate or to exercise or to read or whatever—we build a deep level of self-
trust that creates a magical energy so we KNOW it’s all good. We KNOW we’re strong enough to
handle whatever the world brings us.

Build your inner strength. Live your highest truths. Know that you have wings!

PARALYZED BY PERFECTION?
“Why should you have to do everything well? Who is keeping score for you? Winston Churchill’s
famous lines about perfectionism indicate just how immobilizing the constant search for
“I never had a policy that
success can be. ‘The maxim ‘nothing avails but perfection’ may be spelled PARALYSIS.’ You can
I could always apply. I’ve
paralyze yourself with perfectionistic do-your-best nonsense.”
simply attempted to do what
made the greatest amount of
How do you really feel, Wayne?!? :)

sense at the moment.” Tony Robbins (see Notes) says the same thing. He says that “perfection” is the ABSOLUTE
~ Abraham Lincoln LOWEST standard you can ever have for yourself because it’s IMPOSSIBLE to attain.

Rumi (see Notes) reminds us: “There is no worse sickness for the soul, o you who are proud,
than this pretense of perfection.”

And Maslow’s (see Notes as well): “There are no perfect human beings! Persons can be found
who are good, very good indeed, in fact, great. There do in fact exist creators, seers, sages,
saints, shakers, and movers… even if they are uncommon and do not come by the dozen.

4 PhilosophersNotes | Your Erroneous Zones


“People are always blaming
their circumstances for
what they are. I don’t
believe in circumstances.
The people who get on in
this world are the people
who get up and look for the
circumstances they want,
and if they can’t find them,
make them.”
~ George Bernard Shaw
“They are too busy being to
notice what their neighbors
are doing.”
~ Wayne Dyer
PhilosophersNotes | Your Erroneous Zones
And yet these very same people can at times be boring, irritating, petulant, selfish, angry, or
depressed. To avoid disillusionment with human nature, we must first give up our illusions
about it.”
Are you currently paralyzed by your need to be perfect?
We’ve all been there, but it’s time to get over ourselves. We’re not going to be the first human
beings to be perfect so we might as well take the precious time we have left here and go out and
rock it, eh? :)
In my own creative pursuits I love combining two ideas: “The Angel’s Advocate” and
“Thinking  Crappy.”
Step 1: Play with your Angel’s Advocate. Imagine you’ve got a little Angel on your side who can
wave a magic wand and make EVERYTHING just right. What would your life look like?!? Got
it?  Sweet.
Next step: Follow Guy Kawasaki’s wisdom from Rules for Revolutionaries (brilliant book) and
“Think crappy!” Just get to work!! Identify the first milestone you want to hit (whether it’s a first
draft of a business plan or a first date with a potential soul mate or whatever). Just get to work!
Then, as Kawasaki says, “Churn, baby, churn!” As you move forward from your first crappy
version, “churn” it so it evolves into a more and more beautiful masterpiece. That’s how I’ve
built all three of my businesses, that’s how I write and that’s how I roll when I’m having fun and
rockin’ every aspect of life.
So, let’s move through our paralysis and just do it, yo! :)
MUSTERBATION
“There is a neat little word, coined by Albert Ellis, for the tendency to incorporate shoulds into
your life. It is ‘musterbation.’ You are ‘musterbating’ whenever you find yourself behaving in
ways that you feel you must, even though you might prefer some other form of behavior.
But you don’t have to musterbate. Ever. It’s all right to be lacking in composure or to not
understand. You’re allowed to be undignified if you choose to. No one is keeping score on you,
or going to punish you for not being something that someone else said you must be. Besides,
you can never be anything that you don’t want to be all the time. It’s just not possible. Therefore,
any should will have to produce strain in you, since you won’t be able to fulfill your erroneous
expectation. The strain does not result from your undignified, nonsupportive, indiscreet or
whatever behavior, but from the imposition of the should.”
“Musterbation.”
That’s gotta be one of the best words. Ever.
Musterbating is kinda like the idea of “shoulding all over yourself.” Neither one is all that cool. :)
What would life look like it we didn’t musterbate and should on ourselves? We’d trust ourselves.
We’d be self-reliant. We’d quit TRYING to be anything or anyone. We’d just be ourselves.
Authentically expressing ourselves moment to moment to moment.
Sounds sexcellent. Let’s do it. :)
HOW SIMPLE… JUST DO IT!
“Quit smoking… now! Begin your diet… this moment! Give up booze… this second! Put this book
down and do one push-up as your beginning exercise project. That’s how you tackle problems…
with action now! Do it! The only thing holding you back is you, and the neurotic choices you’ve
made because you don’t believe you’re as strong as you really are. How simple… just do it!”
5
 Reminds me David Schwartz in The Magic of Thinking Big (see Notes) where he says “action
“‘How long am I going to
cures fear. Indecision, postponement, on the other hand, fertilize fear… Jot that down in your
be dead?’ With that eternal
success rule book right now. Action cures fear.”
perspective, you can now
make your own choice and And Russell Simmons, who says this in Do You! (see Notes): “The pain that’s created by

leave the worrying, the fears,

avoiding hard work is actually much worse than any pain created from the actual work itself.
Because if you don’t begin to work on those ideas that God has blessed you with, they will
the question of whether
become stagnant inside of you and eventually begin to eat away at you. You might seem OK on
you can afford it and the
the outside, but inside you will be ill from not getting those ideas out of your heart and into the
guilt to those who are going
world. Stalling leads to sickness. But taking steps, even baby steps, always leads to success.”
to be alive forever.”
Simple question: Waddya need to do?
~ Wayne Dyer
… Now a good time to Just Do It?!? :)

LOOK HARD AT YOUR LIFE

“Look hard at your life. Are you doing what you’d choose to be doing if you knew you had six
months to live? If not, you’d better begin doing it because, relatively speaking, that’s all you
have. Given the eternity of time, thirty years or six months make no difference. Your total
lifetime is a mere speck. Delaying anything makes no sense.”

What would you be doing if you had six months to live?

If you’re not currently doing that, what’re you waiting for?

Brian Johnson,
Chief Philosopher

If you liked this Note, About the Author of “Your Erroneous Zones”
you’ll probably like… DR. WAYNE W. DYER

The Power of Intention Wayne W. Dyer, Ph.D., is an internationally renowned author and speaker in the
Real Magic field of self-development. He’s the author of 30 books, has created many audio
programs and videos, and has appeared on thousands of television and radio
Motivation and Personality
shows. His books Manifest Your Destiny, Wisdom of the Ages, There’s a Spiritual
Mastery Solution to Every Problem, and the New York Times bestsellers 10 Secrets for
7 Habits of Highly Success and Inner Peace, The Power of Intention, and Inspiration and now
Effective People Change Your Thoughts—Change Your Life have all been featured as National
Everyday Enlightenment Public Television specials. Dyer holds a doctorate in educational counseling from
Wayne State University and was an associate professor at St. John’s University in
The Gifted Adult
New York. (Adapted from DrWayneDyer.com where you can learn more!)
Tony Robbins
About the Author of This Note
BRIAN JOHNSON

Brian Johnson loves helping people optimize their lives as he studies, embodies
and teaches the fundamentals of optimal living—integrating ancient wisdom
+ modern science + common sense + virtue + mastery + fun. Learn more and
optimize your life at brianjohnson.me.

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