| After 30 years of teaching speed reading to | | | | training. |
| people from all walks of life inside and outside of | | | | Forget about learning to speed read if you don't |
| workplace organizations, I've come to realize that | | | | believe in your own ability to learn. However, I do |
| there are three big problems people have to | | | | need to put a note of caution on this one. Many |
| overcome if they really want to master the skills | | | | times people do struggle to learn in academic or |
| involved in speed reading. Listening to people who | | | | school situations, not because of their ability, but |
| have been dropouts of other speed reading | | | | because of poor instruction. So look outside of |
| programs have given me these key insights. | | | | your school experience to validate your learning |
| The reason the dropouts of what might be called | | | | ability. Most educational systems teach with one |
| "competitors" programs have given me these | | | | style of learning. We now know from educational |
| insights is that they do not suffer from these | | | | psychology that there are at least 8 different |
| mistakes. | | | | learning styles. Your school experience may not |
| The first mistake is probably where the largest | | | | have been geared to your learning preference, or |
| group of people falls into. This first mistaken type | | | | style. |
| of thinking is a belief in magic. Unfortunately the | | | | The last type of flawed thinking is the skeptic. |
| people that believe in magic respond to marketing | | | | The skeptic type of thinking is a mind-trap habit |
| gimmicks like "Double, triple, quadruple your speed | | | | of viewing every situation through the lens of |
| in 15 minutes - Guaranteed!" Anyone who falls for | | | | looking for what is wrong, or flawed in the |
| that type of marketing ploy is plainly immature | | | | situation. If a situation is absolutely not perfect, |
| and does not understand a thing about how | | | | the skeptic discounts everything in the experience. |
| complex the skill of reading really is. An alternate | | | | Also, the skeptic looks at things as unproven until |
| description is wishful thinking. "Please, can't I just | | | | "I'm convinced." The truth is: no one will ever |
| take a pill?" | | | | change your basic beliefs (see above discussion |
| Reading is perhaps the most complex and | | | | about beliefs) but you. Entering into a learning |
| awesome set of cognitive skills the human mind | | | | situation with this frame of mind is doomed from |
| can achieve. To keep it simple, the brain has to | | | | the outset. |
| do thousands of interconnected firings of various | | | | The skeptic type of thinking is also immature in |
| biochemicals and neurons in extremely | | | | that it fails to understand the true nature of |
| sophisticated ways for you to be able to | | | | learning. Most "genius" inventors will state they |
| understand the sentence you are reading right | | | | accomplished their creation through a process of |
| now. If that is the case, then consider, if it has | | | | trial and errors. The human mind learns best by |
| taken you a lifetime to develop your skills to the | | | | failure! Expecting great things to be perfect with |
| unconscious level of habit where they are right | | | | one first try is just plain dumb. |
| now, does it really make sense that you can | | | | When learning to master speed reading, I clearly |
| permanently change those habits in 15 minutes? | | | | tell people, they will have lots of struggles and |
| What kind of magical thinker are you? | | | | mistakes initially. However, if you take a look at |
| So, if you're looking for a quick fix, magic pill | | | | your behavior and compare it to the model of the |
| approach to learning how to speed read - forget | | | | ideal behavior, you can learn to adjust. That's the |
| it! Be aware that is a false claim. Before you | | | | path to mastery of any worthwhile skill. |
| throw any money down to learn to master speed | | | | Another problem with skeptical thinking is that it |
| reading, ask yourself if you are willing to put | | | | pulls the skeptic out of the process of direct |
| consistent effort into it. If you are, speed reading | | | | learning and into an "observer" status. That is all |
| can change your life. | | | | left-brain dominant thinking. Learning is experiential. |
| The second biggest type of thinking mistake is | | | | You have to jump into the "mosh pit" in order to |
| low self-esteem. Self-esteem means you believe | | | | truly understand the experience. Watching from a |
| in yourself and believe that you have the power | | | | distance will not bring understanding. Neuro-science |
| to learn new things and get things accomplished. If | | | | has demonstrated the fact that tactile experience |
| you suffer from low self-esteem, you will not | | | | involves more parts of the brain and thus learning |
| learn how to speed read because if you don't | | | | takes hold better. This engages both left and right |
| believe in your ability to learn, you will | | | | hemispheres. From that, I suppose one could say |
| unconsciously do everything in your power to | | | | that the skeptic is a half brain! |
| prove to yourself, once again, what a loser you | | | | The strength of experiential learning is another |
| are! Beliefs drive all of your thinking, and your | | | | good reason why almost no one learns to master |
| thinking drives all of your behaviors and decisions. | | | | speed reading by reading a book. If you want to |
| As Henry Ford said, "Whether you think you can, | | | | master speed reading, destroy your skeptic hat. |
| or whether you think you can't, you're right!" The | | | | Jump into the mosh pit! |
| mind rallies to keep the belief system in place. | | | | If any of these types of thinking are true for |
| For many years, as people started a speed | | | | you, you will be disappointed in the results you will |
| reading program I gave them a short | | | | create with your flawed attempts to learn a very |
| questionnaire asking them: What do you believe | | | | complicated set of skills. What you hold to be true |
| about your ability to learn? What do you believe | | | | in your mind, will be manifested in your life. The |
| about your ability to learn in an accelerated | | | | good news about flawed thinking is that it can be |
| fashion? Invariably, if someone was struggling with | | | | changed. So I tell these types of thinkers, |
| the skills, I looked at what they wrote, and of | | | | "Pretend it is possible" From that perspective, you |
| course, those questions were answered with | | | | can freely experiment without the mind-traps and |
| negative beliefs. They were creating the results | | | | then achieve the outcome of mastering speed |
| they believed to be true before they started their | | | | reading. |