Alfred Adler,Goal Setting,Expectations and Felix Zandman

Although Alfred Adler was one of the charter members of the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society and later its president, he separated from Sigmund Freud and developed his own theory of personality. For one, he developed a philosophical doctrine that was based more on idealistic positivism. He believed in the idea that man is motivated more by his expectations of the future than he is by the experiences of the past. This means that man employs expectations or levels of aspiration that guide and influence his behavior. In other words, he sets goals that are based upon expectancies. The more realistic the goals are results in more accomplishment. So it is important not to set one’s goals either too low or too high.  If the goal is set to low, it does little for your self esteem. If the goal is set too high, the chance of failure increases which is also negative for self-esteem. Goal setting and expectancies go hand-in-hand.

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal on June 7, 2011 pertains to Felix Zandman. Felix was born in 1928 and died last week. His story is remarkable as he survived the Holocaust as a teenager. Apparently, as a teenager, he was crammed into a tiny underground chamber beneath a Polish peasant’s cottage. The article indicated that he was one of the few Jews in Grodno, a Polish city during World War II, which is now part of the Belarus, who survived the war. The story went on to indicate that his uncle taught him trigonometry and higher math by rote while underground.

Eventually Felix immigrated to the United States and founded a company that manufactured electronic resistors that he sold to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the military, and later to the computer industry. Clearly, this man focused on his future and obviously set goals and realistic expectations.

What does this have to do with exercise? In my book, “It Has Nothing to Do with Age” prescription number 7. Become inspired and motivated by reading the illuminating profiles of eight remarkable senior athletes found within this book. In reading about these athletes you will learn how the thinking process affects achievement and performance. One can learn about training, levels of aspiration, expectancies, and goal setting. The key is to focus on self talk and thinking positively. A downfall is listening to irrational held beliefs and self-defeating thoughts.

Pay attention to the dialogue that takes place between Tony and me related to our competitiveness.  Pay specific attention to our goals and how we talk about them. I like Alfred Adler’s philosophy and what he had to say about looking to the future.