I'm a dilettante in psychology and I want to propose a concept that I haven't found much prior research on. This may be due to my insufficient research or a genuine gap in the field.

I'm interested in the psychology of self-improvement, and in particular a process that I call "method." Method is when you use a mantra to change your state of mind to achieve a goal. A common example is when athletes use method to clinch games. They repeat a phrase quietly to themselves, "come on, you got this, you're the best, win this, come on, you got this," and that spurs them on to victory. It motivates them, focuses their energy, and otherwise makes them play better. Why does this happen? It seems like magic. These are positive, encouraging thoughts, and much has been written about the power of positive thinking, but how come you can't use method all the time? Why can't you "pump yourself up" throughout the entire game? My experience with method is that it operates almost like a turbo, wherein you can activate it for a few minutes, then it runs out, and it takes some time to recharge.

Method is the cornerstone of the experience of self-improvement, and usually it springs forth from an epiphany that the user experiences.

For example, take a segment from Tony Robbins' Awaken the Giant: "My answer is simple: I learned to harness the principle I now call concentration of power. Most people have no idea of the giant capacity we can immediately command when we focus all of our resources on mastering a single area of our lives. Controlled focus is like a laser beam that can cut through anything that seems to be stopping you. When we focus consistently on improvement in any area, we develop unique distinctions on how to make that area better."

Or look at this segment from Rick Warren's Purpose-Driven Life: "The power of focusing can be seen in light. Diffused light has little power or impact, but you can concentrate its energy by focusing it. With a magnifying glass, the rays of the sun can be focused to set grass or paper on fire. When light is focused even more as a laser beam, it can cut through steel. There is nothing quite as potent as a focused life, one lived on purpose."

When the typical reader reads those passages, he or she is immediately is struck with an epiphany. He thinks to himself, "this is it, this is how I will conquer X" where X is some problem or barrier he thinks he's holding him back. He will form a vision of himself behaving like a laser beam, as if he were moving faster than normal and conquering his destiny. This positive visualization gives him energy and enthusiasm, and very likely he may immediately make some significant steps toward his goal after setting aside the book. If, for example, his goal was to lose weight, he may go to his fridge and throw out all of his ice cream. He may go online and sign up for a membership at the gym. He may even go out for a run right then and there.

That initial burst will further reinforce the method in a positive feedback loop such that he may be charged for an entire day, maybe an entire week, fixating his attention on the idea that he is a personified laser beam. Every time he thinks about the beam, it spurs him into positive action toward his goal.

This is great until the strength of the method fades away. He reaches a point where mentioning the laser beam creates no emotional reaction in him.

The implications of method, in my opinion, are vast. I believe that the popularity of self-improvement and religion is based on principles of method. There may also be an art to delivering method such that you can sidestep the come-down. Or maybe there's something to be learned from looking at its darkside, in the case of false epiphanies, or people who are addicted to self-empowerment seminars.

I believe that if we study and understand method, we will understand a lot about discipline, motivation, self-improvement, and the nature of personal change.