This past weekend, I coached the new Pickup Mansion students and found most of them had a lot of trouble controlling their mood in field. So I decided to make a speech about State Control. Below is the gist of what I told them.
What is State Control?
I define State Control as the ability to take actions which produce a desired State in yourself.

State Control is a skill. Furthermore, it’s an elite skill. Consumer culture discourages it, since it depends on people buying all sorts of things they don’t need. In fact, in Western Culture the media almost deny State Control’s existence. Marketing is designed to appeal to people’s natural desire to experience a great State. Naturally, lasting good State does not come from material possessions.
State Control assumes that State has an internal locus of control. That means that the ability to control your State lies within yourself, not outside. Most people in Western countries assume State arises from your external circumstances, like your environment, genes, and upbringing. It’s my experience that that opinion is not only disempowering, but total bullshit.
State Control is a bit rare in our society. But it is not that difficult to develop. It’s mostly a matter of building a habit.
I have a family member who refuses to realize this fact of life. He is a great person, but has a pretty bad lifestyle, because he is totally at the mercy of his State. He is completely reliant upon external circumstances — things, people, and events outside his locus of control — to determine his State. As a result, he is susceptible to all sorts of addictive and obsessive behavior patterns which develop when he relies upon external State-changers.
Many people use drugs or other methods of self-medication to regulate their States. The problem with such methods is that it once again places the locus of control out of oneself. Using drugs (video games, porn, etc.) for State Control is a submissive behavior.
Practicing State Control is one way to be dominant in your life. Giving your environment control over your State is being submissive to your environment. Using State Control is being dominant over your environment. Another way to be dominant over your environment is to change it directly. This can loop back and change your State indirectly. Changing your situation is a more obvious thing and not part of this blog post.
Dominance is an overall characteristic of your personality. Women are attracted to dominant men. Look for ways to increase your dominance in everyday life. The more angles you find to be dominant from, the better.
State Control is one of the secrets of high-value men in our society. Submissiveness can be expected in high-value women, so State Control is often not an issue for them. But high-value men are never submissive.
What States are desired in Life?
Everyone has States which they desire in life. Often they include happiness, freedom, excitement, exuberance, euphoria, calmness, contentedness, and inner peace.
Being able to produce such States in oneself naturally can greatly increase your quality of life. In fact, State Control is one of the secrets to living a happy, exciting, satisfying, fulfilled life. What are your desired States in life?
What States are best for pickup?
Good state is like iron in the blood. Without it, an animal (your game) can still live, but it is listless — anemic. It feels like work. With it, all the processes work much more smoothly. The animal has the energy to achieve its ends. Good State will supercharge game that is technically sound, giving it life and effectiveness.
I like to be talkative, externally-focused, and present while in field. Usually warmups are enough to get me in this state. But if I am in a very introverted mood I will do some of the Brad P Social Freedom Exercises to get in State.
An important part of this State is having relatively little self-talk. That means very little thinking.
I also like to be positive in field. On the inside, I will think about the things in my life I’m grateful for and the good things that are going on in my life. Outwardly, I like to compliment strangers (women I’m not attracted to, and men) and notice and point out cool things in the environment.
I game best in a sexual State, too. Other than having good health and sex drive, I will do things like imagine sex with the girl I’m talking to while gaming in order to amplify my sexual State.
What States do you find useful or fun for pickup?
Next article, I will dive into some specific techniques for State Control that you can begin using right away.