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Once you know what change you want to achieve. It could be to lose weight, change careers, get your ‘old self back’. How do you maximise success? It is likely that you have tried before, and you may have had some limited success, but never quite achieved your goal.
This can make you feel even worse about yourself, self-critical. You probably blame yourself for having no will power. However, succeeding isn’t simply a function of how determined you are to achieve something. Of course, that helps to a certain extent, but there are other factors that come into play. Raising awareness of these and working out strategies to overcome potential obstacles, can greatly maximise our chances of success.
If we genuinely want to make changes, why is this so difficult? Why do so many of us struggle. Unfortunately, as humans, we don’t like change, it makes us anxious. We perceive change as ‘danger’ which switches on our stress response, and all our thinking and behaviours support reducing this danger. Which in this case, is staying with how things are – avoiding change.
Being wary of change is a survival tactic. Our evolutionarily ‘primitive brain’ which is responsible for survival, will do anything to keep us out of danger, whether it is real or perceived. Essentially, it feels comfortable and safe with the familiar, while anything different, ‘out of the ordinary’, is seen as a threat. This means, if we want to do things differently, if we want to make changes our ‘primitive brain’ sabotages us. So, if we decide we want to eat more healthily, take more exercise, change careers, our ‘primitive brain’ says no. It presents excuses, ‘it’s not the right time to make a change’ or convinces us that ‘things are fine as they are’, that we don’t really need or want to change anything. And so, the pattern continues, we remain ‘stuck’, we are dissatisfied, unfulfilled and don’t know where to begin. We feel anxious around change, and the more stressed we get, the more we get caught up in our ‘primitive brain’. Which we know, loves to stay within the bounds of what is familiar and feels safe. So, we carry on as before. We are caught in a vicious trap. – wanting to change but fearing and avoiding it.
So, what can we do? Key, is to be aware of what is holding us back, what is sabotaging our plans.
We know that stress is a big factor. It keeps us in our ‘primitive brain’, which will always put forward the case for not making a change. It convinces us that change is a bad idea. So firstly, we need to reduce our stress levels, to be receptive to making changes. Not surprisingly, this is central to our work in hypnotherapy. We will work with you to reduce and manage your stress levels. Allowing you to stay in intellectual control and make good choices.
Another factor is confidence, lack of, that often holds us back, the ‘inner critic’ telling us we can’t do something. So, we need to build this, to increase self-belief. This is addressed in hypnosis using positive imagery and suggestion. The mind-set shifts to be more open and receptive, we are more willing to try things, no longer fearful.
A further strategy to successfully making changes, is to take it a small step at a time. We know that change, of any form, the unfamiliar, is stressful. The less we trigger our stress response and the more we can remain in our comfort zone, the more likely a change will be accepted. This allows us to remain in control, make rational decisions. In Solution Focused Hypnotherapy, we use strategies to help you identify solutions in small steps, and in this way, you can successfully work towards your ultimate goal.
If you have a change that you want to make, but feel you need some help to achieve it. Why not get some support from hypnotherapy to maximise your success?
Sessions focus on the positive and are centred around managing stress levels, and building confidence. In this mind-set, it becomes possible to contemplate your innermost desires and seek solutions. Trance work offers the chance to rehearse outcomes and the changes we want to see. Overtime, you will start to see possibilities, believe in yourself and achieve your goals.
Ready to make that change? You can start today by taking that first step and booking your free initial consultation.
