(This blog was originally posted on February 18, 2014)
Consider
the expression, “Better the devil you know (than the one you don’t).” If you
have done some activity before, you will have a pretty good idea of what to
expect (result) this time. Based on this experience, you probably even have a
strategy or two for dealing with that or a similar situation. Well, your
subconscious mind loves what is familiar,
too! According to John Kappas, Ph.D.’s Theory of Mind, the subconscious mind even
covets physically or emotionally painful experiences; anything that is “known”
is deemed familiar or safe. That is how behaviors, including undesirable habits,
are created.
People seek my
hypnotherapy services to help them change (or get rid of) a habit that no
longer works for them. For example, they want to be able to lose weight, to quit
smoking or stop procrastinating, to increase self-confidence, and a host of
other behaviors. These goals may make sense to the conscious mind, where logic,
reasoning, will-power and decision-making reside; but the subconscious mind is
not so easily convinced. The SCM is used to doing things a particular way—its way, the comfortable way, the “easy
way”—and it resists changing its modus operandi. It doesn’t care that you (and
your conscious mind) are worried that your habit of smoking two packs of
cigarettes each day is likely to result in a debilitating lung disease. Your
SCM quite enjoys eating that pint of fudge-brownie ice cream before bed; this
indulgence is so much like reminiscent
of the bedtime treats you used to enjoy as a small child. And as for
procrastination, well, didn’t Miss Scarlett in Gone With the Wind always promise herself that she would deal with
her problems tomorrow? That strategy worked just fine for her, so why shouldn’t
it work for you or me?
If you are happy
and comfortable doing things the way you have always done and continue to do
them, that is fine. You are not ready to change your behavior yet, and your
subconscious mind will likely reject any attempts to change this behavior.
Remember, however, that any and every habit and behavior you have learned can
also be unlearned. Moreover,
hypnotherapy is an effective, drug-free and natural way to help you override
(unlearn) that previous mental script and change or dump those habits that no
longer work for you. Hypnotherapy is a great way to help you start living the
kind of life you want and deserve to be living.
Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in
Southern California. She graduated with honors from the
Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about
Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.
© 2014
