Positive
self-esteem is a strong predictor of whether you can and will accomplish a
goal. When our self-esteem is high, so is our self-confidence. Nothing seems
beyond our ability to achieve, and we put out all the stops working to succeed.
Unfortunately, other people’s negative opinions or beliefs about these
abilities can have a deleterious influence on our success, as well as our
self-image.
During
my hypnotherapy training at the Hypnosis Motivation Institute, I observed in an
in-class demonstration of muscle testing (kinesiology) to show how positive or negative
energy can affect our beliefs in ourselves and our abilities. During the
presentation, a volunteer held his arms out perpendicular to his body while the
class sent “positive” images and thoughts about his ability to keep his arms
elevated. The volunteer was told to think similar positive messages during the
experiment, and his arms stayed at that elevation. Then the class was
instructed to send or think negative beliefs about the volunteer being unable
to hold his arms up anymore. Sure enough, his arms dropped several inches and
the person described how difficult it felt to sustain that position even though
he continued to send himself positive messages about being able to do so. In
the next experiment, the volunteer’s arms dropped to his thighs when he also
sent negative messages about his inability to keep his arms elevated. Finally,
the class and the volunteer were instructed to think and send positive messages
about his ability to hold his arms perpendicular to his body once again, which
he was able to do.
I witnessed a
similar “demonstration” about how belief in self can affect performance during
the January 24, 2015 episode of Saturday Night Live. In one
sketch, musical guest/host Blake Shelton kept interrupting a magic show by declaring
that the purported “magician” couldn’t actually do magic and that magic wasn’t
real. Even though the magician continued to demonstrate his prowess by doing
successful card tricks, etc., Shelton continued his tirade and challenged the
performer to use magic on him to prove otherwise. Ultimately the magician’s
self-confidence got so worn down after listening to repeated disparaging
comments about his skill that even he started to doubt his ability when he
couldn’t complete a card trick. He and the rest of his audience even agreed
that magic didn’t really exist when the “spell” he tried to cast on Shelton
apparently failed. However, once the naysayer stormed off in disgust, the
magician was able to complete another magic trick. His belief in himself
(self-esteem) and his self-confidence immediately went up. He declared that
magic really does exist and performed another successful trick as the audience
applauded with approval.
HMI founder John Kappas, Ph.D.’s Theory of Mind tells us that we start receiving message units
the moment we are born. Between the ages of five and eight, we start taking
these messages directly into the subconscious mind. In addition, as we get
older we are also strongly influenced by what our peers think about us and our
abilities. Even negative messages that cause emotional pain such as criticism
about our ability to succeed will be accepted and integrated to help form our
life script. Negative messages create negative beliefs, and unless or until
those beliefs are replaced with positive ones, our self-image will not improve
even if our physical ability and strength has actually changed.
Remember: The
path to a positive self-image starts with self-confidence and self-esteem you
feel from the inside. Once these
beliefs are there, keep reinforcing the positive messages in your mind so they
become an indelible part of your subconscious mental script. Negativity can
only gain a foothold in our subconscious minds if we invite and allow it to
grow there in the first place, so don’t let other people’s negativity grind you
down with them.
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/.
© 2015
