“The most effective
way to do it, is to do it.” – Amelia Earhart
Sometimes when we are faced with a daunting, challenging or undesirable
task it seems the easiest thing to do is to put it off until a “better” time.
But what is and when will it be a better time? Why isn’t right now, the right
time? After all, time will pass whether or not you complete that assignment.
You (your conscious mind) know that you will feel so much more relaxed and even
confident once that dreaded project is out of the way. But something is
preventing you from even getting started.
That “something” is a subconscious mental script that doesn’t have a
playbook for what you are trying to do or accomplish. Though it is invisible
and without a solid form, this script might as well be that dense, 100-foot
monolith that is featured in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Until you find a way to
negotiate around that obstacle, you are unlikely to make much headway
accomplishing your goal. Of course it is possible that someone else might step
up and do the job for you. Maybe the situation or problem will resolve itself
and no further action will be needed. But if those best-case scenarios do not
come through, you will still be stuck exactly where you are right now.
Hypnotherapy and therapeutic guided imagery seem to be made for moments
like that.
Both channel the power of the subconscious mind to help reframe a
perceived “negative” or situation to a positive and negotiable one. Once the
physical body is completely relaxed and the conscious and subconscious mind are
calm and quiet during hypnosis, the hypnotherapist can construct a new mental
script that facilitates this desired forward movement. For example, a new hypnotic script would build
on and fortify existing subconscious knowns and successes where the person has
already conquered a similar challenge. Then, the person would have a chance to practice
the new, desired behavior in a therapeutic guided-imagery journey where the
individual imagines how it feels and looks like to finish the task at hand. It
doesn’t even really matter if you don’t have a specific reference for
accomplishing this or a similar project in “real life,” because the
subconscious mind does not know the difference between what is real or
imaginary. Once you have done “x” in your mind, you are building a foundation experiencing
this accomplishment. The more times you practice this behavior or action, the
stronger/better/faster you will become at achieving this or even a similar,
related goal in the future.
The key is to just do it.
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/.
© 2016
