The most successful people from all walks of life,
be that young, old, academic, professional, business, sportsmen etc. are
usually those who are the most motivated.
There are many theories of how we can develop motivational skills, but
one in particular and which is beyond doubt is that we need goals. Somebody who has a clear goal is more ready for
action than somebody who doesn’t, whereas without goals there can be little if
any action at all.
It therefore follows that if you are constantly
looking for new alternative sources of motivation, then your goals may not be
well enough defined. A goal of becoming
simply more motivated won’t really do.
But if you have a clear and positive defined goal of achieving something
specific, then the motivation usually takes care of itself - the more specific,
the better. Here motivation is simply
the end product of a clearly focused mind.
So what should we focus on if not the motivation
itself? For instance, instead of
focusing on weight loss, we can focus on feeling and looking healthier, fitting
into our favourite clothes, or feeling more accepted etc. Equally, we need to stay away from ‘don’t -
e.g. ‘I don’t want to be this size’.
Whilst we are thinking that we ‘don’t want something’, we are inherently
off track. Instead we need to learn to
naturally focus on what we DO want, the deeper goals, rather than what we don’t
want, which includes no goals at all.
By helping define deeper goals, Solution Focused
Hypnotherapy (SFH) for example is an extremely valuable resource. It supports these ideas perfectly in helping
people to clarify their intentions and move beyond psychological blocks and
procrastinations towards achieving the strong self-motivational skills they are
capable of. It helps on a deep level by
supporting people to redefine their self-image and gain confidence in what they
can achieve.
Whether it’s managing weight, keeping fit,
maintaining a tidy house, dealing better with emotions, gaining qualifications
or improving work/life balance, hypnotherapy can help you achieve your goal.
SFH therapists at ‘Changes Welcome’ employ
techniques specifically designed to help people visualise their ‘preferred
future’. By asking specially formulated
questions, the support is provided to help people describe how their future
will be when they have achieved their goal. People are encouraged to provide as much
detail as possible so that they can create a vivid and clear mental image.
When this is followed by a session of hypnosis, a
relaxed state of trance is achieved in which the sub-conscious mind is more receptive
to ideas and suggestion, which in turn serves to embed the ideas more firmly. People do not need to be creative or artistic
to be able to visualise a scenario. For
those who may not be very creative and feel unsure of this, it is for example
as simple as describing their wedding day, or describing what their kitchen/
garage looks like. Visualisation is no more difficult than that.”
It is important for people to
understand, however, that SFH is not a magic wand that can change a person’s
behaviour without any effort on their part. Willpower and determination are still needed,
but this therapy can be enormously helpful in maintaining a people’s motivation.
Most New Year’s resolutions involve changing
ingrained habits. We may habitually eat more than we need to be comfortably
full, we may leave the dishes on the draining board until morning, or we may
believe that we can’t leave work until we’ve dealt with all the emails in our
inbox.
Solution Focused Hypnotherapy works by helping clients to see an
alternative behaviour, one that benefits them. We know that habits are created
through repetition. The more we employ a new behaviour, the more automatic it
becomes. By helping clients to imagine having achieved their goal, SFH
therapists are actually helping them to create healthier habits of thought.
This is not without scientific background. Neuroscience demonstrates that when we
imagine doing something, changes take place in the brain, which are similar to
when we are actually doing it. So we can accelerate the formation of new habits
by simply thinking about the way we want to be. And repetition of this in the
deeply relaxed state achieved during hypnosis helps the mind to absorb the positive
mental image more quickly.
Anyone who feels they need help to set specific
goals or to maintain motivation can give me a call or drop me an email and I’d
love to help you achieve your worthwhile goals.
By Liane Ulbricht-Kazan
Changes Welcome
Tel: 07825 286 550
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