An urgent message:

If you have recently sent correspondence or if you are on my waiting list, please send me an email and get in touch. I will then get back to you. (This requirement is due to data-loss at my end).

I apologise for any inconvenience in the meantime.

Warm regards,

Adrian

Just a quick update. Very busy with other projects at the moment (hence the inordinate delay between posts here) but that will change in March. In the meantime, I’d just like to link to a few things:

I am currently moderating an online discussion forum: http://www.hypnotism.org.uk If you’re a hypnotherapist/hypnotist (or simply interested in hypnosis and you want to know more) then come and join us. It is free to join and the quality of discussion there is top-notch!

Also, there is a “Facebook for hypnotherapists” type community growing strongly here: http://www.hypnothoughts.com You can view my profile page here: http://www.hypnothoughts.com/profile/AdrianTannock

Finally, if you like mind-mapping try this site (thanks Bob for suggesting it to me) – it’s not technically mind-mapping, and the interface takes a little working out (about 5 minutes, nothing too strenuous) but it is a useful little tool nontheless: http://www.bubbl.us/

That’s all for now – any questions, why not take a look around or drop me a line.

Warm regards,

Adrian
http://www.lastingchange.co.uk

Just a quick note – this blog has made it into its second year! When I wrote my first post, I have to admit to being anxious as to whether I would be able to commit enough time to it, but so far I’ve found it a really enjoyable experience.

That said, I’ve been pretty slack of late! :-/ I’ve got a series of posts, firstly on Freud, then Jung lined up. They’re mostly complete and, when I get through the busy period in early January, I’ll have time to finish them off and upload them. I am especially excited about the Jung posts…

So, thank  you for your patience, and also your comments (we love comments, we do). Have a great Christmas period, and a great 2009!

Warmest regards,

Adrian
http://www.lastingchange.co.uk

Well – firstly apologies for the delay since the last update. I can’t believe it has been around two months! I guess I’ve been busy with my practice, with my course, and the rest…

I have a series of posts in the pipeline based on old Sigmund Freud. In the meantime, here’s a fun tool if you’re into Myers-Briggs tests: http://www.typealyzer.com/index.php?lang=en – this one will ‘analyse’ a blog and tell you the character type of the author(s).

Does it work? Who knows, here’s what it had to say about me!

INTJ – The Scientists

The long-range thinking and individualistic type. They are especially good at looking at almost anything and figuring out a way of improving it – often with a highly creative and imaginative touch. They are intellectually curious and daring, but might be pshysically hesitant to try new things.

The Scientists enjoy theoretical work that allows them to use their strong minds and bold creativity. Since they tend to be so abstract and theoretical in their communication they often have a problem communcating their visions to other people and need to learn patience and use conrete examples. Since they are extremly good at concentrating they often have no trouble working alone.

It’s not far wrong , actually, although I am generally more extrovert than introvert, and slightly more perception than judgment; if you own (or regularly read) a blog – why not give it a try!

That’s all for now. I’ll be back soon with a (series of) longer updates.

Warm regards,

Adrian
http://www.lastingchange.co.uk

Firstly – thank you for the emails and messages in response to my posts on Common Misconceptions of Hypnosis (Part 1, Part 2). It’s always good to get feedback (even constructive criticism) and I enjoyed writing the posts. Thanks.

It occurred to me, whilst reading some emails from fellow hypnotherapists in response to my posts, that there are also misconceptions of hypnosis held by practitioners in the field. For example, I often read that hypnotherapy “works with the subconscious mind”… This is the sort of thing that hypnotherapist say without really thinking “What does that mean?”

(Check the websites of practitioners out there, and you’ll see this written time and time again).

So – lets ask: what does that actually mean?

I’m currently writing an essay on Sigmund Freud (or “Sick Man Fraud” as Richard Bandler likes to say) for a diploma course in hypno-psychotherapy. Freud was an interesting character (to say the least) and, despite the fact that I disagree with many of his ideas – both in terms of theory & practice – it would be useless to discount his contribution to human understanding.

One of the key ideas he developed was the idea of a dynamic unconscious which influences our experience of life. Our unconscious desires can be expressed symbolically, through dreams, mistakes (Freudian slips), and the like. Presumably this is the subconscious mind that hypnosis works on…

But what is a subconscious mind? (Or, my preferred term, an unconscious mind – they are (most often) used interchangably, the only difference being that “subconscious” suggests lesser importance.) Well, I explained here how “the mind” is the process of our experience of being alive, dependent on the functioning of our brain, and not an object to which you can ascribe characteristics, abilities, or functions. Some therapists seem to believe there is a strange little guy in there making people do crazy things.

This model of conscious and unconscious minds is very simplistic, particularly in light of more complex models that take into account ‘ego states‘ and the like. I imagine many, many hypnotherapists believe statements like:

• The unconscious mind is the storehouse of our memories, our skills, learnings and emotions (etc).
• The unconscious mind has great wisdom, and is concerned with protecting us, ensuring our survival.
• The unconscious mind processes information differently to the conscious mind: it isn’t rational, but emotional.

Etc, etc… It’s no surprise that many therapists subscribe to these attributions – most of the books relating to hypnosis will talk about the unconscious mind in this way. For example, from Michale Yapko’s excellent Trancework book:

“The unconscious mind is, metaphorically, a reservoir of all the muti-dimensional experiences squired throughout your lifetime, inclding your historical experience, personal and social learnings, manner (drives, motivations, needs) for interaction with one’s world, and your automatic functioning in countelss behaviours each day. The unconscious mind, in contrast to the conscious mind, is not as rigid or analytical.  It can respond to inferences between the lines, it is capable of symbolic interpretation,  and tends to be global in view.”

Note the key word: metaphorically… I’m not going to quibble with Yapko, he is rightly regarded as a powerhouse in the field of hypnosis. However, I wish that the word ‘metaphorically’ had been repeated, underlined, bolded and then repeated some more… just for good measure…

(The problem of reifying metaphorical concepts in the mind stretches way back to Freud himself, with his tripartate model of the mind – the id, the ego, and the superego).These are just metaphorical concepts – there is no ego, there is no superego, and again, as Richard Bandler likes to ask, “Have you in your life ever met an id?”

So, because of this historical tendency to turn concepts into real things, hypnotherapists often believe they are using “a state of trance” to communicate with a person’s “unconscious mind”. However, there is no such thing as an object named the unconscious mind, except metaphorically…

(You could argue that there is no such thing as a “state of trance” either, but I’ll save that for another post!)

Now – just to confound you! When practicing hypnosis, I will often ask a person’s “unconscious mind” to make changes, or give an unconscious signal, or to bring a memory into conscious recall, etc… How can that be, given my comments above?

The point is, although the unconscious mind doesn’t exist as an object, there are, within us, processes that are not conscious, yet which profoundly affect our experience of life. As you read these words, you recognise them instantaneously – there is a process taking place between the act of looking and your recognition. That process is happening at an unconscious level…

So let’s be clear, when I (or any other therapist) refers to “your unconscious mind” they are referring to the collection of these many, many, unconscious cognitive process, like the one mentioned above. That’s what an unconscious mind “is”.

To be fair, in practice, whether the unconscious exists or not isn’t particularly important to therapeutic outcomes. However, I think it’s important that hypnotherapists realise the difference between scientific research vs the accepted dogma that exists within the field, particularly if they want to improve as therapists.

That is the most important thing to me.

Any comments or questions leave a message.

Adrian
http://www.lastingchange.co.uk

I am in the middle of writing a longer post, but I just wanted to add a link to zenhabits.net

As a long time fan, I reckon this is probably the best thing I’ve ever found in teh internets particularly in light of Leo’s open source philosophy. The truth is, if you’re looking to get your self up and running with organisation, with a healthy lifestyle, with living simply and happily, or even help with family finances (and more!) – this is one of the very best sites out there.

Check it out!

Adrian

Following on from my previous post Hypnosis – common misconceptions (Part 1) (thank you for the comments I would like to outline some more examples where people get the wrong end of the stick regarding hypnosis.

A client becomes dependent on the hypnotist

This is quite a common misconception amongst those who work in the field of psychology, which can be traced all of the way back to Freud. It is true to say that clients depend on clinicians to help, to comfort, and to care. Psychotherapists, no matter which modalilty they practice, know that the ultimate goal if responsible treatment must be to help each client establish self-reliance whenever possible.

All people who offer care & support to others run the risk of finding people becoming dependent on them. That is not a quality of hypnosis, but a quality of the relationship that exists between therapist and client.

As a result, I often teach self-hypnosis to my clients. The reason being research has demonstrated that self-hypnosis can play an important role in self-reliance (Alman, 2001).

You can become “stuck” in hypnosis

This is my favorite! As hypnosis is an experience of focused attention, which is controlled by the subject, it is literally impossible to become “stuck”.

Think about this one for a moment, it might be difficult to tear yourself away from a good book or from the TV, but if there were a fire you’d be on your toes in no time. The idea that hypnotic trance, an experience that you allow yourself to enter, could last for days, or months, or years, isn’t particularly well thought through.

Hypnosis always involves a ritual of induction

This from Michael Yapko’s excellent 2003 book “Trancework”:

If a person’s attention is directed in an absorbing way, either to an external stimulus, or inwardly on some subjective experience, and that person is responsive to suggestions to alter their experience, they can reasonably said to be in hypnosis (Matthews, Lankton & Lankton, 1993; Zeig, 2001).

The “directing of attention in an absorbing way” can happen without a formal induction, for example TV Advertising. There is no need for any swinging watches, any hour-long progressive relaxation exercises, hypnosis can happen in an instant. Ever lost track whilst driving? Hypnosis, as evidenced by hypnotic phenomenon, can even be induced whilst a person undertakes physical activity, such as riding an exercise bike (Banyai & Hilgard, 1978).

Hypnosis is an everyday occurrence that can happen with, or without, a hypnotist present.

Hypnosis is simply relaxation/meditation

personally, I think meditation and hypnosis are closely related. I’ve not seen studied into whether hypnotic phenomena can be elicited from a person in a meditative state. I suspect probably not, because of the expectancy factor. Related? Possibly, yes. The same? Definitely not.

In terms of hypnosis being simple relaxation… Well – no one would simply complete a relaxation exercise (even a deeply relaxing one) and then expect to undergo surgery painlessly. If you would like to see more hypno-anesthesia (and you’re not squeamish) then click here. There is more to hypnosis than simple relax-o-therapy.

Whether hypnosis is a special state, a transactional outcome, a socio-cognitive experience, or all of the above and more, one thing is for certain: it is not just mere relaxation.

Hypnosis is the Devil’s work, or can lead to ESP

I am very tolerant of people’s religious beliefs. Such beliefs don’t always make sense to me, and I expect some of my beliefs wouldn’t make much sense to others. However, I do occasionally encounter the idea that hypnosis is somehow evil… It’s one thing I just can’t understand.

I accept that the experience of hypnosis is non-routine. However, as noted above, hypnotic phenomenon can be elicited whilst a person is in a state of focus, such as whilst riding an exercise bike. Hypnosis perhaps is psychological, or biological, but it simply has nothing to do with religion.

It seems to me that exercise bikes are far from esoteric, or evil! (Although that depends on whether you consider them to be instruments of torture or not!)

Hypnosis can be used to accurately recall the past

Lets be certain on this – research on memory makes it clear that the brain does not record experience accurately. Memories are based on perceptions, and so memories are subject to the same potential sensory distortions. Hypnosis does not increase the probability of accurate recall (Lynn & Nash, 1994).

One thing hypnosis can do, is help a person recover repressed material. However, understand that any memories recovered via hypnosis (or, frankly, just by lying in a warm bath and asking “What can I remember about my childhood that I’ve not thought about in years?”) will not be an accurate representation, but a subjective one.

This is an interesting topic. I once worked with a phobia sufferer who, using hypnosis, recalled an experience (relating to the phobia) that she felt certain hadn’t happened. I explained that she could very well have seen it on TV, or heard it in a story, but that she had fully identified with the event in question. As a result, it was possibly contributing to her phobic response. We worked on that basis, and the phobia was cleared up.

Some people naturally fear what memories might “come up” when delving into the past. People fear the worst (Trauma with a capital “T” – abuse and the like) but in my years of practicing I have never, ever seen this. Where that kind of Trauma exists, people know – even if the actual event has been repressed.

Our memories of the past have an effect on who we are in the present. Using hypnosis the past can be cleared up. Don’t expect hypnosis to help you accurately recall every little detail in your past, but don’t fear using hypnosis to look at the past through different eyes, either. The best thing about the past is that it’s over. It only exists as events encoded into the neurons in your brain. As such those memories are your posessions, and you are free to do with them what you will.

I hope you found the post interesting – let me know what you think!

Warm regards,

Adrian

It is fair to say that, when it comes to hypnosis, there are many misconceptions in people’s minds. These misconceptions are often rooted in old media portrayals, and rarely make any sense. However these outdated (or just plain ridiculous) ideas can lead to a person being afraid of a process that could be wonderfully beneficial to their health.

So – I want to discuss some of the common misconceptions, and hopefully allaying some fears along the way.

In hypnosis, you are asleep or unconscious (i.e. “Put under”)

Some researchers believe that hypnosis is an altered state of conscious awareness. Others feel that hypnosis is a result of normal psychological function, coupled with certain sociological forces (e.g. role-playing at being hypnotised). However, no matter which theory of hypnosis you subscribe to, it has nothing to do with being unconscious. The truth is, physical relaxation need not be present in order for hypnosis to occur – you can be very alert and yet still capable of producing hypnotic phenomena.

Whilst experiencing hypnosis, particularly in a clinical setting, you will always retains your conscious awareness, even if it becomes a bit ‘day-dreamy’.

Not everybody can be hypnotised

There is defnitely a spectrum of responsiveness to hypnosis. This spectrum depends on a whole array of factors. These factors could be intrapersonal, such as a fear of hypnosis, ability to relax, a belief that it can be done, etc. These factors can also be situational, such as the room in which the hypnosis is being carried out, the time of day. These factors can also be intrapersonal, e.g. personal rapport between the hypnotist and the client, etc.

According to some research (Gfeller, 1993; Wagstaff, 1996), “low” hypnotisables can be coached into responsive hypnotic subjects with practice and training.

Everyone can be hypnotised. All it takes is feeling comfortable with the idea of going into it. Some people find it easier than others to begin with, but with practice it just gets easier and easier.

To give you an idea – I’ve hypnotised thousands of people in my time (so far) and I can count 3 people who I couldn’t hypnotise (and one of those kept pinching herself! I guess she really didn’t want to stop smoking after all…)

Only the weak-minded or weak-willed can be hypnotised

There has been a lot of scientific research into whether specific personality traits correlate with being “more hypnotisable”. According to research the ability to be hypnotised does not correlate with any specific personality trait (Kirsch & Council, 1992), including a person’s capacity for will (Kirsh, Lynn, & Rhue, 1993; 1996).

This is one of those things said (usually by men) by people who believe that hypnosis is some form of mind control. There is simply no connection between being ’strong willed’ or ‘weak willed’ and hypnosis.

Once one has been hypnotised, one can no longer resist it

Although techniques such as anchors can be used to rapidly re-induce hypnosis, the hypnotic process is always context-determined. According to Michael Yapko, “Prior experience of hypnosis is not the sole or even primary factor in whether hypnosis is accomplished or not”.

This is one of those misconceptions that make little sense, if you think about it. Let’s say I hypnotised you to stop smoking. Then, a year later, I bump into you in a put. The idea that all I’d need to do is go “SLEEP!” and you’d be “under” (and be willing to buy me free beer all night) is (sadly?) not true…

One can be hypnotised to do or say something against one’s will

This is an interesting one. Despite the fact that virtually all hypnotherapists will tell you that you can’t be made to do anything you don’t want to do, the truth is that people can be manipulated negatively to do things seemingly inconsistent with their beliefs and attitudes.

However – and this is important – the conditions necessary to exert such a powerful influence have nothing to do with a typical therapeutic encounter (Yapko, 2003). Again, as research carried out into social factors and hypnosis has demonstrated (T. Barber, 2000) hypnosis is context-dependent.

Think about it – if, whilst sitting in my therapy room, I hypnotised you and said “And – now – you will jump out of the window / give me all your money / take off all your clothes / etc”, the truth is you will come out of the trance and probably punch me on the nose for thinking you were so gullible. It just makes no sense.

If it were a stage show, and you thought I was asking you these things as part of a show – i.e. entertainment – then maybe you’d go along with it, maybe you wouldn’t. But in a therapy session? Never.

Hypnosis doesn’t make you gullible, stupid, or blind.

One can be made to disclose things they would prefer to keep private

Hypnosis is not a truth serum, but a process that is dependent on personal choice. A hypnotised person would not disclose any information they would not normally disclose. Much research has been carried out into this, particularly by “Millitary Intelligence” types (oxymoron?) who, for obvious reasons, would love to find out if people were telling the truth or not. It was quickly established that people can lie under hypnosis just as easily as out of hypnosis.

When experiencing hypnosis, you still have free will. You don’t have to do, or say, anything that you do not want to.

Hypnosis is dangerous

Hypnosis, particularly if induced via relaxation, causes a slowdown of physiological functions, and an inner absorption. Such responses are inherently healthy, reducing stress and discomfort, and can relieve hypertension, anxiety and pain. Hypnosis also helps to foster feelings of self-control, increased self-confidence, enhanced emotional well-being, and a freedom from past traumas. Far from being dangerous, hypnosis is an incredible tool for bringing about psychological or physical healing.

It is true that difficulties may arise through misdiagnosis or inappropriate content during therapy, but those conditions exist in any therapeutic relationship where one is in distress, vulnerable, or seeking relief.

With that in mind, it is important to get a good therapist, not just somebody who has learned how to hypnotise people, but somebody who is interested in the art & science of hypnosis, therapy, psychology, and health. Perhaps somebody who takes the time to blog on the subject!

Hypnosis in itself just isn’t dangerous, it is beneficial for the body & mind. It is important that you visit a skilled therapist; consider how long they have been in practice, what approaches they take in therapy, whether they are flexible and knowledgeable enough to help YOU.

So that’s all for now – in part two I’ll look at more misconceptions. Any questions or comments, drop me a line or leave a comment (I love comments!)

Adrian
http://www.lastingchange.co.uk

Recently, at the request of a colleague, I built a website on behalf of the Lalibela Educational Trust (LET) – a registered charity that works with children from some of the poorest families in Ethiopia. Their aim is to help those children achieve their ambitions and independence, by helping to finance further or professional education.

It is a good cause and you can read more about it (and maybe even get involved) here: http://www.let.eu.com

Cheers,

Adrian
http://www.lastingchange.co.uk

Here’s a cool little thing that sums up my blog quite nicely (click on the image to see it full-size)

I am currently working on a post regarding typical misconceptions held about hypnosis. However, I’m in the thick of revising for an exam and, as such, I’ve been a little busy…

Yesterday (Thursday) I had one of those mornings where, try as I might, I just couldn’t seem to get going. I figured I’d follow my own advice, and the second half of the day was really productive. However, today something occurred to me.

If, when you think about doing something that you have to do, you feel resistance to doing it, then it’s tough to get it done.

If, when you think about doing something that you have to do, you think to yourself “I’ll do it tomorrow”, then it’s tough to get it done.

There has been a lot of researched carried out into behaviour. In 1986, two researches (Norman & Shallice) suggested a model of action control which puts forward the idea that automatic behaviour, comprised of routine and habit, is governed by a modular system of “information models” or schemas. These schemas come into play either via external stimulus, or internal motivations. Tasks that can be classed as automatic are tasks that have become routine, and most often are performed without a conscious awareness of the pattern. So this would include tasks such as sitting down, writing with a pen, driving in a car (and, in some cases, procrastinating over an essay)…

These schemas operate until the task is finished (e.g. when driving, arriving at your destination) or a higher-priority schema is operated (pulling into the services because you need the loo).

Speculatively, I’d include having feelings as being under this automatic control. Feelings are often generated beyond our conscious awareness, and they are governed by schemas that sometimes co-operate with one another, but often compete with one another…

However, the Norman & Shallice model acknowledges the fact that not all behaviours are routine. Where novel tasks must be completed, the “Supervisory Activating System” (who comes up with this stuff?) comes into play. The SAS “is responsible for more complex cognitive operations and, in general, intervenes when routine control is insufficient.” To relate this to our driving example, this would be driving in France and realising (hopefully) that you now need to drive on the other side of the road. As this thought occurs to you, “you” intervene, and swerve to the other side of the road… This is known as “willed action”.

The Supervisory Activating System is closely related to conscious awareness in another interesting theory, the “Global Workspace Theory” (Baars, 1988), and also to the idea of a “Central Executive” in the theory of “Working Memory” (Baddeley and Hitch, 1974).

So this seems to relate to our thoughts – at least those thoughts that feel like us (rather than the random ones that seem to “pop” in there from time to time…) The Supervisory Activating System seems to relate to that “inner voice” that is trying to plot our way through our days. In other words, our will.

(There are other models that include automatic and willed action however Norman and Shallice’s model is the simplest).

The above model relates to hypnosis quite nicely, in that some researchers (Woody & Bowers, 1994) suggest that hypnosis has the ability to disengage that supervisory system, granting the hypnotist increased access to the automatic control schemas. This is certainly consistent with my practical experience and it’s a powerful proposition. However, that wasn’t the point of this post…

(Hmmn – and there was a point; this post was really only meant to be a brief update, but now I’ve gone and written my usual 500+ words… O well.)

The point is: if your automatic behaviour (and feelings) are averse to completing a task, or if your willed thoughts (that voice in your head that’s supposed to be in charge) is averse to completing a task, or – worse still – if both the voice and the feelings are averse to completing a task, then it’s damn difficult to complete a task!

This is where NLP comes in. By using NLP patterns (visualisations, use of language, etc) you can empower the supervisory activating system to intervene more effectively; to build a better outcome that is beyond those limiting, routine, behaviours…

Richard Bandler is right: living an effective life is all about generating better feelings…

If you feel like doing something, and that voice in your head is saying “let’s do it!” then you are going to get it done. It’s pretty simple really…

Finally, on ITV’s This Morning, Nurse and hypnotherapist Bernadine Coady, 67, (btw I hope I look as good as her when I’m 67?!) explained how it felt to have surgery under hypnotic anesthesia. You can read about it (and see a video – if it finds its way onto Youtube, I’ll replace the link) here:

http://www.itv.com/Lifestyle/ThisMorning/Health/Surgeryunderhypnosis123/default.html

At the end of the piece Dr. Chris Steele explains some of the interesting cases he’s treated with hypnosis. If only all doctors were as open minded as he seemingly is…

That’s all for now – if you find this interesting, please leave a comment!

Adrian
http://www.lastingchange.co.uk

Just a quick, cheeky plug for my blog. If you have enjoyed reading the posts, then please click here: http://www.blogcatalog.com/blogs/adriantannockcom.html and Rate This Blog. I would be happy to get the rating higher than a 2/5 (some miserablist out there knows who they are, or maybe somebody twitched when looking to press 5!?)

Either way, some votes would be great!

I trust I can rely on your vote?

Adrian
http://www.lastingchange.co.uk

I’ve received many emails over the past couple of months in response to the Positive Motivation Series of posts earlier in the year. I’ve been asked about my own motivation strategy and whether it works.

I used to be the world’s worst procrastinator. If there had been a Procrastination Olympics, I would have won Gold. I was a 10th dan black-belt, zen master procrastinator who could out procrastinate a lump of rock.

I would do the whole range. Thinking about doing things, then putting them off. Doing other things first: more interesting things, less interesting things, then, finally, just things – anything, just so long as it meant not having to do the thing I was procrastinating over.

And this wasn’t enjoyable. I’d be stressed about the things I wasn’t doing, and be pissed off at myself for being the sort of person who procrastinated. Bills would go unpaid, washing up would remain undone, books remain unread, websites remain unbuilt… All in all, it was a bit of a car crash…

(Which gives me an idea – perhaps somebody should sell this idea to Channel 4 as a replacement for their ailing Big Brother “show”: gather 12 procrastinators together and watch them grow increasingly stressed in their avoidances as the viewing public votes to burden them with more and more tasks?)

Anyway… Here is how I beat procrastination once and for all – it’s built around the S-M-E-R-T-E model:

Stimulus. This can be external, or internal. Something that happens, or something we feel needs to happen, or a thought that occurs to us.
Memory. In response to a stimulus, our brain accesses memories. It does this to determine whether the stimulus is good, or bad, benign or scary, etc. The memories accessed in response to stimuli are often unconscious to us.
Emotion. Emotions are felt when these memories are accessed; often the emotion we fear is the overriding emotion in the memories we have just accessed. In a typical procrastinator, the emotion is usually one of reluctance to act.
Response. Response refers here to either cognitions or behaviour that happen in response to the emotions we have just felt.
Termination. The end of those cognitions or behaviours; so in the procrastinator, this would be finishing watching Dial M for Murder or whatever…
Evaluation. The evaluation phase is often unconscious. In the procrastinator, a thought process will run along the lines of “Great! I avoided doing that for a little while – a great result!”

The S-M-E-R-T-E model is a useful model for most problems in life. For example, phobias run along these lines (see the spider, access memories of being scared by spiders, feel the fear, run away crying, relax when away from the spider, think “great – I avoided the spider”), as do problems with confidence or self-esteem, anxieties, insomnia, eating disorders, etc…

So, you can probably work out that for the procrastinator, it is the Emotion and Response part of this model where the major problems lie. Here’s the process I follow:

Stimulus. So, for example, seeing a pile of washing up.
Memory. Unconsciously, my brain will access childhood memories of having to do the washing up, and hating it.
Emotion. Those old resentments and resistances flood back, leaving me feeling all “procrastinaty”.

At this point, I’ll:

1. Consciously access memories of being motivated to do something, which brings about feelings of motivation to combat the procrastination feelings.
2. I’ll consciously access memories of time flying by (time distortion is a hypnotic phenomenon) – to remind me that that it’ll only take 10 – 20 minutes, and that time will fly by (particularly, if I listen to music whilst doing it).
3. I’ll then consciously access memories of completing the washing up, which brings about feelings of satisfaction. I’ll then affirm that I want those feelings again.

Because of this intervention, I’ll have a new emotion; rather than the childish resistance felt previously, I now feel motivated, and certain it will only take a jiffy to get the job done.

With that emotion felt bodily (and it doesn’t need to be strong, just stronger than the old procrastination feelings) my Response is now different – it is easy to do the behaviour of “getting it done”. Those behaviours happen automatically in fact.

When the resourceful behaviour is complete, I’ll then use the Evaluation stage to consciously generate good feelings, and congratulate myself for doing a good job. This is important – it helps to build good, happy memories for the future. The more happy memories you have for getting things done, the less of a procrastinator you will be.

The above works for any type of procrastination, except perhaps where there is a fear of failure involved. Just follow the instructions, substituting a task you’re struggling with for my example of “doing the washing up”. After a while, the process becomes natural – try it…

(And not tomorrow…)

That’s all for now, if you find this post helpful, don’t forget to vote for my blog…

Warm regards,

Adrian
http://www.lastingchange.co.uk

Or so they say… So one obvious question is: what, exactly, is the mind?

It’s a good question.

I’d like you to stop for a moment, and then imagine an elephant wearing pyjamas. What colour are the pyjamas?

(Interestingly, most people will say “blue and white stripes”.There is a post on “memetics” in that fact somewhere… Another time maybe!)

Perhaps even more interesting, is the fact that you can imagine an elephant wearing pyjamas, of any colour, somewhere in your experience of consciousness. That’s quite amazing, if you think about it.

Now – if I were to chop up your brain into tiny pieces (don’t worry, I’m not going to do that), at no point would I find, amongst the cells that have clumped together to form your brain, any tiny pictures of elephants. In fact I wouldn’t find any pictures of anything: your front door, your first love, your first car… I wouldn’t find audio recordings of your mother’s voice… I certainly wouldn’t find the taste of lemons, nor the smell of disinfectant.

However, these are all things – to a greater or lesser degree – that we can recreate in our experience of consciousness… This means that the mind must exist, right?

Well – we can refer to our experience of consciousness, our experience of living, and state “Cogito, ergo sum” - I think, therefore I am. However, the problem with the mind is that it has no weight, no colour, it makes no sound, it doesn’t exist in a physical locale. So although, through consciousness, we experience having a mind, it is beyond measure… Therefore does it actually exist?

And if it doesn’t exist, why do people talk about it so much?

One thing seems clear. Our experience of consciousness is connected to the functioning of our brain. As the brain functions, we experience consciousness. The functioning of the brain is a process, with a beginning point and an ending point, so therefore our experience of consciousness is also a process.

This means that our “mind” is also a process. That is an important point to consider. It means that we don’t have thoughts or memories, we engage in the activity of thinking, or recalling.

Imagine waving your arm (or, if you are adventurous, give it a wave now!) A trained anatomist would be able to work out the macro and micro-anatomical properties & processes that constitute the act you have just completed (waving your arm). (you can stop now, if you haven’t already )

Put energy into those processes, and the arm can’t fail to wave. However, at no point would the anatomist locate a wave. Now that you have stopped waving nobody would ask “Where is the wave stored now?”

So, with that in mind, eventually, it should be possible for a neuroanatomist to work out structure and processes of those neuronal networks – those networks that exist physically in your brain – that are active when you think of an elephant in pyjamas, just in the same way as an anatomist can work out the processes that can cause your arm to move. With that breakthrough, it should be possible to demonstrate that, on putting energy into that neuronal network, it (the brain) cannot help but engage in thinking of an elephant in pyjamas.

And when finished, at no point will the neuroanatomist ask, where is the elephant (or any other thoughts or memories) stored now?

So basically: according to science, our minds don’t exist. We don’t have stored memories, or beliefs, or ideas, we experience remembering, or believing, or thinking. Our experience of consciousness is a process, not an object, and is as a result of the functioning of our brain’s activities. It’s depressingly reductionist, but scientifically, it is sound… You can’t have one without the other.

In therapy, this doesn’t matter one bit of course. Even as a metaphor, appealing to the unconscious mind to make changes or whatever still works just fine, because we know what it is like to experience owning one!

However – if, you can’t have an experience of consciousness without the functioning of your brain, surely this means: when your brain dies, you die. It’s all down to biology…

Well, personally I am loathe to believe that we are simply animated puppets of meat, roaming the surface of the Earth with no meaning other than eating, fornicating, dying (although venture into Manchester city centre on a Saturday night, and there is plenty of evidence to suggest just that! However…)

400 years ago, microbes were immeasurable by science, and yet their existence (and effect) were speculated upon even in Roman times. Just because those microbes were beyond the measure of science, doesn’t mean they didn’t exist until they were discovered. Consciousness is not measurable by science: it has no taste, no smell, no weight, and yet we know it exists because we experience it. I feel that consciousness, or life, has a dimension that is beyond genetic histories and biological imperatives… a dimension that is currently beyond scientific measure.

A flower knows to point itself towards the sun. Oysters open and close, not in time with the tides where they originated, but with the moon. Man built The Ring of Brodgar some 4500 years ago perhaps because, in their mind, consciousness and the world in which they lived were connected in ways which modern science is only just beginning to consider.

In the immortal words of Bill Hicks:

“Today a young man on acid realized that all matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration, that we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively, there is no such thing as death, life is only a dream, and we are the imagination of ourselves.

Now, here’s Tom with the weather.”

And with that thought in mind, have a great week!

Warm regards,

Adrian
http://www.lastingchange.co.uk

PS: I think this is my favorite post made to this blog, so do feel free to leave a comment!

Sometimes, the time comes where you realise you should just get involved… Ideally, this realisation dawns before the horse has bolted. In this case, I am not so sure.

To be fair, I am not exactly a Luddite. Prior to my work as a hypnotherapist, I used to work in what they call the “web development” industry (back then, it was called “New Media”…) At the beginning of the new millennium I worked in Liverpool, UK, and met some amazing people, and had a great time. I eventually ended up working as a freelance project manager. I enjoyed my time working with websites…

However, I’m glad that I came to the realisation that people are much more interesting than computers. It was that realisation that lead me to train in hypnotherapy, and I have never looked back. That said, I was bought my first computer – a ZX Spectrum when I was 10 (thanks Dad!), and as a result find computers very easy to use (to the point where, according to TypingTest.com I can type at speeds of 85 WPM – which I think represents Geek Speed…)

I’ve used computers to build my own website, to write electronic music, to organise a business, to record MP3s, and obviously to write this blog… And, now, only 3 years after it stopped being cool, I now have my own MySpace Page.

The reason behind the MySpace profile is my hypnosis MP3 website is almost ready to be launched. It was always the plan to offer some full-length hypnosis MP3s for free download, and I think MySpace will be a good place to promote that. According to one report I read, a person’s website is likely to get more “hits” from a busy MySpace page than from the MSN search engine… That’s quite a lot of traffic.

So – it’s all good!

Whilst I’m here, I’d like to thank those people who did leave a comment on my last post! It would be churlish of me to point out just how many people have looked at my blog in the past week, and yet neglected to comment despite my begging and pleading, so I won’t: instead thanks to those who did. It cheered me up!

I was interviewed last month by The Tranceparent Hypnotist Ellie Blunt. You can see the results here. I’d like to thank Ellie for the opportunity.

Finally, I have been on my hypno-psychotherapy course this weekend, and enjoyed it immensely as per usual. The course tutor, Sian, is quite possibly one of the funniest people I’ve ever met. She is also a great therapist in her own right. She has launched a new website, which you can view here: http://www.sianschofield.com.

So just a general update whilst longer posts are composed.

Warm regards,

Adrian
http://www.lastingchange.co.uk
http://www.myspace.com/adriantannock

PS: I’m still not certain about that neo-conservative dream that is Facebook however!

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve received a good 30 emails from people explaining how they’ve really enjoyed reading my posts recently. The “Positive Motivation” series has gone down really well. Also, the “Freedom from the Past” posts have been really well received too. I’d like to say to those people who emailed: thanks!

Now, I promise I’m not telling you (dear reader) this to show off Rather, if you enjoy reading this blog, it would be great if you left a little comment to let me know. Sometimes my blog feels… lonely…

Is it so wrong to tout for comments in this way?

I’m currently working on a series of posts to do with self-esteem and confidence, which will be put online over the course of June.

That’s all for now – take care,

Adrian
http://www.lastingchange.co.uk

Cake or Death?

Positive Motivation Part 3: How to Make Better Decisions

In the previous post in this motivation series, we looked at goal setting:

Setting Your Goals: why you want this goal, what you will get from this goal…

Planning Your Goals: how, specifically, you can achieve your goals through individual tasks…

Building A Routine: how you can, in daily or weekly life, work towards your goal through achieving those tasks…

Tracking Your Goals: how, using feedback, you can keep tabs on how well you are working towards your goals, and learn from failure (feedback) to keep going, perhaps trying different approaches.

So, with the above framework in mind, it should be simple:

I want to be a slim and healthy 9 stone by the time of my summer holiday, because I’ll be confident and happy in my summer clothes.

I can achieve this through eating in harmony with my body’s needs, plus exercising 4 times per week.

Once per week I’ll shop for healthy food, plus I’ll go to the gym on Monday, Wednesday, Friday plus a dance class on Sunday.

I’ll have a chart on my wall (where other’s can see it!) tracking the days where I eat healthily, the days where I exercise, plus my regular weight loss. From those days where I “fail”, I have learnt to go to the gym on a Thursday, rather than a Friday, because I just can’t make it to the gym on a Friday…

Simple, right?

In the first post on this motivation series, we looked at overcoming procrastination:

Instead of thinking about completing a task that will take you towards your goal (e.g. going to the gym), and then feeling really bad (“it’s too much effort, I’ll go tomorrow”), try this instead:

Think about how good it will feel when you have completed the task (in the shower after working out, feeling really good).

Think about how good it will feel when you’ve achieved your goal (being on holiday looking slim and feeling confident), and with that good feeling in mind (or body).

Say to yourself “I want that feeling!” and mean it (i.e. do it!)

Again, simple isn’t it?

However, if it were that simple, then we’d be a nation of super-goal-achieving, super slim, super happy folk achieving goals all over the place… And clearly, we aren’t. So what else do we have to consider?

Goal Conflict

Breaking goals into achievable tasks means that there will be regular points in time where we have to decide “Do I complete this task, or not”. With the above in mind, the answer should always be “Yes” however, often, there will be conflict. If your goal is to lose weight, but every time you try to go to the gym, another goal comes to the fore – that of sitting in front of the telly with a bar of chocolate in hand, for example – then there will be a conflict of goals.

At this point, you have to ask yourself which is more important. The good feeling of relaxing in front of the TV, or the good feeling of being slim on your holiday? Stop for a moment before you make your decision, and imagine both futures vividly (see the procrastination steps above, or here) and consider your priorities…

Look at the Future, Look at the Past, and Be Honest

Imagine yourself on holiday, looking back at this moment – how will you feel about it? Imagine this future you could give you some advice, a pep-talk, what would he or she say? Consider the future consequences of your decision.

When it come to making such decisions, another key factor to consider is to ensure that you haven’t decided already. People often pretend that they haven’t already decided to sit in front of the TV, or leave the washing up ’till tomorrow, or go out rather than study, and then pretend to go through some kind of decision-making process. When making a decision, think about what it feels like to be honest, and then decide: what would the best decision right now?

Aside from considering the future, and being honest with yourself, when you have a decision to make – think about similar bad decisions you have made in the past. So, if you have failed to exercise all week, and felt bad about it, and if your chart is showing a bad week, when it comes to the point where you decided to eat the chocolate or not, would you be merely repeating past mistakes?

Going It Alone?

Another way to make really bad decisions is to do it all by yourself. Achieving goals can be a long and lonely road sometimes. For some reason, people find it really difficult to ask others for advice. Perhaps through shyness, or embarrassment, or just through thinking they have to achieve everything by themselves. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Whatever you are trying to achieve, I can guarantee that – in general terms – somebody somewhere will have already achieved it, or at least have achieved something comparable. A key factor in success is to feel that you can approach successful people and find out how they made good decisions. People love talking about their achievements; if you want to study well, find the best student in your class and, over lunch (your shout) ask them how they do it. If you know somebody who is “naturally” slim and healthy, over lunch (again, your shout) ask them how they do it.

On your journey to success, it is vital to consider how those people who have walked the walk before you managed to keep going through obstacles and difficulty.

That Hidden Participant – Your Past

We are all subject to drives and desires which can undermine us. There can be experiences from our past which undermine us, as the resulting negative emotions are unresolved. Beliefs form, often in childhood, which limit our view of what we are capable of. As a result we find ourselves falling into unhelpful trances which undermine us, causing us to make bad decisions.

If you are regularly failing at achieving the tasks that you know will add up to a happier life, then perhaps it would be worth seeking some help with self-motivation, goal achieving and more.

Give Yourself a Break

You are not a robot! One of the mistakes I used to make in my 20s, was to plan out massive routines full of regular tasks that I felt certain would take me into an amazing future. I’d get a day or so into the program, and then that would be that. The whole thing was overwhelming.

Achieving goals can be hard work. Anything worth achieving will usually involve difficulty. If you are making excessive demands of yourself, inevitably you will turn the whole process into a miserable routine that soon leads you to feeling miserable or, worse still, depressed.

There will be difficult times ahead, so ensure that you give yourself regular time away from your goals, plus that you’re kind to yourself also. As people, we never treat ourselves like we would a best friend, and yet we should treat ourselves like our own best friend. This is the lesson of self-esteem, something I’ll be blogging on next.

Goals are Worthwhile

The most important thing to remember is that goals are worthwhile. If you want a better income, a better body, better qualifications, a better home-life, any kind of achievement – then it must involve goals. Aside from the practical aspect of whatever you have achieved, reaching your goals brings pride, self-esteem, and confidence. It is this point, beyond all others, that should enable you to make the best decisions possible.

Choose cake

That’s all for now. Any questions or comments, you know what to do.

Warm regards,

Adrian
http://www.lastingchange.co.uk

(more cat pictures; thanks to Nicola for sending me the picture!)

Positive Motivation Part 2: Goals

(Following on from Positive Motivation Part 1)

It is fair to say that to achieve anything in life that is difficult, a strong personal motivation is required. In part, motivation can be characterised as an ability to overcome obsticles and to achieve goals. However, the latin root of the word motivation simply means to move. So motivation means action.

In the previous post on motivation, I looked at how people can move towards an experience (achievement, satisfaction, etc) but often move away from an experience (stress, anxiety, failure). From that post, it should appear obvious that it is better to try and move towards an experience, the achievement of a goal. However, in order to do that, you need to know just what it is you’re trying to achieve, why you’re trying to achieve it, and how you’re going to get there.

Setting Your Goals
Firstly, be specific. Rather than “I want a better job” or “I want to study” (or “I want a cleaner house” or “I want to lose weight” etc, etc!) state precisely which better job you want, or what subject you want to study, and to what level (“I want a kitchen that is cleaned once per day, a bathroom that is cleaned once per week, etc”; “I want to be a slim and healthy 8 stone“…)

Interestingly, it is best to set positive goals rather than negative goals. By this I mean it is better to state “I want to achieve a healthy and slim body that weights 8 stone” rather than “I want to lose 3 stone”. Consider that when setting your goals.

Secondly, ask yourself why this goal? Achieving worthwhile goals requires effort. There will be obstacles to overcome, a routine to build. So – what benefits will you receive through achieving your goal? Where your goal sits well with your values, your beliefs, and your identity, it will be easier to achieve. The less congruent you are with your goal, the more you’ll have to adapt as a person to achieve it.

For example, if you decide you want to study for a change in career. What benefit will you gain through that change? More money? More status? Are those things important to you? Is it that you are only considering moving from a job you actually like, because you feel that your friends are ‘ahead’ of you in the career ‘arms race’? Consider what you really want. Think about the things you enjoyed doing as a child, as a teenager. Think about your values, your beliefs (about yourself, the world, about what is important in other aspects of life).

If you’re looking to lose weight because you were bullied as an overweight child, and you’re actually quite happy being a curvy, then is the goal of slimming down really you? Consider the actual benefits of achieving your goal…

Planning Your Goals
Once you have stated your goal, you need to set a time limit on achieving that goal. The time limit introduces the element of the ticking clock, which will help define a timetable of action to achieve your goal. So, knowing what you want, and when you want it by, allows you to set practical tasks each day or week in order to achieve the sub-goals that will add up to achieving your main goal.

For example, if your goal is to achieve a slim and healthy body, weighting 8 stone, in time for your holiday in the first week in June, then you can work out how much exercise you will need to do each day, plus for how many days you’ll need to adjust your eating habits (weekly or daily sub-goals), in order to achieve that target weight. The point here is to determine a start point, an end point, and a timetable of regular action in between the two.

Your Routine
It is important that your routine allows you to achieve your sub-goals. Assume will power doesn’t exist; the more frequently you have to force yourself to act on your sub goals, the more likely it is that you will fail. Instead, take decision making out of the equation by developing a routine that you complete each day or week, that turn the regular action required to achieve sub-goals into habits.

It is thought that it only takes 30 days to build up a new habit, and 90 days for that habit to become deeply ingrained. Therefore, it is the first month that is the ‘danger period’. During this time, you need to give yourself the best fighting chance of building up those habitual routines that will vastly improve your chances of success.

Ensure that you pre-plan as much as possible. So if your goal is to lose weight, stock up the fridge with good, healthy food rather than needing to go out of your way to buy healthy food each day. If your goal is to get a better job, pre-order the jobs papers from your newsagents for delivery, so they spur you into action on arrival.

Go public with your goals. A fear of failure is a powerful motivator, but only if other people know that you have failed. Tell other people about your goals, and your sub-goals; particularly those close to you. Turn to them for support and encouragement. It is important that those close to you are behind you.

Similarly, find a role model who’s brain you can pick and arrange a regular meeting or phone call with that person. Use the Internet to find message boards and email lists for communities based around your goal; state your intentions here and build up enthusiasm and motivation. For that first month, this is a key step.

Tracking Your Goals
In the words of Dr Raj Persaud, from his excellent book “The Motivated Mind” he states:

“Tracking progress is an essential step to goal attainment because it helps you know how to adjust performance in order to attain your target. Tracking is unpopular as a motivational strategy because it often involves receiving unpleasant feedback about how badly you are doing. If however you don’t track and don’t get this feedback, you can’t adjust your strategy and performance in order to raise your game and get what you want.”

I definitely agree with Dr. Pasaud here. Use a diary, or better yet a calendar (make your goals public, see above) and literally each day you can put a nice big tick, or a as feedback; a reflection of just how well you’ve managed to do that day. This has two benefits: 1) It stops ostritch mode as much as possible, and 2) it breaks your goals down into daily, bite-size chunks, rather than one indigestable mega-goal. From clinical experience, nothing leads to fear more than seeing the task ahead as being unsurmountable…

Feedback is invaluable. Tracking your goals means you receive clear feedback at each stage in your progress. Where I disagree with Dr. Pasaud is the comment about feedback relating to how badly you’re doing. NLP has this to say:

There is no failure, only feedback… Consider this passage on Thomas Edison, inventor of the light bulb (amongst many other things):

One tough piece was finding the right material for the filament–that little wire inside the light bulb. He filled more than 40,000 pages with notes before he finally had a bulb that withstood a 40 hour test in his laboratory. (10) In 1879, after testing more that 1600 materials for the right filament, including coconut fiber, fishing line, and even hairs from a friend’s beard, Edison and his workers finally figured out what to use for the filament–carbonized bamboo…

He refused to become discouraged or view anything as a “failure.” As he would say, “Every wrong attempt discarded is a step forward.”

Learn From Failure (Feedback)

The point being: learn from your feedback. There are bound to be setbacks, so keep going. Persist, and you will find the way forward. Successful people investigate what went wrong, and how it can be changed. The rest of us give up. There will be setbacks on the long road to eventual success.

Finally, as you get up and running. Be flexible. Understand that your plan will evolve as you evolve. Allow for evolution, but don’t let that become an excuse to be complacent. If you listen to any top athlete, they will always be focused on the next challenge, always be thinking of the next trophy…

To summarise then, the nature of goal setting is straight forward. Consider your starting point, specify in detail your ending point, and work out the steps you need to take in between. (Motivation = movement).

Then, devise a framework which needs to appear each day, or week, to accomodate those steps. Make the appearance of that framework, in a well-formed fashion, your sub-goal(s). Pre-plan as much as possible to make that framework as easy as possible to achieve.

After a while that framework will become habitual, but use regular feedback, support networks and a fear of public failure to get yourself up and running until then.

Use tracking to gain feedback on how well you’re doing, but remember to persist through difficulties – the difference between successfully achieving your goals, and failure, is one of persistence, overcoming obsticles…

And that’s everything for now. My final post in this series (I know, I know – you wait for ever and then three posts come along at once!) will be about the pitfalls a person can face with their goals, and what to do about them.

Warm regards,

Adrian
http://www.lastingchange.co.uk

How to decide what to do…

(more song chart memes here)

Positive Motivation Part 1: Procrastination

If you’ve ever procrastinated in life, you’ll know what a frustrating experience it can be. There are many ways to look at the theory of motivation and procrastination – it’s too great a scope for one post (hence the delay on getting this article published). However, there are certain key points that are worth bearing in mind…

As a hypnotherapist, I often work with a clients who are studying for exams. I recall one client from very early on in my practice. Aside from several assignments that required finishing, my client also had revision to complete in time for her final exams. Time was ticking away, and aware that she was leaving things to the last minute, she came to me for help.

After discussing the amount of work involved (she really was cutting it fine!) we discussed what happened when she tried to study:

“Well, I sit down, straighten out my books and start to get organised… Then, after around 10 minutes, I think ‘oh, a coffee would be nice!’ Then, after drinking my coffee, I’d perhaps just quickly check my email, before starting again. Or maybe I’d get this ‘heavy’ feeling, and go and watch the TV for a while. At some point I know I’ll be hungry, so I’ll probably go and eat something… After around four hours, I can honestly say I’ve looked at my books for about 15 minutes in total. Help!”

And this was in the days before Facebook!

I was interested to know: all of these things that are ostensibly relaxing, watching TV, eating, checking emails and browsing the ‘net; are you relaxed as you do them?

“No! At the back of my mind I’m thinking ‘God, I’ve really got to get some studying done tonight!’ As time goes on, I start to get this anxious feeling. I know that eventually it will get too much, and I’ll start. Then I’ll be really focused and get it done. But I also know that I won’t do half as well as I could, and I’m sick of not sleeping properly!“

And therein lies the problem. Most people motivate themselves through stress and worry. If you have a deadline by which something must be achieved (an essay for uni, a report for work, some DIY for the summer, even the washing up before bed-time), there are two ways of going about it:

Option 1. I will get that done now, and then I’ll be able to relax and enjoy the rest of the day/week/month/whatever.

Option 2. I’ve got plenty of time to get that done; I’ll put it out of my mind for now, and do it later…

So, logic would suggest that the first option is by far the best, even if it’s something you don’t want to do:

With option 1, you do it now; you might not enjoy it but you’ll feel good when it’s done. Then you can relax and enjoy other activities knowing that it’s no longer an issue.

Verses:

With option 2, you put it off. You know you won’t enjoy doing it, so do other things instead. However you become increasingly less relaxed as the deadline approaches, meaning you enjoy your time less and less. Eventually, the stress gets too much, and so you get it done (it’s still not enjoyable, but now you’re rushed and so enjoy it even less, whilst probably not doing as good a job).

If you compare the two options:

The second option means that the experience is more fraught

The time spent before the deadline is less relaxing and enjoyable

The overall results probably less impressive.

So that’s three powerful negatives… So the question is, why do we choose the second option!?

Well, that’s a big question, beyond the scope of this post. However, NLP has something to say about how we choose the second option. Often, the process goes something like this:

Step 1
A person thinks about doing the task. If there is a picture, it is usually gray and dim, and they see themselves looking unhappy. Often, time becomes forgotten and it is as if they’ll be stuck in that picture forever…

Step 2
As well as (or instead of a picture), they might say to themselves “I’ve really got to do that…” in a resigned, unhappy or even frustrated voice.

Step 3
As a result they feel really bad about doing the task. The behaviour that results from that feeling is one of “I’ll do it tomorrow…”

This process will invariably continue, until eventually the deadline looms. Then the process changes.

Step 1
The person thinks about doing the task, and a larger picture appears – one of the catastrophic results of not doing it (failing their exams, being sacked, their partner leaving them because of the mountainous pile of washing up that has accumulated)…

Step 2
They might then think to themselves “Okay, I’ve really got to get this done now, otherwise that will happen!”

Step 3
In response to this, a feeling of (ever increasing) anxiety is produced, until eventually, the person will spring into action in order to avoid catastrophe.

There is a more effective way… Try this instead:

Step 1
Firstly, consider what task you are struggling to do. Say to yourself, in the same tone of voice that you’d use if you were considering going dancing, or for a meal, or anything else that you like to do:

“It will be really nice when it’s done; I can relax then and put it out of my mind!”

Step 2
Then, make a bright picture* of doing what needs to be done. Adjust the picture so you look like you’re fine. If you’re studying, then looking focused, motivated, learning well. If you’re doing household chores, then seeing yourself doing it efficiently, even whistling while you work…

Step 3
Then, make a bright picture* of finishing what needs to be done. Putting down the pen and closing your books, drying the last dish, etc… And watch yourself looking really, really satisfied.

Step 4
Finally, step in to that picture as if it were happening, and feel how great you’ll feel when you’ve completed that job. With that feeling in mind, state to yourself in a clear and happy voice “I am becoming really motivated to study/wash up/write that report/etc.”

From there, you should feel really motivated, so make a start!

* (Some people just don’t see pictures clearly, no matter what the NLP books might tell you. Rather than worrying about this, imagine feeling focused, motivated, content etc as you think about doing what you need to be done; followed by feeling satisfied as you think about finishing off, knowing that it’s a task completed…)

Part 2 of this post will examine some of the reasons why the above might not work: goal setting & tracking, goal conflicts, fear of failure, and more…

That’s all for now – questions or comments please feel free to drop me a line.

Warm regards,

Adrian
http://www.lastingchange.co.uk

Well, it would appear that I am coming out of hibernation (in blogging terms at least). Firstly, apologies for the lack of updates recently.

You may have noticed changes to the pages What is Hypnosis and Why Hypnosis Helps as I have been revising these pages recently. Although they are not yet perfected, as I hope to incorporate some different ideas (in order to make them more scholarly and less dependent on the classic model of hypnosis). However, they are moving in the right direction.

Also, I’ve updated the Hypnotherapy in Manchester page. I want this page to accurately describe the experience of coming for a hypnotherapy session. If you are looking for an understanding of what it is like to see a professional hypnotherapist, this is a good place to start.

Aside from my private practice, I am currently working on a hypnosis MP3 download website. Progress on this project has been far slower than I would have liked. I have a domain ready to go (www.activeselfhypnosis.com) and the website part-built. Also, I have some of the recordings ready to be uploaded. I am hoping the full site will be online by June.

I am really excited about this project. Although self-hypnosis recordings cannot replace the power of one-to-one hypnosis sessions, they are in themselves powerful tools for change. I receive many enquiries from far-flung areas, both in the UK and overseas. It will be very satisfying to have the capacity to help people who I cannot see in person. The key will be the quality of the recordings themselves. Not in terms of sound quality (although I am recording them professionally) but the quality of the hypnotic process.

I very much enjoy the technical aspects of using hypnotic language to facilitate change. There are a plethora of dis-satisfactory hypnotic scripts available on the Internet. It will be my aim to offer recordings that utilise the latest thinking on hypnotic suggestion, such as Trevor Silvester’s WordWeaving ™ model, alongside ideas drawn from research on suggestibility, NLP, and even ideas such as Joseph Campbell’s The Heroes Journey.

Needless to say I am focused on making the available downloads amongst the very best available! If something is worth doing, it is worth doing well…

By the way – those of you who noticed the irony in the fact that my promised post on procrastination seemed to be delayed to infinity - apologies! Aside from the excuses reasons listed above, the problem was with the scope of the article. I really wanted to nail a definitive procedure for overcoming procrastination. The problem is, obviously, that all people are different and therefore there can be no definitive guide. That post shall be with you shortly, in a new, far tighter form, focusing on NLP (plus some handy hints garnered during my research) as a framework for change rather than, well, everything!

Finally. Those of you who know me, or have worked with me in the past couple of months, may be aware that a person very close to me has been through a terrible time recently. I won’t go into the details, but I want to say this to the person concerned:

The courage and determination with which you have fought against such a terrible set of circumstances has been an inspiration. You are bright, courageous, and have left a lasting impression on me. Use this event in your life to realise that you are stronger than you think. Apply that determination to other challenges in your life, and you will achieve more than you can even realise.

And with that, take care.

Adrian
www.lastingchange.co.uk

You may have noticed two new pages!

Why Hypnosis Helps – This page gives an overview as to why hypnosis is used to deliver therapeutic change. Hypnosis in itself is not a magic cure for a person’s ills, it is a resourceful state where change can happen on an unconscious level. Read more here…

Hypnotherapy in Manchester – This page gives an overview of my hypnotherapy practice in terms of what you can typically expect from a hypnotherapy session. Read more here…

I am currently working on a larger post to do with procrastination, which will no doubt be finished when I finally get around to it (haha!)

That’s all for now – take care,

Adrian
www.lastingchange.co.uk

Firstly, apologies for the lack of updates recently! February and March have been my busiest months ever in private practice. Because I am really passionate about my work I tend to put the effort in, meaning I receive a high number of referrals from previous happy clients. Recently the number of referrals has increased considerably.

So far this year I have experimented with some new techniques and approaches, both to hypnosis and NLP. I’ve found my success rate has increased correspondingly. In my view, it is important to keep practicing, honing and refining any skill, and to apply that skill both with creativity, and also a thorough approach. This way things stay fresh, abilities improve, and confidence grows.

As I state to all clients, I do not ‘fix’ a person’s problems. Rather, it is my job to guide a person through their own understanding of their problems so they can fix themselves. As a guide, I feel I am improving and I hope that continues!

In addition to all of this, I have been working on setting up a hypnotherapy mp3 download website. I am very excited about this project, and, as well as being able to offer top-quality mp3 downloads for purchase, I also intend to give away some downloads for free. More on this in the near future.

So. I’ll try to be a bit less tardy with the posts in future In the meantime, I have added two new pages:

What Is Hypnosis? Is a in-depth overview of just what hypnosis is, how it feels, what happens when it happens, etc. It is quite a long and detailed overview of the topic (for a page in a blog, anyway) but hopefully worth reading fully if you’re interested to know what hypnosis feels like…

What is NLP? Less long (but no less interesting!) – this is my answer to a question I get asked a lot. “Just what is NLP?” is one of those questions that people seem to disagree over the most. If you’re interested to know precisely what it is (and what it can do) simply follow the link.

Over the next few weeks I’ll be tweaking these pages a little, as some of the copy is a bit ropey. Also, I’ll be adding more pages, including some good practical information on Why Hypnosis Works, as well as some information on my private practice in Manchester (UK).

Until then, any questions or comments please get in touch.

Warm regards,

Adrian
www.lastingchange.co.uk