By Fern Tausig
Your Body, Your Mind
Fern Tausig
The most common theme I hear from my clients is, “I can’t help it.”
Smokers “can’t” stop, overweight people “can’t” resist. Those who pick their skin or drink too much all feel powerless over their choices.
Remember that self-talk is self-hypnosis. Every time you tell yourself you can’t do something, you actually reinforce the belief that you are powerless. It is just a belief. It doesn’t mean it’s true.
Learning to take back control over your choices and behaviors is simple, although not always easy. Anything worth achieving requires 100 percent effort. That powerless feeling is old and definitely embedded in your beliefs, but you can change it. Habits are repetitive patterns that your brain has become comfortable and familiar with. The neuroplasticity of the brain makes it possible to make any change you want. It takes commitment, but the rewards are life changing.
Do you ask yourself if that desire for a cigarette is worth dying for? Is that craving for sugar or junk worth those self-deprecating feelings after you’re finished? Is the scar from picking worth the few seconds of satisfaction?
Mindfulness of the way you feel right before the behavior can be the key to stopping the behavior. So many behaviors are unconscious, and you need to make them conscious by heightening your awareness right before making the decision to do it. That is the exact time to make a different choice. Being mindful of the consequences of that choice is the key to taking control. Being mindful at a meal that you remember how it feels to overeat can help you avoid that feeling. You will notice feeling satisfied and learn to stop.
Hypnosis works because of the nature of the brain. It’s not an exact science, but it is science. Changing habits and beliefs is doable, but so many people give up and remain miserable. We have all heard the story of the young surfer girl who was bitten by a shark and lost one arm but returned to surfing anyway. She was determined, and everyone has the same amount of determination when they choose to exercise it.
Anxiety is another example of feeling out of control or powerless over your thoughts and feelings. Anxiety shows up in many ways, but being mindful of the way you want to feel in place of the way you are feeling can jumpstart a brain pattern change. People who learn to be aware of the feeling when it begins are able to label the feeling as a false alarm, instead of preparing to panic. The brain is easier to change than you think, and clients often tell me they are amazed at how easy it seemed to change long-embedded negative thoughts or behaviors.
Change your brain. It will change your life.
Fern Tausig is a certified hypnotist, lifecoach and health educator. She can be reached at myhealinghypnosis.com.