I am a great believer in the power of creative imagination. We humans have been blessed with an amazing resource that often gets drowned about by our negative, obsessive inner chatterbox - you know, the one that says "you will never be able to do that! You simply won't cope!"
Our negative voice tends to be the voice we pay the most attention to because it feels like we are being sensible. Why hope or expect a good outcome because we will only be disappointed if we fail? Or if it all goes horribly wrong...
Many people think is it more realistic to look on the downside, it feels more natural to us if we are used to doing this. The problem is, when we have low expectations we don't invite the right kind of energy into our lives. I am a great believer in the law of attraction - that is, you will attract positive experiences into your life when you start to imagine what they could be like. After all, man didn't progress from beyond cave-dwelling simply by running away from angry bears!
The part of our brain responsible for creative imagination is called the "left pre-frontal cortex" and it is very important in hypnotherapy. It's part of our conscious mind and we can tune into it when we think positively. I always ask my clients to tell me about some of the positive things that have happened to them since we last met. It could be anything - from noticing a beautiful sunrise, or being paid a compliment from a friend or enjoying a good book. This kind of of focus gets them used to moving away from their problem.
I then ask them to imagine how they would feel if they had already achieved their goals. How does it affect them in the smallest details of their lives? By creating a vision of an ideal future, it can help them to see more clearly what they need to do to get there. A positive vision stimulates our feel-good neurotransmitters, encouraging us to think, act and interact more positively.
The following is a simple but powerful exercise. Maybe you could try it? Give yourself maybe 10-20 minutes.
1. Relax and breathe deeply for a few moments, try to let the outside world fade into the background.
2. Think about something you really want, it does not matter what it is.
3. Really immerse yourself in the experience of being there, of already having this thing - how does it make you feel? Where are you? What impact does it have on other aspects of your life?
4. Grab a notepad and make a list of the steps you took to get there, still fully immersed in your ideal future.
5. Read your list a bit later, and notice how the lack of barriers enabled you to set some goals!
I hope you have a bit of fun with this, I did and it led to me training to become a hypnotherapist!
