Need More Motivation?

As we start 2008, how many of you made New Year resolutions?

And how any of you made resolutions at the beginning of 2007 but didn't stick to them?

We all start out with good intentions. For some it's about wanting to stop smoking in 2008. For others maybe it is to do more exercise in order to lose some of that extra weight put on over the Christmas holidays. Or perhaps to start a new hobby. It doesn't matter what it is, unless you've go enough motivation it ain't going to happen.

I think it was from Tony Robbins that I first heard of the "Pain - Pleasure" principle. And that's just a reworking of the "Carrot -Stick" principle. The basic premise is that people move towards doing things they get pleasure from and move away from doing things they get pain from.

So, for example, let's suppose you used to drive into work each day. Driving took slightly less time than going by train, and while driving you used to listen to your favourite radio programme. Then one day they started major roadworks on the road you used to take to work. So your journey took twice as long. And you'd have to get up an hour earlier and the car journey was less pleasurable. Consequently the motivation to travel to work by train instead of car was increased!

When clients come to see me because they want to break old habits (whether it be smoking, overeating, drinking too much alcohol etc) I know that they already have some motivation to change, otherwise they wouldn't be there. However their motivation isn't strong enough to counteract the behaviour they've been doing for many years; a habit that is ingrained in their subconscious minds.

However by using the client's reasons for either wanting to break the habit or for becoming more motivated at starting a new habit, I can help the client re-programme their mind for success.

So, for example, in a stop smoking hypnotherapy session one of the things we do is to associate great feelings of happiness with saying "No" to cigarettes and tobacco. We also get the client to imagine they are standing at a fork in the road of their lives, and to choose which road to go down. The road on the left is the road of misery and pain they would take if they were to carry on smoking and the road on the right the road of health and success as non-smokers.

We all have the ability to become more motivated. For more details just e-mail us at info@hypnoticsolutions.co.uk