Motivation

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Permalink Reply by Patricia V. Scott on June 30, 2008 at 7:26am

One of the tools I use with people who have long-term goals such as this, is to set in place a simple anchor (NLP) that is designed to instantly fill them with resources and get them fully into the moment. Usually it is pressing a finger and thumb together along with a deep breath. We reinforce this anchor with more positive emotions and resources in every session, and they are to use it literally "hundreds" of times a day. It only takes as long as a breath, and this is to get them to enjoy knowing they can be, in that moment, inside of their mind/body energy, and that is where they have their power and where they are truly alive. They learn that when they feel out of control, or just not as good as they want to feel, they have the power to shift their state instantly and then re-focus on where they are going.

By teaching them to be fully in the moment, and to also use the anchor to take a pause to enjoy a beautiful sunset or watch a bird flying by (we have lots of really neat birds in Florida!) or listen to a piece of music, and to add the feeling of those moments to their anchor, it begins to give them a sense of control. It empowers them to know they have the ability to make themselves feel better on command and allows them to enjoy the journey toward their ultimate goal.

It seems to me that the motivation stays high as long as they are learning to enjoy "the moment" more, and as they learn they can dissipate stress and negative thoughts and feelings. As they learn to feel comfortable in their own skin NOW, they tend to naturally make healthier choices. With weight/diet management, I also emphasize that life is about “movement”. We are always changing and evolving, and I work a lot with creating a sense of continuously moving on a pathway that leads to better health and well-being. Each step on the pathway allows them to be stronger, fitter, more confident, and also allows them to leave behind at each step those things they will no longer need.

To summarize, I believe the motivation comes from helping our clients learn to feel good in the moment, while living/moving ahead to an even happier, healthier future. I pass along to them the words of my great Jazz teacher in NYC, Luigi, “Keep moving. Never stop moving!”

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Permalink Reply by Roger Moore, PhD on July 7, 2008 at 5:24pm

Patricia - you and I think very much a like. I am constantly talking about staying present & conscious in my body so that I can fully appreciate tis moment.

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Permalink Reply by Susan French on July 2, 2008 at 10:28am

Hi Roger,

Great question! What I do for myself and with my clients is to remember that when you're installing a new habit or making a major change is that you have to put it up at the top of your To Do list until it's a part of your life. Another thing I teach and remind myself is that no day is perfect, perfection isn't possible and that perfectionitis is a terminal disease.

When you slip, you just acknowledge it, take a look at what happened and start again, being aware of what made you slip. Each time you do that it gets easier.

As they say in 12-step: you strive for progress not perfection. As long as you see progress you're succeeding.

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Permalink Reply by Patricia V. Scott on July 3, 2008 at 8:24am

Hi Susan - On the word "perfectionist", my preference is to say that we are already the "perfect" manifestation of all of our thoughts, behaviors, experience and learning up to this point in our lives. And I love the NLP presupposition that says, "There is no failure, only feedback". If what we have manifested up to this point is what we want, great. If what we are creating isn't in line with our goals, then we do what we naturally do with any feedback - keep what is useful, make adjustments in our behaviors and thinking, and throw away what isn't helpful. I think the problem with many people is that they feel "not good enough", which implies that they should somehow be something other than what they are. And maybe I'm a little strange, but I believe every day IS perfect, in that it is what I am experiencing in this life. I also welcome challenges, as I am aware that is where I get my greatest learnings that enhance my experience of life. My inclination, linguistically and energetically, is that instead of making perfectionism a “terminal disease”, to reframe the meaning of perfectionism.

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Permalink Reply by Roger Moore, PhD on July 5, 2008 at 3:35am

Susan - thanks for the thoughts. How do you keep it at the "top of the do do list"? I notice that as with any new habit, people tend to forget - especailly when things are going well.

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Permalink Reply by Celeste Hackett, CH on July 5, 2008 at 4:17am

Hi Roger,

Years ago I got braces on my teeth. I wore them for a year or so and the orthadontist said your teeth are all straight, but there are a few that keep wanting to turn back to their original crooked state every time we take the pressure off.. He said the old fibers around my teeth were pulling them back to their original condition and the old fibers had to be removed.

He sent me to a dentist who took a very slim knife and CUTaround each of the problem teeth removing the fibers and setting my teeth free. It was freakin' painful!!!!That is what I got for waiting so long to get braces! ouch!

But my teeth have stayed fairly straight since that time and I was very bad at wearing my retainer too.

We are constantly being pulled by unseen emotions, and beliefs held in place by events that haven't been cleared away. I find that clearing the cobwebs of the past especially those in direct relation to the problem makes motivation so much easier.

In hypnosis your client can bring up the emotion that has everything to do with the problem. Once that is done, amplify it. Then regress on it and keep regressing until you get to the beginning or root. Clear that up. THEN suggest change and they stick like glue.

Now weight loss is the toughest thing because of the constant suggestions from our world that junk food is irresistable. We get it from tv, freind, family, bill boards etc. Cleints need to be educated about what food is and isn't and how "acting like" food is so very glorious (ever see a woman talk about a brownie? Her eyes light up, her pulse speeds up) is programming themselves for failure. They must play down the aspects of food as so very extra good. De-hypnotize themselves. It's just stuff on a plate or stuff on a box or stuff in a wrapper and it has no power over you.

So releasing the stuff that pulls them back
Educating about the truth and telling them it's their responsibility to see food for what it is.
Then what?

Well, you have to keep things top of mind like you have been talking about. POST ITS, calendars and CDs do help.

Also incentive programs, people to be accountable to (such as weight watchers, dietitions, work out partners etc).

It's not just about being fat. We ALL have to work on being healthy all the time. It's our duty to ourselves and our loved ones. My husband and I do a program that I came up with called "incentive bucks"

We don't eat out or buy anything that isn't necessary, and I mean absolutely necessary so that we want stuff. That is step one. Say no til you can't stand it anymore.

Step two. You get a money for taking care of yourself. Here is how we do it:

$2 dollars every day that we stay on our diet.
$5 every time we work out for at lest 20 minutes
$2 (to him ) every time he meditates for 20 minutes (I already do this so didnt' need help)
$12.50 every time we do a 3 hour meditation (personal goal of mine)

We also addes $1 for every load of laundry that we fold and put away. Becuase we hate doing laundry. ha ha.

And just yesterday we added some additional bucks for doing the Tibetan Rites of Rejuvenation.

Good ole spendin' cash....the hubby just walked in and pulled up his shirt to show me his tummy is gettin flatter. He is so proud of himself and has been sticking to this for about 6 weeks now. He'd tried many times before and couldnt' UNTIL WE DID HYPNOSIS AND REMOVED THE STUFF HOLDING HIM BACK. He ain't swimmin up river anymore. He can see and more importantly FEEL this is doable.

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Permalink Reply by Celeste Hackett, CH on July 5, 2008 at 4:21am

See below our Incentive Buck chart we have been using.

Attachments:

• Exercise.doc, 70 KB

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Permalink Reply by Roger Moore, PhD on July 7, 2008 at 5:20pm

Celeste - I love the incentive program! When someone is at their goal weight - do they continue with the incentive program?

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Permalink Reply by Roger Moore, PhD on July 7, 2008 at 5:58pm

Hi everyone. I just posted a video, Need & Motivation that I made a few days ago which led to the starting of this discussion.
I'd love to hear more from you and if any of you have any articles on Motivation that you've written and that you like to share on Hypnosis Health Info - please email it to me as a Word Doc with your bio & contact info.

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