Every year, billions of people decide to start the New Year off in a different way. Maybe they will quit smoking? Perhaps they will choose to lose weight, and then they will act upon that decision. And for a while, they will make progress. And then… Back to normal. Getting another smoke or gaining back the weight or avoiding the gym.
In your business, it could be as simple as resolving to do better by holding people accountable. Or, perhaps committing to business development activities (Selling) and then falling back into comfortable ways.
There is a reason for this. You have created an identity that is largely subconscious and not in your awareness. As a result, every time you say something like, “I will exercise 5 times this week. Your subconscious mind is saying something like “That sounds terrible”.
You see, your mind is like an iceberg. Most of it is operating under the surface. For you geeks, you can think of it as an operating system. It’s not the interface that we, the users or consumers see, it is the programming that executes the commands.
Depending upon your source, we have 6,000 to 70,000 thoughts per day. The lower number is based on more recent science out of Queen’s University.
The thing is, most of them are repetitive and they are under the surface. If you pause occasionally and listen to your voice (or that of the imposter), you will hear it. When you hear words like:
- Should
- Ought to
- Always
- Terrible
That’s a sign your negative thinking is running the operating system.
When you notice words like
- Yes
- Great
- Congratulations
- I can
Your more optimistic self is running the operating system.
For a long time, I was a smoker. I started young, and it was a way to be cool like John Wayne and Robert Mitchum. Both screen actors who later died of lung cancer. (Like the irony there?) And I quit,… it must have been 50 times. Of course, then I would start up.
Over the years, I have created an identity of being a smoker. Finally, I found a hypnotherapist who took the time to understand what was under the surface before he put me into a trance, and I have not smoked since 2005… You see I became a non-smoker. I (with some help) created a new identity,
So, back to your habits and the changes you want to make and stick to. Here are four ideas to help you change your habits and keep them changed:
- Create a series of phrases that you repeat over and over. Some people call these mantras, or affirmations. Tony Robbins calls them incantations. And then repeat them over and over and over again, with feeling. Bruce Lipton, PhD, has research demonstrating how the brain changes with repetition.
- For others, it might be prayer as a way to shift your thinking.
- Some like future based self-journaling. This is where you take time every day to journal about how you want your day to unfold or how you want your life to unfold.
- Thought Stopping. When you become aware that the thoughts you have are not serving you, just say STOP…and then replace it with a new and supportive thought. Instead of, “I can’t”, say STOP and something like,” I can figure it out”.
Your mind is a remarkably powerful tool that you can use to change your life. The first step is to become aware that a lot of what’s happening is at the subconscious or operating system level. The 10% you are aware of and the 90% that is under the surface. Then it’s about rewiring or programming the operating system to get the results you want. Your business depends upon your operating system. You can learn more at https://resonantbusinesssolutons.com
