The stresses of a policeman or high school teacher working in a busy city are quite different than those experienced by their counterparts in rural towns. It’s important to keep this in mind when thinking about the stress of teachers, police personnel, physicians, and other occupations. Stress levels can vary widely even in identical situations for different reasons. It’s more about the person and their circumstances that influence how they react than the event or environment.

Stress is a highly personalized phenomenon and can vary widely even in identical situations for different reasons. What one person may perceive as stressful, however, another may view as challenging. Some individuals thrive in the time-urgent pressure cooker of life in the fast lane, having to perform several duties at the same time and a list of things to do that would overwhelm most of us. Those same people would be severely stressed by the repetition of assembly line work enjoyed by others who thrive in consistency. Whether a person experiences work-related stress depends on the job, the person’s psychological make-up, and other factors such as personal life and general health.

One survey showed that having to complete paperwork was more stressful for many police officers than the dangers associated with pursuing criminals. The severity of job stress depends on the magnitude of the demands that are being made and the individual’s sense of control or decision-making capacity he or she has in dealing with them. Scientific studies confirm that workers who feel they are subjected to high demands but have little control are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease.

What Causes Stress in the Workplace?

58% of Americans say work is a significant source of stress (APA, 2017).  The main sources of work stress are:

• Workload, 36%

• People issues, 31%

• Work-life balance, 20%

• Job security, 8%

• Other, 5%

Work-related stress can be caused by various events. For example, a person might feel under pressure if the demands of their job are greater than they can comfortably manage. Pressure to perform at optimum levels and to meet rising expectations, an ever-growing to-do list, and a lack of resources or self-confidence are some of the factors that can cause stress at work. This stress is made more challenging with added conflict with co-workers or bosses, constant change, threats to job security, and stress from personal relationships and home life.

What are  the Signs of Work Stress?

Stress affects each person differently and can present physically, mentally and emotionally. Some symptoms of stress that can manifest on the job include poor work performance, absences, loss of focus, irritability, headaches, unhealthy eating and strained relationships with coworkers. Long-term stress can cause more serious conditions such as gastrointestinal upset, high blood pressure, muscle pain, weight gain, heart attack and stroke.

Relieving Work-Related Stress

The key is to be mindful of your thoughts and your body, recognize when stress is starting to become a challenge, and take action. Be sure to take your full scheduled breaks. Go outside for fresh air or take a walk. You can learn effective tools within the practice of hypnosis to “turn off” your racing thoughts.

Make use of wellness facilities and programs your employer might offer, like gyms and counseling services. Learn how to say no to projects that aren’t a priority, and try not to take work matters personally. Strive for a healthy lifestyle outside of work. Do your best to enjoy your time off. Visit your doctor for regular checkups, and when you feel stress is negatively affecting your work.

Oh, and use hypnosis! 15 minutes of hypnosis can feel as relaxing and refreshing as a 2 hour nap, and you can learn to put yourself into hypnosis at the drop of a finger!

How Can Employers Help?

Occupational stress costs U.S. employers an estimated $300 billion annually through absenteeism, illness, and productivity (APA, 2017). It benefits employers to prioritize the mental health of their employees.

Be aware of and sensitive to the needs of your staff, especially when something stressful may have occurred for your employees either in or outside of work. Create a safe environment for employees to be honest with you about their stress levels and admit when the workload is too demanding.

Give information to your staff about what your company offers to combat stress both directly and indirectly, like financial planning workshops, childcare services or incentives for wellness. Offer discounts for gym memberships, host workout challenges, healthy eating days or cooking demonstrations.

And Offer Hypnosis!

Group sessions, stress reduction workshops, and individual hypnosis programs are permanent solutions that allow your employees to motivate changes, have better options, build better strategies, and create new behaviors so automatic it’s as if that's just how it's always been.∎

People aren't always aware of their own self-sabotage, since we rarely see ourselves clearly. Often, if you have self-sabotaging behaviors, you may find yourself wondering why things can’t seem to go your way. You may have asked yourself “Why can’t I get a good job?” or “Why isn’t my business making more money?”

These behaviors and feelings are usually a result of self-limiting thoughts. There are a number of different motivational methods that focus on “what you put out to the universe” and the belief that your thoughts, feelings, and actions have a direct effect on what happens to you and around you. Studies are showing that, in large part, this is true.

Imagine this scenario…

You walk into the break room at work and one of your coworkers is there, visibly angry. Think about how you react and engage with them. You are likely to keep your distance, to keep your voice low and calm, and to keep yourself between your coworker and the door. All of your actions are subconscious, and you may not even be aware of them, but they are a direct result of what your coworker is “putting out.”

Now imagine another scenario…

You decide to check out a small neighborhood shop, and the owner is sitting behind the counter. His posture is slouched, and his head is down. He doesn’t look up when you come to the counter, and his voice is flat and detached. He looks depressed, and your friendly greeting is met with a heavy sigh. You may ask if everything is okay, and he may answer you by complaining that business is bad. Again, think about how you react, without even being aware of it. You may feel pretty uncomfortable, and you may want to hurry out of the shop. You decide that you would be happy to never come back.

One more…

You go into the local coffee shop for your regular morning cup. The person behind the counter greets you with a warm smile and a friendly hello. They move quickly to get your order, and make eye contact when they hand it to you. You find yourself smiling as you leave. No wonder this is your favorite coffee shop!

How we think about ourselves affects how we act. And how we act affects how other people feel about us.

Are You Sabotaging Yourself?

Self-sabotage is often the result of not feeling like we are worthy of success, that we are not worth loving, or that we don’t deserve good things. These feelings are rooted in self-protective programming in our subconscious minds that took place when we were much younger. The subconscious mind holds onto that programming and keep using it throughout our lives. Essentially, those perceptions of the world that we create as children become the definition of how we relate to the world as adults. Let’s look at some examples of what self-sabotage looks like, and what the subconscious mind learns from previous experiences.

When we underestimate our potential to accomplish something, it is easy to believe that whatever success we experience has nothing to do with your capabilities, and that any success that happens to us is just a fluke.

In the case of those who undervalue themselves, it may be that they were told, or led to believe, that they didn’t have what it takes to succeed. Perhaps as a child things were said or done that created the feeling of not being as smart, talented, or “qualified” as someone else. In this case, while growing up the subconscious mind received messages of being inadequate, incompetent, inferior, unable to measure up, and unable to do anything right.

Self-sabotagers have a habit ofconstantly finding fault with themselves and their work. Sometimes they are able to find fault in even the most simplest and inconsequential actions, like making a sandwich. These limiting beliefs only validate the mistaken belief that they are a bad person.

So many of usfeel that we are undeserving, and so we wrongly believe that we have little to no right to ask for what we want or need.

People with this aspect of self-limiting behaviors find self-assertion difficult. They deprive themselves of things they would enjoy, or even that would contribute to their well being and welfare? They may even reject others’ attempts to offer them what they need or desire because they do not feel worthy enough or deserving enough to accept their gifts, or assistance.

When an adult feels that they are not deserving of even the most basic needs, this can be the result of someone in their childhood reacting negatively to them whenever they made their needs known. It’s possible that they were given the message that they were ungrateful for what they did have. This treatment may have resulted in self-defeating beliefs that they don’t deserve love, respect, authority, help, happiness, to succeed, or to be forgiven. They learn instead that they deserve criticism, pain, punishment, bad things, abandonment, to fail, and to be miserable.

Another self-sabotaging trait is seeing yourself as an outsider or outcast, and believing that you don’t, or can’t, fit in with others.

This feeling of alienation may have come from being criticized or made fun of for being different, or in some way peculiar. Those children may have felt, or been lead to believe that their physical characteristics may have set them apart negatively from others. Today, they may still feel like they don’t quite fit in. In this case, their environment may have led them to think of themselves as abnormal, or some sort of misfit. The subconscious mind has learned to act on the perception that they are different, or not normal, all alone, lost, don't belong, or have been left behind.

Another belief and behavior set that prevents people from being as successful as they would like to be is perceiving yourself, and maybe the whole world, as untrustworthy. The result of this faulty thinking is the belief that they should be suspicious of themselves, and everyone else.

When authority figures show children and young adults that they do not trust them  whether or not their lack of faith warranted, it creates an environment of self-doubt. This is further compounded by people’s tendency to believe that everyone is a lot like themselves. So, when someone grows up believing that they cannot be trusted, they also grow up believing that no one else can be trusted either.

It may have been that behaving in untrustworthy ways was the only way to get basic needs met. As a result, these people hold the beliefs that they have no credibility and cannot. They believe that they cannot trust themselves, their perceptions of others, their judgement, their authority, or that of anyone else. They feel that is is not safe to tell the truth.

Having the tendency to devalue or belittle yourself, or feeling that you are less worthwhile than others is another way of sabotaging your success.

In this case, there may have been a time in the past when someone disregarded your needs, or made light of them, giving you the message that your needs didn’t matter. You may have found yourself buying in to their thinking, and you may have begun to discount the legitimacy of your needs as well.

People with this mindset tend to put their needs aside for the needs of others in an effort to earn their love and acceptance. In the past, you may have been encouraged to believe that you are not worthwhile or worthy, not important, or not significant. Your subconscious developed the negative beliefs that you don’t matter or don’t count.

Another self-defeating behavior is viewing yourself as more responsible for other people’s welfare than your own.

This behavior and belief is often seen in adults whose parents suffered from mental illness, or who were the children of alcoholics or addicts. Their parents gave them the message that they were selfish for making their own needs a priority over the parent’s needs, and that selfishness made them unacceptable. These children were often held responsible for catering to their parent’s needs. Often they were given the responsibility of raising themselves, and even their younger siblings.

These children might have been taught, through conditional approval, that it was virtuous to sacrifice themselves for others, and even that it was expected that they deny their own needs to meet the needs of others. The result is an adult who feels that their needs are unimportant or unacceptable. They develop the belief that is not okay to stand up for themselves, or sto stand up to others. The often feel that they have to please others, can’t disappoint others, can’t set limits on others, and that they have to take responsibility for others. In a large sense, they feel that they can’t depend on others, and have no right to be their own person.

Self-sabotaging behaviors can come in the form of perceiving yourself as weak or defenseless, and living your life as if you are a helpless victim, or by being excessively dependent on others.

Sometimes, even unknowingly, parents can instill their children with their own childhood fears and insecurities. Those parents are overprotective, and give their children the impression that they are frail or fragile and cannot fend for themselves. Those children grow up and have problems with anxiety. They see the world as menacing and dangerous, and to protect themselves, they avoid taking risks. The children of those overprotective parents end up carrying around self-limiting beliefs that they are weak, helpless, powerless, defenseless, vulnerable, fearful, not safe, trapped, in danger, a victim, or not in control. They may mistakenly believe that they can’t make their own decisions, or that they cannot cope with stress.

Another aspect of this is seeing feelings only as something that adds to vulnerability. When this happens, people do not allow the healthy expression of emotions.

Stuffing away emotions is often the result of being criticized or even made fun of for crying, getting angry, or showing fear and even love. It can also result from having feelings ignored, creating the sense of being alone and isolated. Perhaps there was shame or even punishment for displaying emotions that were considered unacceptable as the girl or boy you were expected to be. As a result of this disapproval, neglect, or censure, the subconscious mind may have adopted the following beliefs that it is best to keep feelings to oneself, and that it is inappropriate, or even bad to let yourself “open up.” As adults, the belief may be that it isn’t safe to have or show feelings. The subconscious has learned that feelings are stupid, foolish, weak, wrong, silly, shameful, not to be trusted, and can’t be taken seriously.

Changing Beliefs

The key to seeing yourself today in a genuinely better way is to eliminate the beliefs that no longer serve you. Think about buying a sweater for the cold winter months. During the winter, the sweater does a great job of keeping you warm and protecting you from the cold. Eventually, the seasons begin to change, and the temperatures rise. By the end of spring, you have put away your sweater. You do not need it now.

Or imagine training wheels on a bicycle. They offer a sense of stability and safety when you are learning to ride a bike, but at some point as you grow, you no longer need the training wheels, and they become more of a burden or an inconvenience to you as you try to ride your bike.

Those limiting and self-sabotaging beliefs are a lot like the sweater and the training wheels. You needed them for a while, and your subconscious mind used them to keep you safe, protected, and to help you learn. But unlike the sweater and training wheels, the subconscious mind doesn’t let go of things so easily. And for good reason!

You see, those behaviors become programs, or habits, and habits are hard to break on purpose. It helps to understand habits better. Habits are things that we do without thinking about them, so logically, breathing is a habit, and so is digesting food, and so is driving a car, and walking. Imagine if all of a sudden you forgot how to breathe, or drive a car! The way that we think about things and react to them is a habit too, and just as difficult to change, because those habits keep up safe and protected too.

Your subconscious mind believes that it knows better than you what you need, and it is usually right. You don’t know when your blood pressure or heart rate needs to be adjusted. It knows when there is danger before you become consciously aware of it, and you start reacting before you know that you need to. You depend on your reactions and your subconscious mind to keep you alive and well.

The trouble with your subconscious mind is that is has no eyes, and it has no concept of time. It just runs along doing the same thing that it has always done, until something significant enough happens that makes a change necessary. For adults though, the system runs so smoothly that the subconscious mind doesn’t see much need for change in our day to day lives. This means that the subconscious mind does not see that these beliefs and behaviors are no longer needed, or that they are causing us harm.

The Role of Hypnosis

Humans have powerful survival instincts. It registers deep inside children that disappointing or disobeying parents could seriously threaten their attachment to the child, and in turn threaten the child’s existence. To avoid expressions of parental disapproval and the sting that would have greatly distressed the child and overwhelmed their limited coping resources, they would have felt compelled to generate what could be called “emotional survival programs.” That is, strategically modifying behavior to the best of your ability to optimize your chances of being accepted by your parents, however conditionally. If the parents had their own unresolved issues, it is possible that they were incapable of loving unless the child behaved in certain constricted ways.

"Old programming" is one way to think about decisions you made as a child to better adapt to a conditionally accepting family. After all, when you’re highly dependent on others for comfort, guidance, and support, it is essential to feel securely bonded to them. When we are young we have no choice but to rely on authority figures to take care of us and keep us out of harm’s way.

If there is any “magic” in hypnosis, it is in the ability to empower and enable change from the inside out. During hypnosis, you can be guided to use all the aspects of your mind at once, allowing you to resolve issues from the past by using advanced hypnotic techniques. In hypnosis, the client is in a state of hyper-suggestibility, meaning that the subconscious mind is open and ready to accept new suggestions. This allows the hypnotist to lead the client in letting go of the limiting beliefs and “programs” that aren’t needed or working for them anymore, and install new beliefs that increase self confidence and self esteem, and allows the client to stop self-sabotaging and accept success.

Finally, please be aware that I’m not at all interested in “parent-bashing.” I truly believe that all parents are doing and have done the best they can, just like all of us are doing the best we can do at any given moment.∎

You are full of inspiration and 100% motivated to start your healthy new lifestyle. You start to work out four times a week, you eat healthy and you treat yourself every once in a while. This is the perfect plan, and everything is going great. Somewhere along the road you lose your motivation and you have no idea how to get back on track.

Some days you wake up and right when you are going to begin your work, excited and ready to take on whatever the day brings. And then one day, that feeling where you once were so passionate and energized to take action just isn’t there anymore. You try to hype yourself up but it’s not working, and everything you do seems to be counterintuitive. You don’t want to work today and you don’t feel motivated to do anything but just escape. Without this motivation, you feel a little hopeless, lost, and stuck.

What is Motivation?

Motivation is a powerful force. Without it, not much gets done. If you weren’t motivated to get out of bed in the morning, you wouldn’t, and you probably won’t accomplish much. Motivation gets you to work, the grocery store, to wash the car and pick up the kids at school. It is motivation that determines whether you exercise, take the dog for a walk, make those sales calls, or eat healthy and so on. Motivation is involved with every action or “inaction” you take.

Sometimes we get stuck in a rut. If you’re not a hundred percent passionate about your work, then it’s impossible to wake up everyday feeling motivated. You might compare it to the ocean. Sometimes you’ll wake up feeling like a tsunami, other time you’ll feel like just barely drifting to shore. When you feel like drifting to the shore, understand that it doesn’t always have to feel like there’s no hope. You can restore your motivation.

It can be helpful to figure out what those beliefs and habits are based on. Once you are aware of what you are doing, you can begin to create change.

Focusing on mistakes

If you're trying to pursue a goal, you're probably going to make mistakes along the way. Small mistakes can easily be overcome, while others can cost you what seems like a lot, maybe even putting your project or dream in jeopardy. Remember that mistakes are a part of the learning process. Think of how many times you fell down learning to walk! Avoid dwelling too much on these mistakes, and instead focus on the lessons and experience you gained from them.

Being afraid to take risks

Some people are willing to risk everything to make their dream a reality. But some are afraid of losing too much. Risk is often associated with creating a big change, such as quitting a stable job to start your own business. Focus on the things you might gain by taking the risk.

Thinking too far ahead

There's nothing wrong with imagining yourself being successful, but make sure that you aren’t neglecting the current goals and activities needed to get you there. Imagining a more successful version of yourself is a great way to propel yourself into success. Just remember to take things one step at a time.

Focusing on weaknesses

Focusing too much on your weaknesses can sabotage your success. We tend to move toward what we are focused on, so naturally if you are focused on what is wrong, this can lower your confidence, which makes it more difficult to keep yourself motivated. When we focus on our shortcomings we tend to be more emotionally vulnerable and easier to stress out than we are when we focus on our strengths.

Feeling entitled

People who feel entitled to success are easy to discourage. They believe the world owes them something. They are convinced that they are destined to be successful, and that their hard work will immediately and inevitably lead to success. There are even those who believe that they do not need to work to gain the success they feel they deserve. These people tend to give up easily, before they even get started really.

Fearing failure

Some people are afraid to fail. We are all, to some degree, afraid of rejection. We like to have people’s approval, and we thrive when we see that others like what we are doing. Pursuing a goal and trying to make a name for yourself comes with a variety of risks and challenges. Try to look at potential failure like mistakes, they are both tools in the learning process. Rejection helps you to perfect your sales pitch. Failing to meet your fitness goals lets you know that you need to reevaluate those goals and make sure they are reasonable.

Working too hard

It's important to take a break once in a while. There's nothing wrong with working on your project for eight hours straight, but only if you can handle the stress. You do not want to burn out on your efforts. Pace yourself. Set reasonable, short term goals that move you toward your success. People who work too hard on their projects can burn themselves out and eventually give up.

Refusing to be flexible

Flexibility is important for reducing stress and navigating through changes. Change is everywhere, and setbacks can be common in the process of producing those changes. Learning how to adjust to current trends can prevent you from losing heart and giving up.

Expecting immediate results

Pursuing a fitness or career goal can take months or years, depending on how lofty that goal is. I often as my clients how long it took them to gain 20 pounds. This gives them a clearer perspective on how long it takes to create a change. I tell them to expect it to take half as long to lose the weight as it did to put it on. Many of us expect our hard work to pay off immediately. When it doesn't, we can sometimes feel a sense of disappointment that can stall our progress.

Failing to use resources

Quit trying to do and know everything yourself! Take advantage of the many resources at your disposal. Besides material resources, make use of your connections with relevant people, advice from mentors, and support from friends and family. Failing to take advantage of these resources can make you less informed, less connected, and less motivated.

Symptoms of a Missing Motivation

Being bored with your routine.

Tired of doing the same old thing, day in, day out? Sick of your job, or your big project, or your schoolwork? Looking for ways to avoid what you’re meant to be doing? Feeling sick and tired of whatever you’re doing is a sign that your motivation is dwindling.

Feeling like you can’t make a difference.

Maybe you started on a project full of hope and enthusiasm, looking forward to changing the world with your contributions. If that feeling has left you, and you feel like what you’re doing is pointless of meaningless, it’s time to act.

Not being satisfied with what you’ve done.

Are you a perfectionist? Trying to be perfect is a common cause of motivation loss, because it just isn’t possible. Many of us are afraid to try new things or complete projects, thinking, “Why bother? I know it won’t be good enough.” Instead, we should focus on trying our best.

Feeling stressed about what you’re doing.

Do you regularly feel stressed and overwhelmed by your workload? When your work is causing you worry, you’re more likely to avoid it, which creates a vicious cycle or stress and motivation loss.

Comparing yourself to others.

“We’re the same age, but he’s so much more successful than me.” This kind of comparison is a quick way to destroy your motivation for whatever you’re doing. Stop trying to be better than others, and focus on being the best version of yourself instead.

The Role of Hypnosis

Replacing Faulty Thinking

It may seem that your thoughts and motivations are involuntary. Many people think that they cannot control what they think about or what they accomplish, or even how they feel about things in general. This is simply not true. Your thinking can be retrained using hypnosis, and this improves your motivation, and ultimately your results.

All hypnosis has a strong motivation aspect.  People seek out hypnosis because they want to experience a certain part of their life differently. Hypnosis gives you the ability to access the resources that already exist within you that enable you to create that change. Motivational hypnosis helps to program you to feel excited about the process of creating success in any area of your life, from your business or career, to your fitness and family.

The subconscious mind has no judgement and does not know the difference between what is real and what you imagine. So use your imagination to accomplish your goals and increase your motivation.

The fact that you’re choosing to work on a goal shows some level of motivation. Thinking about the feeling you will have when you accomplish what you set out for can make the journey easier, with less obstacles. Consider all the benefits you will receive when you achieve your goal. Awareness of the reasons for your goal can strengthen and increase your motivation and helps to dissolve resistance or blocks that may be keeping you stuck.

To reprogram the subconscious mind toward your goal and to increase motivation, create some positive reprogramming statements or affirmations. 

“I Love to exercise and tone my body.”

“I enjoy connecting with others and creating relationships.”

“I easily and confidently decide to take action.”

“I love to pick up the phone and make sales calls.”

Once you’ve decided on your positive reprogramming, you can use a simple self-hypnosis technique to create your new reality. Simply take a few moments before you go to sleep, sit in a safe and comfortable position, and repeat your positive suggestion out loud ten times. While you are repeating your affirmation, visualize yourself already enjoying the success that you are looking fo. When you are done, simply go on to sleep. While you sleep, your subconscious mind will continue to build up the suggestion you gave yourself. Try this for a week, and look for the changes in yourself each day∎

Karen Gray is a Certified Hypnotist, a Registered Nurse, and the owner of Green Mountain Hypnosis in Lebanon, New Hampshire. For more information on how you can use hypnosis to change your life, you can visit www.greenmountainhypnosis.com, contact Karen at karengray@greenmountainhypnosis.com, or call (802) 566-0464.

Working closely with my partner John, we began creating the framework of what Green Mountain Hypnosis would look like. We set up a fee structure, crafted policies and letters, decided on branding fonts and colors, and crafted our logo. We spent hours talking about who we were, and what we wanted GMH to become.

Thankfully, we had received excellent training, not only in hypnosis, but also in how to successfully launch a new hypnosis practice. So when the time came, we were pretty ready. I was confident that we had the skills we needed to be successful hypnotists, but I had a lot to learn about building a business.

We knew that we wanted to maintain our personal and professional standards through everything that we did in our business. Holding onto that high level of integrity was important. Not only are we promoting the practice of hypnosis, but we are essentially marketing ourselves. Who we are is the core of everything we do.

Most people running their own company want to become better in business as they progress. In order to continually grow, you need to look for ways to improve sales performance, to market products better, and create a more enjoyable buying experience. There is one key element that you could implement to boost all of your efforts and become an overall better business person.

The key element to becoming a better business person is to become a better person first. In other words, in order to create a loyal customer, you need to be the kind of person that you would want to buy from. In order to get consistent referrals from your clients, you need to be likable. Put yourself in your customer's shoes. Would you buy from you? If you can't say yes, then you need to re-evaluate the type of business person you are.

Bridging who we are as people into who we are as a business came easily to John and I. It was easy, in part, because we had already decided that this was how we would do business, but also because we are private practitioners, and the product we are selling is ourselves.

And this concept is true for every business person. Regardless of what product or service they are selling, your customers buy that product or service from YOU. The customer’s decision to buy from you instead of someone else has everything to do with how they feel about you. And how the customer feels about you has everything to do with what kind of a person you are.

Let’s think about walking into a store to buy something. You know what you want to buy, and you know what your needs are, but you aren’t familiar enough with the technology to made a good comparison of the different models. You want to make the smartest purchase, so you look around for a store associate to help you out.

Associate Ron approaches you and asks you in a friendly way if he can help. He looks at you while you talk, and asks questions to get a better understanding of what your needs are. He acknowledges that you have done some research, and shows you a couple options that will meet your needs. Ron continues to answer your questions until you feel that you can make an informed decision on your purchase.

Associate Bill is busy stocking a shelf when you approach him. He does not turn around, sighs heavily when you ask for help, and doesn’t look at you when you tell him what you are looking for. He may walk you over to the aisle that has the item you are looking for, waves his arm at the shelf, and walks away. Bill meets a coworker nearby and talks loudly about how stressed he is, and how much of a bad day he is having.

You know which customer experience you would like to have. And you know which experience you want your own customers to have.

Maybe you don’t work in a retail setting. Maybe you work in sales. Maybe you are a contractor. Maybe you provide a service to businesses. You can apply the same examples to your business. Most of us would like to think that we are Ron on most days, and most of us are. Those aren’t the days that challenge us. The impressions that hurt your business are the times when we are more like the Bill in the example above.

Another important thing to remember is that even though we aren’t always jumping out to share a really great experience with a business, we are usually quick to share a bad experience with everyone who happens to listen. If your business depends on referrals, then this can be very damaging.

Be the person you want to do business with.

Learn to truly care about people.

This seems like the simplest notion, and yet there are many businesses that do not show that they care about their customers. I am not talking about offering perks or special deals. I am talking about genuinely caring about people.

The good news is that you already know how to do this. There are people in your life that you truly care about. With intention, you can begin to see your customers as people. The people we see everyday are someone’s mom or dad, sister or brother, child, aunt, niece, uncle, or nephew. When you begin to see customers as people instead of revenue, it becomes easy to treat them well.

Showing people empathy and showing that you don’t just care about their money, but about them as a person, will attract loyal customers. Become a better person by being kind to people. When they talk, actively listen to what they’re saying and try to understand. Show them you’re listening by the actions you take. Building a personal connection with your customers will keep them coming back.

Be consistent in business and personal relationships.

Have you ever noticed how some business owners are completely different to their partners, employees, kids and friends than they are to their customers? Have you ever seen the same business owner be as nice as they can be to their best customers, but cold and unfriendly to employees or vendors?

Think about how your own behavior shifts when you encounter different people. Why not be consistent in all your relationships? In order to become better in business you need to become a better person, and that doesn’t mean just some of the time.

By being as nice and courteous to your employees, friends and family as you are to your most important client or customer, you will notice how much your life can improve. Communication becomes easier and more effective. Business picks up. Deals go through more easily. All these things will begin t happen, because you began treating other people with consistent respect and kindness.

Always be authentic.

Being authentic in business is one of the most important things that you can do. Authenticity is the key to building a business, as well as building friendships and relationships. Being genuine to every person you meet can take you and your business a long way.

Show honesty to your customers. If you made a mistake, claim that mistake and figure out how to make it up to them. Show them you genuinely care about their experience, and you’re willing to go above and beyond to satisfy them. Being authentic doesn’t cost anything, and the benefits are immeasurable.

These are just a few ways that you can be better at business by being a better person overall. We all have room for improvement, and if you are struggling with stress, anxiety, confidence, focus, motivation, and the pressures of performing, then it can seem more difficult to be the best version of you.

Instead of taking on another task, another role, or another responsibility you can start with the basics of being a better person. The end result will be a better overall life.

The Role of Hypnosis

Hypnosis works by embedding specific messages into the subconscious mind. Within hypnotherapy, these types of messages are positively geared to correct limiting behavior. These newly embedded affirmations operate within the person's mind as the they go about everyday life. The effect is that the negative behavior is reduced, or even eliminated completely.

Within the world of business, there are five specific areas that hypnosis can help improve a person's mindset to not only help them cope, but also allowing them to get ahead.

1. Conquer Fears

Hypnosis has long been used to help those crippled by irrational fears or phobias to lead more normal lives. Most phobias develop as a by-product of traumatic experiences from the past. Using hypnosis, it is possible to resolve the underlying trauma and dissolve the fear response.

For example, customer service requires a certain finesse to deal with unruly clients or customers. If an employee is afraid of confrontation, or feels anxious and fearful when required to make routine conference calls, this may be harmful to their workplace attitude. For many, the solution to fear is avoidance, and if this means ignoring client phone calls or avoiding co-worker interactions, productivity can seriously decline. After facing a trauma, or life-altering event, consider hypnotherapy as an option to explore to conquer those underlying fears that may limit workplace success.

2. Overcome Anxiety

Another use of hypnotherapy is in soothing, and even eliminating, anxiety. There's proof that hypnosis really does relax you. This can be a huge weapon to combat work related stress. Juggling a multitude of tasks, clients, and other responsibilities, all while under a time constraint or deadline, may prove difficult at the least. While most employees have to handle some workplace stress, too much stress, or being under stress for too long can mean serious performance issues. After using hypnosis to target negative thoughts and feelings, employees report being able to sleep better, handle tasks better and ultimately shed unnecessary anxiety.

Anxious and over-burdened employees do not hide their emotions well. Stress is noticed in physical aspects of the body leading to acne breakouts, brittle hair, weight loss and a poor appearance. By using hypnosis to tackle some of the precursors to stress, an employee can prove to be more resilient and capable, and less likely to suffer burnout.

3. Restore Confidence

A strong sense of confidence is one of the biggest potential boosts to any career. Many professional career coaches report that their client's number one struggle in the job market is having the confidence to score that high-paying position. Hypnosis can help reaffirm an individual's worth, renewing their sense of purpose and confidence in the workplace. Individuals who have a keen understanding of their strengths and weaknesses tend to be more successful in their projects and professional relationships, and hypnosis can build that understanding.

4. Increase Memory

Another use of hypnosis in levelling up a career is by using techniques to increase concentration and memory. Studies have shown that hypnosis can help improve memory, which is invaluable in the workplace, especially one where an employee is expected to memorize a complicated set of statistics or client data. By increasing recall memory, an employee can be perceived by his peers and supervisors as being better organized, more focused, and dedicated to the company.

Hypnosis to improve memory works by targeting the mechanisms by which the brain stores and recalls information. By using specific techniques, hypnosis "unlocks" certain pathways in the brain which can increase the ability to retain and refer to a greater amount of information more quickly, making you more productive in the workplace.

5. Refine Business Skills

Hypnotherapy has also proven useful for those looking to refine their individual set of vital business skills. These skills can be negatively affected by stress, anxiety, insecurities, forgetfulness, or a lack of confidence. Using hypnosis to eliminate these obstacles can help an individual direct their focus towards developing the traits that make them a stellar employee.

Some of these traits include being outgoing, friendly, and conversational. Related tasks can vary from public speaking, to successfully hosting a business meeting. To accomplish this shift, hypnosis reaffirms positive thoughts while helping to release the negative and limiting thoughts.

Hypnosis has the potential to address many issues that keep an individual from being more successful.∎