End the Year Confidently

In the year ahead I want to do more. I want to attend more events, go to more educational seminars, and continue to build this flourishing hypnosis practice. I want to goof off less. I want to spend less time wasting time on my phone. I want my down time to count. I want to continue to get healthier and stronger both in my mind and my body, and to pass the benefits of that on to my clients and others.

I know that as I move toward the best version of myself, I will feel happier, more content, and less stress. What about you? Does the end of the year cause you to feel more stress? Do you allow yourself the time to reflect on how far you have come and where you would still like to go?

Looking Back

In order to recognize something, we have to know what it looks like. Let me give you an example. Make a quick list in your mind of all the times you have been successful in your life. It’s not important that you remember each time vividly, just notice how many you remember. Good

Now I want you to think about one time in your life when you felt the most successful, whatever first comes to mind, and let yourself go there in your mind, back to that time when you felt the most successful. This time, let yourself go back into that memory with as much detail as possible, so that you are seeing it through your own eyes, hearing the sounds around you in your own ears, and being back in that moment now.

Notice how you feel that in your body. Notice if you sit up straighter, if you smile, and how you feel physically in that feeling of success. Good.

Now that you remember what success feels like, let your mind start to wander to all the other times you felt that feeling. Notice how there are some big accomplishments, and some little ones too. Maybe you even thought of a few unexpected or surprising times in your life that you felt that successful feeling.

Once you remembered what success looks like, you were easily able to recall more moments of success in your life. Because in order to recognize something, we have to know what it looks like.

Taking Inventory

You can use that same technique to help you as you inventory your year. As you are looking back to what you have accomplished, start by looking for the emotion. If you are counting up successes, remember one time that you felt the most successful, and let your mind wander from there. If you are looking at your confidence, then again, close your eyes and remember the time you felt the most confident. Whatever first pops into your mind is exactly right. Then tune into those feelings and notice how you experience that confidence physically. From there you can let your mind wander to other moments that you felt the same way.

This technique works because of the way your subconscious mind stores information. When we create memories, we store them with emotional markers. This means that we access the memory by how it made us feel. So when we identify the feeling first, then we are able to fully access the memories. Most of us have experienced this in a more negative way. Have you ever noticed that when you are feeling angry at someone for something specific, you are suddenly reminded of everything that person did that upset you? This happens because you are tapping into that emotional state and recalling all the memories associated with it.

The Role of Hypnosis

Now that you have a better understanding of how far you have come in the last year, you can start to look at the areas you want to improve. What are some situations you could have handled better? What would you like to do more of, or less of, in the new year?

A powerful way to keep focused on moving forward is by using Self-Guided Suggestions.

Self-Guided Suggestions

Like affirmations, self-guided suggestions use a positive phrase to create a pleasant state. The difference between affirmations and hypnosis is visualizing your desired outcome. Activating your imagination in this way taps into the specific neurons in your brain to create new and better connections to good and positive feelings.

1. Sit in a safe and comfortable place, usually on the edge of your bed, with your hands resting comfortably on your legs.

2. Close your eyes and take 3 abdominal breaths.

3. Repeat this suggestion 10 times, either out loud or to yourself:

“Every day, in every way, I am better and better!”

4. While you are giving yourself this suggestion, imagine or picture yourself as if you are looking in a full length mirror, exactly how you want to be, being able to do all the things you want to do, as if you are already living in your success.

5. When you have repeated the suggestion 10 times, take a deep, slow breath and open your eyes. You can go on to bed now, feeling relaxed in every way.

You can create your own Self-Guided Suggestions, making them specific to your goals. Keep them simple and specific. Use one sentence, or two short ones, and make sure to keep them positive and in present tense.

The more you use suggestions, the more effective they become. And the benefit of adding these suggestions to your routine is that they create mental map that helps guide your actions moving forward. As you imagine yourself achieving your goals, your subconscious mind tailors your actions to propel you in that direction.

Finish off this year feeling proud of all that you have done, and move into the New Year with a head start toward the life you want to create for yourself!∎