Mind your thoughts and change your mind...

Why is it that some people have more self-belief than others? Why do some people ‘get on with it’, while others procrastinate or not even step up to try? Is self-belief innate within us, or is it a skill that can be learned?

As a hypnotherapist and sports performance coach, a lot of my work focuses on confidence building. My extensive work with athletes and business people over the years has shown me that everyone suffers from self-doubt from time to time. The differences between people lie in our ability to voice our fears and take action to overcome these negative beliefs.

Successful people tend to share a positive mindset. They also set personal goals and are quick to take action. Whether it be CEOs, small business owners or entrepreneurs; successful people tend to have several core traits in common: they are decisive, action orientated and they set clear, measurable goals. And most importantly, even if they don’t always know how they are going to achieve their goal, their expectation is they will find a way. They BELIEVE they can.
 

So where do our beliefs come from? They develop from a complex mix of our attitudes, values, memories, decisions, internal self-talk and, most importantly, the impact of our personal environment. We really are what we think. Without self-belief we are more likely to procrastinate, make poor choices, lack accountability, or even fall into a state of victim mentality.

What is the solution? If you find your own self-talk is becoming negative, how can you change it? The answer is to challenge our fears and take positive action; to overcome any limiting beliefs that are holding us back. Easy to say, but sometimes harder to achieve.

The great news is turning negative thoughts or attitudes into positive ones can be quick and easy. It all depends on the motivation of the individual and their willingness to give the concept a try. Much has been written about ‘acting as if’ you have already succeeded, or creating affirmations to help change your state of mind. The most important thing with affirmations is that they must be realistic and believable – your brain would naturally resist things it doesn’t feel is authentic.

However, these two actions are an extremely powerful starting point for change. It’s really important to understand that often, when a limiting thought enters our head, nothing has actually changed except our point of focus. We have taken our eye off what we are looking to achieve and instead, have allowed doubt or negative self-talk to creep in. That affects not only our thoughts, but our body language, posture, what we feel, how we view the situation in that moment, the things we say to ourselves – and therefore the outcome as well.

The following are 5 simple techniques to help turn negative thoughts into positive beliefs:

1. Stop. Take a breath and adjust your posture. Notice how your stance has changed since a limiting belief appeared. Ask yourself, “How do I want to feel instead of worried / anxious / fearful?” Name your feeling and then stand up, walk around and sit back down in a way that reflects that mindset.
2. Change your point of focus – literally. We usually look down when we are unhappy and up when we are more confident. Look up at the sky and see how you it can change how you feel!

3. Identify your limiting belief. For example you might say to yourself, “My business is going to fail”. Then ask yourself, “What’s the worst that could happen?” “How can I prevent this happening?” “If it still happens how could I handle it?” In looking at your core fear or problem in the face and preparing for it, you will change the way your brain perceives the problem and it will literally alter your mindset and help you prepare for positive action.

4. Speak to someone you respect, whether a friend or work colleague perhaps. By vocalising what is going on, it becomes easier to reframe the outcome.
5. Take action. Action is empowering because it brings about change. The clearer you can be about what you want, the easier it will become to break down your goal into manageable chunks and start working towards it, one step at a time. 

The truth is that over 90% of what we fear never actually happens. By acknowledging the 10% of possibility and preparing for it in case it does happen, it becomes easier to take practical actions towards the successful outcome you actually want. 

So by changing your self-belief, you can literally change your mind.

If you would like to find out more about how to change your beliefs, please feel to contact Christy for a one-to-one appointment at christy@christyhypnotherapy.com or call 01252 334377.