Positivity is the difference between seeing the glass as half full or half empty but its impact goes much further than that. Having a positive or negative attitude affects our lives on a much deeper level. Positive people lead much happier lives than negative people; they tend to live longer, are less susceptible to illness and nurture more fulfilling relationships with those around them.
Often, what we imagine to be 'reality', becomes our reality, purely because we expect it to be so. If you have an optimistic outlook on life it is probable that your experiences throughout the course of your life have taught you that you can expect good things to happen. Likewise, a negative disposition often links back to a catalogue of disappointments.
Negativity isn't always a bad thing, in fact, it is part of our survival mechanism. If a hungry wild animal had you in his sights, blind optimism that all you needed to do was send 'love' to that animal, wouldn't save you! As with most things in life, balance is the key and the trick is to learn how to separate what our BASIC instincts tell us, from what our LEARNED instincts tell us.
Basic instincts are the product of evolution. Human beings are born with instincts that are designed to ensure their survival and protect them throughout life. If another human being intended to do you harm, your basic instincts may well pick up on this and endeavour to make you aware of the threat. What happens next is down to whether you trust your inner wisdom, or whether you give priority to politeness, for example, (a learned behaviour), instead. Our basic instincts can always be trusted, the problems start, when we confuse basic instincts with learned instincts.
Learned instincts are the product of past experience and expectation. The expectation of failure can prevent us from striving into unfamiliar territory. The expectation of being rejected can deter us from getting to know people who could make our lives richer on an emotional level. Learned instincts are important but we need to be willing to scrutinise them and question their validity if we are not to be bound by faulty perception.
In order to escape the trap of limiting our lives by confusing the two types of instinct, we first have to accept that the difference exists. ALL instincts are designed to protect us, but some learned instincts are based on erroneous beliefs. The good news is that we can work to bring more positivity into our lives by introducing self-awareness into our world.
Are there any situations that you avoid because they take you out of your comfort zone? How much of your 'self-talk' is critical or defeatist? How would you describe your friends and family? Although it is often said that opposities attract, when it comes to outlook, like tends to attract like. Positive people prefer the company of other positive people because they find negativity draining. Likewise, negative people tend to mingle with other negative people because they can 'feed' off each other and their mutual negativity can actually help them to validate each other, (a positive consequence!). If you see the world as a scary, evil or dangerous place, having people around you who share your view of the world can be comfort, but it will still drag you down unless you muster the courage to challenge that which you take as given. Past performance is not a guarantee of future outcomes. Being open to this reality and willing to question assumptions can set you on your way to a more positive future.
Hypnotherapy can assist you in gaining understanding of those behaviours that hold you back. If you want to consult a hypnotherapist in Nottingham, Renew Hypnotherapy can help. see our website for further information.
Sunday, 29 August 2010
Wednesday, 25 August 2010
Being Naturally Slim - The Truth
If I were to say that there was a 'naturally slim' person inside all of us, how many frustrated people would be jumping up and down screaming "where?!" Or, "well can you help me find mine please because that part of me seems to have gone AWOL!" Obesity is a common problem that appears to be getting worse and our physical health is suffering for it.
So, what's the secret of naturally slim people? Well, fortunately that question is easy to answer: Naturally slim people do not obsess about food. They eat when they are hungry and stop when they have had enough. For them, eating is a practical activity which serves the purpose of keeping them alive. This isn't to say that they do not enjoy eating. On the contrary, they certainly do, but the difference is that because these people have not learn't how to 'switch off' the signals which their bodies send when they are full, eating is only pleasurable whilst they are eating what they genuinely need. Once their stomach has sent the message that they are full, eating becomes a chore and not at all pleasurable. If they were to continue eating they would begin to feel quite sick very quickly.
So why is it that some people only think about food when their stomach is gurgling on empty whilst others spend all day thinking about little else? If I was to suggest that 'appetite' may be the answer, what would that mean to you? According to my dictionary, the 1990's edition of the 'Concise Oxford', appetite is 'a natural desire to satisfy bodily needs, esp. for food or sexual activity'. It is 'an inclination or desire'. When we say that someone has 'a healthy appetite' what we usually mean is that they eat a lot, but is that really a healthy appetite?
Consider this: The feeling that over-eaters experience everyday of their lives when they desire yet more food that their bodies don't actually need, is EXACTLY THE SAME feeling that smokers get when they experience a desire for a cigarette. When the over-eater and the smoker attempt to resist their urges both then experience a restless agitated feeling that becomes steadily more acute the longer they attempt to abstain.
Some people say that smokers put on weight when they stop smoking because they believe that nicotine is an appetite suppressant. Personally, I question the validity of this assertion. I completely accept that both smokers and over-eaters have an appetite for 'SOMETHING', what I question, is exactly what that something is. Over-eaters may well feel compelled to eat, but they know all too well that they don't need that excess food.
Like smoking, over-eating is a behaviour that serves a positive intention, even if the obvious effects are far from desirable. Hypnotherapy can assist in the discovery of what those intentions are and subsequently enable a release from behaviour patterns that are at best unhelpful, and at worst dangerous to our survival.
Renew Hypnotherapy, Hypnotherapist Nottingham, has more information available on their website. Refer to the FAQs section for further understanding on the workings of the sub-conscious mind.
So, what's the secret of naturally slim people? Well, fortunately that question is easy to answer: Naturally slim people do not obsess about food. They eat when they are hungry and stop when they have had enough. For them, eating is a practical activity which serves the purpose of keeping them alive. This isn't to say that they do not enjoy eating. On the contrary, they certainly do, but the difference is that because these people have not learn't how to 'switch off' the signals which their bodies send when they are full, eating is only pleasurable whilst they are eating what they genuinely need. Once their stomach has sent the message that they are full, eating becomes a chore and not at all pleasurable. If they were to continue eating they would begin to feel quite sick very quickly.
So why is it that some people only think about food when their stomach is gurgling on empty whilst others spend all day thinking about little else? If I was to suggest that 'appetite' may be the answer, what would that mean to you? According to my dictionary, the 1990's edition of the 'Concise Oxford', appetite is 'a natural desire to satisfy bodily needs, esp. for food or sexual activity'. It is 'an inclination or desire'. When we say that someone has 'a healthy appetite' what we usually mean is that they eat a lot, but is that really a healthy appetite?
Consider this: The feeling that over-eaters experience everyday of their lives when they desire yet more food that their bodies don't actually need, is EXACTLY THE SAME feeling that smokers get when they experience a desire for a cigarette. When the over-eater and the smoker attempt to resist their urges both then experience a restless agitated feeling that becomes steadily more acute the longer they attempt to abstain.
Some people say that smokers put on weight when they stop smoking because they believe that nicotine is an appetite suppressant. Personally, I question the validity of this assertion. I completely accept that both smokers and over-eaters have an appetite for 'SOMETHING', what I question, is exactly what that something is. Over-eaters may well feel compelled to eat, but they know all too well that they don't need that excess food.
Like smoking, over-eating is a behaviour that serves a positive intention, even if the obvious effects are far from desirable. Hypnotherapy can assist in the discovery of what those intentions are and subsequently enable a release from behaviour patterns that are at best unhelpful, and at worst dangerous to our survival.
Renew Hypnotherapy, Hypnotherapist Nottingham, has more information available on their website. Refer to the FAQs section for further understanding on the workings of the sub-conscious mind.
Thursday, 19 August 2010
Stop Smoking - The Truth
Everybody 'knows' it's difficult to stop smoking - but what if it isn't?? What's so special about smoking anyway? When it's considered rationally, smoking makes no sense whatsoever. Why would anybody feel compelled to stick paper tubes of crushed leaves into their mouths, light them and inhale the fumes? If you were to see an elephant doing it, you'd either laugh or, most likely, stare in shocked disbelief. So what is it that makes stopping smoking so difficult? The answer is that we believe it is difficult. Even people who have never smoked believe it to be extremely difficult; and what we believe determines our reality.
Anybody who has ever attempted to stop smoking will be aware of the restless feeling that accompanies abstenance. Are you aware that people who routinely over-eat, experience that exact same feeling when they attempt to curb their unwanted impulses? What if the desire to smoke has nothing to do with cigarettes and is merely a means to an end in satisfying a completely un-related need - just as over-eating has nothing whatsoever to do with hunger?
It is commonly accepted that it takes immense will power to stop smoking. However, this is only true when you are arguing with yourself in your head - one part of your mind wants to light a cigarette, but another part says that you can't or mustn't. The truth is that you are not fighting cigarettes, you are fighting yourself!
What if you could arrive at a point where there was no disagreement in your mind? A point at which you are sure of what you want and confident that you can reach your goal painlessly and easily? How liberating would that be? How excited would you feel? Hypnotherapy is an excellent tool for assisting smokers to achieve this state of mind. It's not magic and the smoker needs to actively participate with the therapy, but if you really want to stop, hypnotherapy can help you to achieve your goal.
If you live in Nottingham and are considering Hynotherapy to help you stop smoking, then we feel it is important to select the correct Hypnotherapist Nottingham. Take a look at our stop smoking diy kit for further details.
Anybody who has ever attempted to stop smoking will be aware of the restless feeling that accompanies abstenance. Are you aware that people who routinely over-eat, experience that exact same feeling when they attempt to curb their unwanted impulses? What if the desire to smoke has nothing to do with cigarettes and is merely a means to an end in satisfying a completely un-related need - just as over-eating has nothing whatsoever to do with hunger?
It is commonly accepted that it takes immense will power to stop smoking. However, this is only true when you are arguing with yourself in your head - one part of your mind wants to light a cigarette, but another part says that you can't or mustn't. The truth is that you are not fighting cigarettes, you are fighting yourself!
What if you could arrive at a point where there was no disagreement in your mind? A point at which you are sure of what you want and confident that you can reach your goal painlessly and easily? How liberating would that be? How excited would you feel? Hypnotherapy is an excellent tool for assisting smokers to achieve this state of mind. It's not magic and the smoker needs to actively participate with the therapy, but if you really want to stop, hypnotherapy can help you to achieve your goal.
If you live in Nottingham and are considering Hynotherapy to help you stop smoking, then we feel it is important to select the correct Hypnotherapist Nottingham. Take a look at our stop smoking diy kit for further details.
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