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Learn To Set Goals and Achieve Them
One of the most valuable suggestions which can be implanted through hypnotherapy consists of only eight words: "What your mind can conceive, YOU can achieve!" There is no more important message, for the statement can be applied to any goal, physical, mental, or spiritual.
The mind is a powerhouse, capable of accomplishments beyond the most vivid imagination. To achieve the potential implied by the above statement, four elements are necessary:
DESIRE: The goal must be important. It must be really wanted. Casual expression such as "I'd like to..." is not nearly sufficient. The desire must be deep and permanent.
BELIEF: It is vital to believe that the goal is achievable, however improbable it may seem. Belief, also known as faith, is a powerful force, capable of performing miracles. This is not necessarily a spiritual requirement. The faith must be in the self.
EXPECTATION: Hope won't do the job. Thinking that achievement of a goal would be nice is not sufficient. Expectation is required. Success is not a matter of "IF," it is a matter of "WHEN!" There is no room for doubt.
DEMAND: Finally, it is essential that the goal-seeker demand of himself/herself the attitudes and actions necessary to full achievement. As the old saying goes, "There ain't no free lunch!"
Given the above elements, the fact remains: "What your mind can conceive, you can achieve." The mind conceives through visualization, which comes easier for some people than others. Yet it can be learned and acquired-hypnotherapy can help in this-and the benefits last a lifetime. But it is essential to learn how to set and achieve goals. Implanting the procedures and techniques through hypnosis is very helpful.
Goal Setting Problems
Most people have dreams-of success, wealth, love, career advancement, resolution of problems or whatever. Few carry them through planning to achievement. Learning special techniques under the retention power of hypnosis can help in the achievement of dreams.
One of the major problems in setting goals and achieving career advancement has been described as the "Playpen Syndrome." It begins virtually at birth, when young children are naturally very suggestible. They want to be liked. They learn from parents, teachers and authority figures that if they do what they are told, they will be liked. If they create problems, they won't be liked.
Young children are placed by parents in a playpen where they are considered safe and out of trouble. They become comfortable in that environment. They are out of the way; they are fed, changed, watched-taken care of. And they are liked because they do not create problems. They are left in the playpen where their needs are met, they don't get into trouble, and they are liked. But they are not encouraged to learn or advance.
Many children grow up in a playpen. In sports activities they are allowed to play on teams regardless of their proficiency at the sport, without real motivation to improve. Later in a working environment unions cater to their needs, save their jobs regardless of their skills or lack thereof, determine their wages and benefits, fight their battles, etc. And the government itself provides the biggest playpen of all, attempting to meet needs and plan the future, without any incentive to become self-sufficient. The playpen syndrome fosters mediocrity, and it is promoted by people and agencies who want to avoid being bothered by ambition, creativity, new ideas or progress.
Escape From the Playpen
Hypnotherapy, through a special programming featuring goal setting and achievement, provides a way out of the playpen. Effective goal setting requires both a sense of completion and a reward. The major problem most people encounter in setting goals is that the goals are long-term in nature. A young, new employee decides to be president of the company. A student wants to become a doctor, lawyer, politician, even president. A goal-setter even less oriented decides the goal is to become a millionaire. These are accomplishment goals. Most people set them; excuses are easy, failure is frequent, there is no accountability.
Activity goals form the foundations of success. They consist of what must be done to reach an accomplishment goal. They are short term in nature. They are the steps to success. The student sets his first goal as achieving a creditable grade on his first test. Another goal might be passing a mid-term examination. Still another could be preparation of a final term paper that is outstanding-steps in earning entrance into medical school, from which, after completing numerous other activity goals, the accomplishment goal of doctor may be realized.
Each short-term activity goal, once accomplished, provides the essential sense of completion, and motivation to undertake the next step. And each such completion should be accompanied by a self-reward, self-recognition of the successful step. The step-by-step process of sequential short term activity goals completed and rewarded forms the pathway to achievement.
A model for success might be as follows: Set a realistic, achievable accomplishment goal. Determine its benefits for emotional motivation. Analyze the obstacles-if they exceed benefits, failure is assured. Determine the knowledge and skills required. Determine sources of help. Design a plan of action (activity goals). Set a deadline, which establishes accountability.
Goal setting can provide the ladder for escape from the playpen. Hypnotherapy can provide motivation, confidence, energy and insight. The ultimate prize: avoidance of mediocrity!
Content on this page ©1999 National Guild of Hypnotists, Merrimack, NH 03054
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