Life Coaches and Hypnotists Are Big Fat Liars?
By Katie Romano Griffin, Fort Myers Hypnotist, Life Coach, LPN
When I used to think of life coaches, I would get a visual of Chris Farley and the “van down by the river” Saturday Night Live Skit. Then I would think of big-dollar workshop weekends headed by tanned perfectionists that end with empty wallets and broken promises.
How many books have you read, workshops have you been to, only to return to the same old habits or life? After a certain period of time you have to ask yourself, are all life coaches and hypnotists liars?
I’m not sure where you are at, but most of the folks I meet through my Fort Myers Hypnosis and Life Coaching practice have been to countless seminars by respected coaches; they are well-read self-help enthusiasts and after each workshop or program they have a honeymoon period of success then CRASH! Failure!
Do you know why this happens? Are their coaches and hypnotists liars? Are your coaches and hypnotists liars? Is my Fort Myers Hypnosis and Life Coaching Practice a den of lies?
I could tell you “no” but I think I’d rather you should make the decision yourself.
Let me tell you a little secret. It’s a secret so big that a lot of coaches and hypnotists have probably uttered but you didn’t hear it:
Right now, your subconscious is deleting, distorting and generalizing all of the information it takes in and anything that is different from what is already in your subconscious will create great discomfort and fear if it is even registered in the first place. RIGHT NOW YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS MIND IS DELETING, DISTORTING AND GENERALIZING EVERY PIECE OF INFORMATION YOUR MIND TAKES IN, AND ANYTHING THAT IS DIFFERENT FROM WHAT IS ALREADY IN YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS WILL CREATE GREAT DISCOMFORT AND FEAR IF YOUR MIND EVEN REGISTERS IT IN THE FIRST PLACE.
Look, I’m sorry I shouted, but it’s in our nature to skip over or get angry and discard information that doesn’t gel with what we “know”. I had to repeat the message to make it stronger, too. You see repetition and association are essential in creating new behaviors; we’ll talk more about that in a bit.
First, I want to tell you about a little theory I usually share with all of my first time clients in my Fort Myers Hypnosis practice: According to the Kappasinian Theory of Mind, your bad habits and routines are considered to be the devil your subconscious knows, which (according to your subconscious) is way safer than the “new” idea it doesn’t “know”.
And I hate to break it to you, but things get worse…
Some experts say the subconscious is about 88% of your mind. 88%! That leaves only 12% for conscious decision-making. When most people first start a new plan or program, often times their excitement can keep them going forward, but as soon as they reach some resistance like birthday cake, a party, or a weight loss plateau—BAM! They are off the wagon and back to sleeping late and beer and wings every weekend—just like old times. The tipping point is when the conscious mind becomes inundated with message units, breaks down, and the good ole subconscious takes the reigns.
Keep an eye out for these signs of upcoming doom…
In addition to my Fort Myers Hypnosis and Life Coaching practice, I am also the CEO of a Marketing and PR Firm that Publishes speakers and authors. I essentially spend a good portion of my days marketing others, helping them to shine in the limelight, and I’m darned good at it. Here’s the thing, though, I don’t often spend a lot of time marketing myself because my focus is always on helping others. This is a bad thing when you own your own business! To break the habit of passing myself by, I am writing this blog myself. Boy does it feel uncomfortable too! My attention is wavering. I want to clean the house up so that I can concentrate better, or maybe I could take a nap? I can do some work on our books, review profit and loss statements… I can think of millions of things I could or should be doing, I mean I have people to write blogs for me, why am I doing this again!
All of the feelings and thoughts I’m having are self-sabotaging thoughts—all plausible—but still subconscious resistance to change. Here are some other ways you might have thoughts indicating resistance to change: You start to feel too tired to do that journaling exercise, you start to develop a million reasons why you can’t possibly continue to bag your lunch, work suddenly needs more of your time and it’s just not feasible to meditate, call your mom, or do whatever it is that you’re trying to institute as a life change. Most times these are just excuses, often completely plausible excuses, that our subconscious tosses our way. As long as what we are doing is reasonable and healthy, this is the time when we most need to press on. In the immortal words of my old track coach, “on the days when you most want to skip your morning run, that’s the day you most need to do it.” You see most times when you meet resistance you’re actually headed for a breakthrough. Coach knew that and was right every time.
Coaches and Hypnotists are guides, not gods…
There isn’t a talk, book, widget or tool that is a magick cure for your current quagmire. But, knowing this still doesn’t make Coaches or Hypnotists liars. Change will take time if it is to be lasting and your persistent participation is a must. Heck, that’s what makes it all worth it.
Workshops and seminars are awesome for a jumpstart. I teach several myself, just remember the workshop is a seed that you plant, follow up is needed to make your garden grow. You see you need repetition and associations with something already in your subconscious to make things stick—repetition and association are your fertilizer, your weeding and watering. I also recommend regular hypnosis to help continue to build stronger “knowns” in the subconscious that correlate with the life you are building. For the folks who come for 1to 1 sessions in my Fort Myers Hypnosis practice, I also teach how a trigger phrase or action can help keep the conscious mind in control.
Here’s some really good news…
You CAN change your life. Seminars, books, tapes and workshops can help. Even better, tools like regular life coaching and hypnosis can help make the process easier. Better still, most coaches do what I do at my Fort Myers Hypnosis and Life Coaching practice, we offer FREE STUFF so you can check us out before scheduling! I say carpe free stuff-um! Seize the free stuff, learn all you can and get an appointment so you can start making changes!
What are you waiting for?
Sincerely,
Katie Romano Griffin
Fort Myers Hynotist, Life Coach, LPN
PS I want to know if this blog was helpful, give me a call at: 239-288-0900 and let me know. THANKS!