The Incredible You! series has been about unlocking your potential, and finding your inner badass. You have seen that by finding an inner state of calm and balance, you can take yourself to a place where everything flows with ease.
A lot of what you have learned so far, could easily fall into the realms of self-hypnosis, however as yet, we haven't defined it as that.
Self-hypnosis is one of the most powerful tools you have in your arsenal of mental weaponry.It works on so many levels, and there are very good reasons as to why self-hypnosis is so effective.
Most of us at some point or another in our lives have tried a form of self-hypnosis. A lot of us wouldn't have even realised that we were doing it. Psyching yourself up for an exam, interview, or sporting event, all count as self-hypnosis.
Others among us, have consciously tried it and perhaps felt a bit silly, or didn't feel like it was doing us any good, so we gave up before reaping the benefits.
So with all that in mind, let us quickly explore a couple of the reasons why it works, then we can get down to some simple, yet powerful self-hypnosis techniques.
Your Mind's Best Friend
Who is your bezzie mate? Do you even have somebody you consider a best friend? If so is that person related to you? Or perhaps they are a long time childhood friend that you've known for years?
I'm sure like most people you like to confide in your best friend. Perhaps when things are going wrong, you contact him or her and have a good old chat.
Or maybe when you have some exciting news, and things are going very right for you, and you want to share it with your bosom buddy?
In the same way when your friend is in similar situations, they too will contact you for support or to share in their good fortune.
This familiarity built up over time puts us at ease with this person, and we feel comfortable in their presence and we are likely to take their advice over anyone else's.
Well I've got news for you, they are not quite your best friend, not as far as your subconscious mind is concerned.
As far as your beautiful mind is concerned, that best friend, the person who is always there for you, prepared to listen to your crap and share in your joy. Well;that's you . . .
You see, it is your voice that you hear more than anyone else's. As a small child before you could speak, the voices you heard where those of your parents or guardians, therefore those were the voices you put your trust in.
However since those early infant days, the voice you hear and trust the most, is your own.
Of course, intellectually you know that you are a single entity, and when you hear yourself speaking you don't class it as another person.
However your subconscious mind does. It can be argued that your intelligence comes from how distinct parts of the brain work in function with each other. However each distinct part on its own, cannot be said to hold any intelligence.
Therefore when the auditory cortex in your brain hears your voice. It doesn't consciously know that it is you speaking. It simply recognises your voice as a familiar and trustworthy one.
This is why you should not speak bad about yourself, even in jest. It has the same cognitive impact as hearing a good friend speak ill of you.
Creating The Mantra
When Mike Tyson was 13 years old, spending time in a correctional facility in New York. He was given the opportunity to go to the house of the late, great legendary boxing trainer, Cus D'Amato.
After watching the young Tyson box a 30 year old man for five minutes. Cus stopped the bout and said to the young Tyson, you are going to be the youngest ever heavyweight champion in history.
Tyson said in his book; Undisputed Truth, that nobody had ever said anything positive to him before, let alone an old white stranger.
The would-be undisputed heavyweight champ of the world said that he felt a deep mistrust for D'Amato at first, and felt that he was trying to get something out of him.
As time went on however, Tyson began to trust the wily old boxing trainer and came to think of him as the father he'd never had.
You see when he looked at him Cus knew that the child Tyson had not had much, or in fact any encouragement in life. He knew for a 13 year old to end up in youth prison, meant that the child had low self esteem and had not been made to feel special in any way.
D'Amato knew that unless he could get the young Tyson to believe in the talent that D'Amato could clearly see he had, there was no way to turn him into a champion.
So from that moment, he not only told him he was a champion, he made him tell it to himself everyday. D'Amato created a mantra for Tyson to repeat to himself constantly throughout the day.
The mantra was spoken over and over again. Tyson reports that at first he didn't really believe it and was full of self doubt.
However by the time he stepped into that ring with Trevor Berbick barely six years after Cus D'Amato had uttered those words, he was so full of self-belief that winning that belt at just 19 years 6 months and 22 days old, had become an inevitable formality.
Making A Mantra For You
So I'm assuming that you neither have the inclination, nor aptitude to become heavyweight champion of the world, yet you still have a burning desire to do something.
Creating a personal mantra for yourself will help you achieve that goal, whatever it is. It will also enable you to carry it out within a certain kind of flowstate, taking you from merely doing, to being.
Disclaimer!:
Speaking a mantra everyday on its own will not make you into whatever it is you want to be. Regardless of what your goal is; it will require action on your part in order to make it happen.Therefore a mantra is used to help you cement the connection between the action you're taking, and your eventual inevitable success. Whilst at the same time, encouraging you to increase your efforts. Putting you in an endless positive feedback loop.
It is fairly accepted within neurological science, that the auditory system is the most complex part of the human brain.
As far as function is concerned, we have barely scratched the surface as to exactly how sound is processed and interpreted in your brain. What we do know though, is when it comes to sound; your brain is particularly responsive to identifying frequencies. In this respect everyone's brain responds in slightly different ways.
This means that as you are devising a mantra for yourself, you will probably have to play around a little, until you find one that rings true, with you. Kind of like searching for your favourite genre of music for the first time ever, and then your fave artist of that particular genre.
OK, so let's look at a few easy steps and go ahead and create a mantra just for you.
Step 1 - Identifying Your Goal:
Perhaps obviously, this is the most important step. You need a goal to attach your mantra to. It can be anything of course, maybe you want to be the best parent you can possibly be. Perhaps you play a sport, or maybe you want to be the best at your job; whatever it is, identify it and vocalise it.
The way in which you do this should use the same technique as Cus D'Amato used on the young Mike Tyson. You tell yourself you're already there.
So if you want to be an incredible artist; you say to yourself; I am an incredible artist.
If you want to be a champion in a sport you play, you tell yourself; I am a champion.
This will feel weird at first because it isn't true, the whole reason you're doing this is to get to that place. Therefore you will feel a little weird as you tell this little white lie to yourself, however you must do it.
Do not change it into; I will become an incredible artist, or I will be the champ. It is a subtle difference, yet a mega-important one.
Step 2 - Identify The Necessary Steps And Codify Them:
You know that in order to get to where you want to be, you're going to have to do some things. What things you have to do will of course depend on what your ultimate goal is.
So if you want to become an athlete, you're going to have to train. If you're going to become a philosopher then you're going to have to study.
The trick here is to identify what those things are, and then put them into a few words.
So for example, maybe your desire is to become a great artist. Depending on where you are on that journey will dictate what you need to do to further yourself.
The trick is to take all these things and put them into words that resonate with you. So perhaps your three words will be;
Innovate - (To remind you that in order to be a great you have to stretch beyond the boundaries of normal. In doing so you must also push yourself out of your comfort zone, because greatness cannot come from the mundane.)
Paint - (To remind you that no matter how talented somebody is, they can always get better. The only way to get better is to practice your art, relentlessly and passionately.)
Create - (This word may remind you that you are ultimately trying to create new things, which is ultimately what an artist is.)
The key here is to choose words that not only encapsulate what you want to do and how you're going to do it. They should also sound nice to you and feel good as you're saying them. Remember everyone is different, what could sound great to me, sounds a bit cheesy to you.
It is important to remember that the words don't entirely have to be directly linked to actions, they can also be linked to a state of mind that is beneficial to you. So the words might be more like:
Motivation (This reminds you that you need motivation and hearing it gives you motivation)
Inspiration (This might remind you that you can get inspired and can be used to make you feel inspired again.)
Aspiration (This simply reminds you of your desire to attain your goal)
Step 3 - Stitch It All Together:
So now you have your goal and you have your key words, simply stitch them together. So perhaps you want to be the best chess player in the world, maybe your mantra will be something like this:
Concentration, preparation, dedication, I am a chess champion.
You would repeat this to yourself over and over again, especially as you are about to, or are already practising.
For the first few days you may have to remind yourself to do it. It is OK saying the words in your head if you're in public, however set aside a time of day when nobody is around and say the words out loud to yourself.
When you wake up;
Concentration, preparation, dedication, I am a chess champion.
When you are thinking about chess;
Concentration, preparation, dedication, I am a chess champion.
When you are walking down the street;
Concentration, preparation, dedication, I am a chess champion.
When you are about to start your practice;
Concentration, preparation, dedication, I am a chess champion.
When you are about to enter a competition;
Concentration, preparation, dedication, I am a chess champion.
Anytime it pops into your head;
Concentration, preparation, dedication, I am a chess champion.
After a while of repeating the words you have chosen out loud to yourself, and saying them over and over in your head or softly under your breath.
The words will become your chant, your own personal mantra, completely second nature, and in time, they will become . . .
YOU.
When you finally get there, and you fulfil your goals and dreams. It will seem like the most natural thing in the world; like it was simply meant to be.
You will have flowed your way to becoming a champion, being the very best that you can be, while constantly redefining what best is. Pushing you ever further, making you ever stronger, working your way to being an incredible you!
Now go forth, find your mantra, repeat it over and over, let it become part of you, and in turn shape your future how you see it, bend it to your will; achieve happiness.
TL:DR - A mantra is a type of self-hypnosis, you can use self-hypnosis to improve the quality of your life.
Do this by identifying your goal(s) and putting it into words. Work out what action is needed to become what you want to be. Codify that action into a few easily memorable words.
Put them all together into a mantra that you tell yourself. Always ending the mantra; I am INSERT GOAL HERE
There is no substitute for action, self-hypnosis can work to help you take that action, and to believe in yourself whilst taking it.
Watch how a mantra is put into action by ice cold Rose Namajunas. Notice her lips moving as she chants her mantra, she ends it with the words; I am a champion!
HAVE YOU EVER TRIED SELF-HYPNOSIS BEFORE? DO YOU BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF YOUR OWN MIND; ARE YOU WILLING TO GIVE IT A GO? AS EVER, LET ME KNOW BELOW!