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| Do You Allow Thought Thieves |
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| To Steal Your SUCCESS? |
Do You Allow “Thought Thieves”
to Steal
Your Success? . What could you achieve: * If you could stay focused on your goals? * If you could get rid of those annoying doubts? * If you could get rid of
that “fear” whether it’s fear of failure or fear of success – Yes! Some people actually fear
success! * If
you could stop procrastinating and actually get things done? . Would that make your life better? . Would it get you on track to accomplishing your goals you’ve set? What! You haven’t
set your goals? Your business goals or life goals? Not done yet? . Then how will you even know if you’re on track or not? . OK – let’s get back on track here. I’m going to assume you’ve already
set your goals or maybe you still need some help in that area as well. . To begin with those first four questions
that begin with “If you could …. Forget about them! They’re part of the problem! . Now to find out how to change those questions to useful questions
that WILL help you achieve the successes in life and business that you want, and deserve to achieve In order to help
you move from where you are – probably “stuck” to where you want to be – probably “unstuck”,
let’s change those questions to begin with “When I . . . " . What can I achieve: * When I stay focused on
my goals? * When
I get rid of those annoying doubts? * When I get rid of that “fear” whether it’s fear of failure or fear
of success * When
I stop procrastinating and actually get things done? . Now go back and reread the original questions and then reread them as they’re written now. . Right away you notice something don’t
you? We’ve changed that whiney word “IF” –which signifies “DOUBT” and replaced it
with the powerful word “WHEN” – which signifies commitment. . And by changing the word “you” to “I” – you’re taking ownership
and personalizing. When your SubConscious reads “you” it tends to think about someone else.
But when it reads or thinks “I” – it says “Hey, we’re talking about ME here. I better
pay attention! . Now isn’t that amazing the tremendous
difference just replacing whiney words with personal commitment words can make! . You might be thinking back to the title of the article – “Do You Allow Thought Thieves
to Steal Your Success?” and maybe you’re wondering about those “THIEVES”. What thieves are we
talking about here? . I
alluded to them earlier, but now let’s name them and take some steps to ARREST them – to STOP their influence
over your SubConscious. . See here’s the thing about the Conscious Mind and the SubConscious Mind – It’s
almost like having two people in the same body. Related, similar, working together (most of the time) but sometimes
they seem to work at odds with each other. . The Conscious Mind thinks it’s in control and to a small degree – it is. But think about this for a moment. Which of your Minds decides
to brush your teeth? . To a large degree, your Conscious Mind decides to do it now, or
wait a few minutes. But it’s the SubConscious Mind that’s doing the brushing. What? You thought
you were consciously brushing your teeth? Did you REALLY take the time to think about brushing your teeth or were you
maybe thinking about something else while you were brushing your teeth. You want to see what it’s like when you’re
consciously brushing your teeth? OK – pick up your toothbrush with your NON dominate hand, and start brushing.
Awkward isn’t it? . Most
of our driving is done by our SubConscious Mind, which is good. How is it good? Our SubConscious Mind has much
faster reflexes. Do you really think a hockey player thinks about hitting the puck during the process of hitting the
puck? If they do, the puck probably isn’t going to be there. Somebody else has already swept in and grabbed
it away. . OK – now the Thought Thieves –
here they are: * Procrastination * Worry * Doubt * Fear . Are there others? Of course, but these are big ones.
We may touch on some others later or in another article. . Let’s talk about the first one – Procrastination. Procrastination usually involves the phrase
“I really need to ……, but ……” And the sad thing is – most of the time these
words are usually even thought by the Conscious Mind and sometimes even said out loud! Even if you’re sitting
at your desk by yourself. You’ll hear yourself thinking or saying “I really need to …., but ….” . You’ve done it before. Haven’t you? Of
course – we all have at one time or another, but the truly successful individuals learn to use them to their advantage
by applying them to the principle of “Productive Procrastination.” . Hey wait a minute! Productive Procrastination? Sure, procrastination can be a very useful
tool when it’s used correctly. . Here’s an example of Productive Procrastination – instead of procrastinating taking that action
that will get you closer to your goal – whether it’s making a sales call, working on that book you’re writing,
going to class, practicing your sport more – instead of those things -- procrastinate rearranging the books on your
bookshelf, or watching funny web videos, or emailing your friends on a social media site. . Ask yourself this question. Which things will get you on
track and which things will keep you off track? . How do you stop Procrastinating? By being aware of it when you do, and then taking the Action necessary
to succeed. Is it easy to do? No. Will you do it? Yes – when (remember the if / when) you’re
ready to take control of your life and be successful. . OK Procrastination has been dealt with, now let’s get to another big Thought Thief – Worry. . First, what is Worry? It’s a form of negative day dreaming
about something bad that hasn’t even happened. Think of it this way. Have you ever worried about something
good happening? Of course not! Something else to consider – most of the things you worry about never happen.
If they do happen, they’re not as bad as we imagined they were going to be. And if they were as bad or worse than
you imagined – WORRY didn’t prevent it or make it any better. . Worry is a total waste of time. Let’s repeat that – Worry is a total waste of time.
. In my practice, I meet people who seem to take pride in being Worriers. They’ll tell me
they’re the “Worrier of the Family” or they’ve “Always been Worriers” like it’s
a great accomplishment. Maybe they expect to get a medal for worrying – That’s not going to happen! How
do people become Worriers? Through habitual negative thinking. . How do people get rid of the Thought Thief Worry? First acknowledging worrying is useless,
then catching themselves in the old habit, and changing the thought patterns to creating positive outcome images instead. . Easy? No, but with practice, persistence, and commitment,
you can. And you must when you want to be successful. . Now on to another Thought Thief - Doubt! Isn’t it funny that we sometimes doubt ourselves so easily?
No, really it’s not funny at all. But people do it all the time! Take a few moments and think of some areas
in your life that you tend to doubt yourself. Is it in making conversations with others – either friends or strangers?
Maybe you’re doubting that you can achieve your goals. Or doubting your ability to get a promotion, find a boyfriend,
girlfriend, husband, wife, etc. Do you doubt you can learn something new? Or doubt if you’re as good as
your friends? . Everyone has doubts, but successful
people learn to overcome their doubts. And those who don’t learn to overcome them rarely achieve the successes
in life they want and deserve to have. . So what’s the difference between those who overcome the doubts and those who don’t? It’s
the ability to push beyond the doubt and do what they thought they couldn’t do anyway! . How do you do that? . Let’s start by thinking about this simple phrase: Doubt your doubts. . Yeah – doubt your doubts! What does that mean? Let’s hold off on that and
instead talk about an example -- like doubting your chances of getting a promotion at work. You might be thinking: * I’m too old. * I’m too young. * I don’t have enough
experience. * I’ve
got too much experience. * I’m
too . . . . . OK now for an honest evaluation.
Has there been anybody in your company that has gotten a promotion that’s older, younger, more or less experienced than
you? If the answer is yes, then that’s not the problem is it? . Maybe the boss doesn’t know you’re interested in a promotion. Have you thought
of that? Unless you work for a Board Certified Mind Reader – the chances are you’re boss can’t read
your mind and just doesn’t know you want it. . Do you know what the qualifications are for that next big step? If you don’t – find out!
Who else wants that promotion besides you? Does the boss know they want the job? Do they have the qualifications?
Are they putting forth the effort to show they’re ready for the job? How does your job performance stack
up? . After you evaluate the situation, and
justify you’re the right person for the job and there is really no legitimate reason you shouldn’t be considered
for the promotion, start working on your confidence. IF a person feels a lack of confidence (another way of saying doubting)
there’s a good chance that other people sense it as well. And if the boss perceives you as doubting your confidence,
then probably the boss is going to think you’re not ready for the job. . And WHEN you’re showing your Confidence, then the boss is going to notice that as well.
Who would you give a job promotion to? Somebody who doubts themselves, or someone filled with Confidence? . OK – back to “Doubt Your Doubts.” How could
you really use that phrase? . Again
using the job promotion example – you could say to yourself “Why in the world would I doubt that I can get that
promotion?” Now when you do, be sure and get the right tone of voice. Don’t just mumble it.
Say it as if it’s the most ridiculous thing in the world to doubt that you can get that promotion. Now practice
it, but of course, you might want to use your own doubt unless the job promotion example really fits. . Go ahead. Do it! Say it out loud! Other people
are around? OK find a way to get away for a while, or wait until you’ve got some privacy. But don’t
put it off very long – that’s called Procrastination. Say it like you mean it! Several times.
Now when you do, you’ll realize how silly it is for you to doubt yourself. It takes practice, but you want to
get results. Don’t you? Then do it! . Let’s move on. I don’t want to write a whole book on this, even though maybe I should.
OK another Thought Thief – FEAR – What are you afraid
of? Failure? What if when you were younger you let that fear keep you from learning how to walk, talk, or read
and write? How many times did you fall when you were first learning to walk? Once? A hundred times?
A thousand times? As many as it took! But one day you were walking, then running. You succeeded because
you didn’t let fear hold you back! Same with learning to say words. You probably started off with something
simple like “wawa”, and pretty soon, you were asking for WATER! How ridiculous would it be for you as an
adult to go around saying “Wawa”? Pretty silly, right? . Did you know there are only two fears we’re born with? What do you think they are?
. When I’ve ask this question to
clients in my practice, I get a whole gamut of answers – sometimes even the right answers. But the most common
(wrong) answers I get are: * Fear of being abandoned * Fear of going hungry * Fear of the dark * Fear of snakes * Fear of dying. . Now what does a new born baby know about those things? Nothing – especially fear of the dark.
Where the baby was living before being born is dark. . The right answers
are: *
Fear of loud noises and *
Fear of falling or being dropped. . That’s it! All the other fears we learn, either from our own experience or from others. . Let’s take for example fear of dogs. You either learned
it because a big dog growled at you (could be a small dog just as easily) or even bit you. Or maybe your Mother or Father
said “You better stay away from that dog, it will bite you.” . Do you think people overcome those two fears they were born with? Not all people, but just
think – fear of loud noises. Have you ever heard of Nascar or rock concerts? What about fear of falling?
People sky dive, they climb mountains, they do construction on tall buildings. . Do you know what people are really afraid of? Not the thing
they say they’re afraid of, but the fear itself and how they feel. They usually feel out of control. And
we don’t like being out of control. . How do you overcome fears? By facing them and telling yourself you can overcome anything.
Realize you’ve probably overcome a lot of things you used to be afraid of, but maybe you’ve forgotten. . Now go out there and get rid of those
Thought Thieves – don’t let them hold you back any longer. It’s up to you to replace those Thought
Thieves with Success Thoughts. . And that’s my story and I’m sticking with it! Now think of someone else who would
benefit from reading this article and forward it to them! And just imagine how good you’ll feel. . William C. Smith, Alpha Process Coach, BCH, CI . "Procrastination is
attitude's natural assassin. There is nothing so fatiguing as an uncompleted task." William James . The only limits to our realization of tomorrow will be
our doubts of today.” -- Franklin D. Roosevelt . “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear -- not absence of fear.” -- Mark
Twain . "If you want to test your memory,
try to recall what you were worrying about one year ago today." — E. Joseph Cossman
Would you like to use this article in your magazine, e-zine, newsletter,
or website? You can, as long as you include this complete statement with it: William
C. Smith, Board Certified Hypnotist, Coach, Author, Speaker, Trainer. Ready to discover how to change your
life in a positive direction using Personal Development CDs? Go to www.successrc.com where you can also sign up for “Success Bridges” a free newsletter
and then download your free copy of “Discover the Hypnotist Within”. If you’re
an athlete, coach, or family member of an athlete and want to find out more about using Sports Hypnosis to lift the athlete
to a higher level of confidence and achievement of goals, go to www.sportshypnosisrc.com
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