| Are You Trapped |
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| in an Invisible Cage? |
ARE YOU TRAPPED IN AN INVISIBLE CAGE? .
Are you in a prison of Doubt? Or Fear? Or Worry? Or Shame? Or Guilt?
Or Anger? Or maybe some other Limiting Belief? It may not even have a clear definition, but whatever it is, it’s
trapping you! Have
you been trapped so long you can’t imagine what life could be free of those feelings? The sad thing is, so many times the cage / cell a person lives
in is self created. Imagine
that you were trapped in a cage – or cell, barely big enough to stand up, maybe walk three or four paces, and you were
isolated from your family and friends – for ten years! And then suddenly you were set free. What if you had been in the cage since you were very young and
didn’t know there was life outside the cage? How would it affect your outlook on life? What would
you do differently WHEN (not if – I don’t like that word in most instances) you escaped or were set free? Would you live your life to the fullest? Or would you spend
your time being afraid? Afraid of the unknown freedom you were now experiencing, or the fear you might wind up back
in the cage / cell again? What if you were so used to the limited space, you couldn’t bring yourself to even imagine
walking more than three or four paces? What if you allowed your mind to remain in the cage / cell, even though your
body had been freed? Are
you trapped in a cage or cell – MENTALLY and want to discover the key to unlock the mental block and finally find your
freedom? Are you ready to unlock the door and step into the freedom and joy you want and deserve? Now, let me tell you about my friend Luca who was trapped in a cage for ten
years. Luca is a beautiful little white fluffy dog who now lives with one of my neighbors. Although I have a professional office where I see my coaching / hypnosis clients, I prefer to do
my computer / record keeping work at my desk by the big window in my living room. I find it helps to give my eyes a break
from the computer screen and see Nature – trees, grass, squirrels, birds, butterflies, and sometimes people walking
their dogs. That’s how I met Luca. I noticed my neighbor, Jesse carrying a small white dog. He set the dog down on the grass and then took a couple
of steps back. The little dog just sat there. Other than trembling, the little white dog wasn’t moving. I needed a break from my computer, so I went outside to see what was going on. I asked Jesse if the little
dog was sick or injured. That’s when I heard a very sad story. Jesse told me he had adopted Luca from an animal rescue center here in Dallas named Operation Kindness. It’s
a no kill shelter for dogs and cats and other animals. I have a special fondness for them in my heart. This is
where I adopted Gizer many years ago. Gizer lived to be 17 ½ and was the most
gentle, calmest dog I’ve ever known, and of course, I still miss him. Jesse
told me Luca had been rescued from a puppy mill where he had been confined to a cage for ten years. The puppy mill owners
had even pulled out his teeth. The little dog was so used to being confined
that when Jesse set him down on the grass, in the wide open area, he didn’t know what to do. He just sat there
– frightened. Over the last few months, I have watched the
gradual progress Luca has been making. For the first two or three weeks, when Jesse
set him down, he wouldn’t move. Then one day, he stood up and took a couple of steps, but wouldn’t move
again. After a couple more weeks, he began to walk
a couple of steps forward, then turn around, and take a couple of steps back. That turned into walking in a square two
feet by two feet – the size of the cage he lived in for ten years. Even
though he was no longer in the cage, Luca was still behaving as if he were. There was no physical cage, but it was like
there was an invisible boundary only he could see and feel. Then
finally one day about three months later, something finally clicked in his little head and he took a few more steps.
Now, almost nine months since his adoption, Luca runs and plays as if he had never been trapped those ten long years in a
cage. Well, almost, he does sometimes run around in small circles, but he seems so genuinely happy when he does.
Maybe he’s just running in circles to celebrate his freedom! It
would be nice to think that maybe one day someone caught up in those cages / cells we discussed earlier – Doubt, Fear,
Worry, Shame, Guilt, Procrastination, Anger, or any other Limiting Belief will be rescued like Luca was. But why wait? Why not do something yourself now? What if no one else is there to rescue you? Start by identifying the problem. Ask yourself what is holding you back. Whether it’s one of those
Limiting Beliefs or any other – identify it. For the sake of this discussion, let’s
say it’s Worry. Some people seem to think Worry (or Fear or
any of the other Limiting Beliefs) are inherited – no they’re not! They are learned behaviors. But
some people will tell me they inherited it from their Mother, or maybe it skipped a generation and they got it from their
Grandfather. T he sad thing is, some people even seem to be proud of it, as if being the
“Worrier of the Family” is a badge of honor! OK
– that was a slight detour, let’s get back on track. Decide
you want to get rid of the Worry habit. Yes, a learned behavior is a habit. Next
ask yourself WHY? Not why do you worry – that’s a
totally useless question. I’ll explain in a minute. Instead, ask yourself WHY you want to stop worrying. OK - another detour here. You want to STOP worrying, not QUIT worrying. What’s the difference?
Do you remember when sometime in the past asked you – maybe a parent, teacher, coach, or friend “You’re
not a Quitter. Are you?” in THAT tone of voice. Do you remember? And what did you say? You said “NO, I’m NOT a QUITTER” – in THAT tone of voice!
Remember? Of course you do. When you’re driving your car and you
put your foot on the brake, do you Quit your car? Or Stop your car? OK. Point made. Back on track. Why should you not care why you worry?
Because your SubConscious Mind is designed to answer whatever question, no matter how useless, you ask it. Your SubConscious
Mind will begin to look for the answer of why you worry. It could be a real answer, or made up. Doesn’t
matter, that’s what the SubConscious Mind does – is look for the answer to whatever you ask. And if you get one or a dozen answers why you worry, you might convince yourself you should worry more and then stay
in that prison cell even longer. What good does that do? And by asking that question, you put more focus
on it and anything we put more focus on tends to increase or get larger. Do
you really want the Worry to increase? I hope not! Besides,
Worry is the problem. Instead, asking Why you want to STOP WORRYING is now focusing on your motivation. It may
be to enjoy life more. It may be to be more in control of your life. It may be … any number of reasons.
But the why you want to stop is much more important than why you do. Next,
ask two more questions. What do I need to DO to stop worrying? –
notice the emphasis on the word DO. And How do I stop worrying? By asking yourself these questions, now your
SubConscious Mind has to look in a different direction – from the Problem to the SOLUTION! Which do you think will get you the results you want? Focus on Problem? Or focus on Solution? If
you don’t get this answer right, go back to my eBook “The Hypnotist Within” and study it some more. When your SubConscious Mind stops focusing on the Problem and redirects towards the Solution, now you’re on
track to getting rid of the problem. As you begin to think of the Solutions (the
What) – write them down. Even if they seem to be silly, or impractical. Write them all down. Get busy
doing something else, but come back to the list – the next day, or maybe two or three days later, and ask yourself the
questions (HOW / WHAT) again. You’ll be surprised, but even though
you got busy with life, even though you’ve slept once or twice, your SubConscious Mind has been thinking and thinking
about those questions. And you’ll probably find some more Solutions to add to your list. Now, look at all the Solutions and ask another question. WHICH of these Solutions are the best ones?
You might narrow it down to three, maybe even five. Don’t discard the others, but take these three to five and
write them on another piece of paper. Now, ask yourself HOW you’re going to
implement the Solutions. In fact, ask yourself “How is the EASIEST, QUICKEST ways to start using these Solutions. The answer might not come at the moment, but it will. And
when it does – TAKE ACTION – start using those Solutions. And
then keep on using them until you’ve gotten rid of the old problem – until you’re free of that Limiting
Belief – until you can run around in circles just for the joy of living. OK, you might not run around in circles
(you might), but find a way to celebrate! What do you do after you’ve conquered
that Limiting Belief? Set your goal on getting rid of another one. And
after a while you just may start thinking about what Uplifting or Empowering Belief you would like to have, or have more of
– such as Confidence, Love, Courage, Persistence, Dedication, Happiness or any other that makes your life better! Luca’s sad story has turned into a very happy one. He’s playing, running, and happy now. Now it’s your turn to take control and change a sad story into a happy one – go do it! 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! Just imagine how good you’ll
feel. William C. Smith, Alpha Process Coach, BCH,
CI www.successrc.com www.hypnosisrc.com www.sportshypnosisrc.com “The only limits to our realization of
tomorrow will be our doubts of today.” -- Franklin D. Roosevelt “He
who is not everyday conquering some fear has not learned the secret of life.” -- Ralph Waldo Emerson "The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, or
not to anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly." -- The Buddha
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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