HypnoCoaching Blog

5 Simple Strategies for Stress Management

2006-02-08T08:29:00.000-05:00

As a hypnotherapist, my goal with clients is to help them discover both internal and external resources for dealing with their lives. In addition to work done in trance I always try to give clients homework– strategies, tools and techniques to use consciously on a day-to-day basis.

Stress is unavoidable in life. Some days even getting out of bed in the morning can be stressful. Managing the stress in your life is one key to staying healthy.

1. MANAGE SELF-TALK
What you say to yourself is important. We each have an ongoing internal dialog of between 150 and 300 words a minute.

This works out to between 45,000 and 51,000 words a day. Most of our self-talk is harmless thoughts that serve our daily activities such as, "I need to stop at the cleaners." The danger is when inner dialogue becomes primarily, "I'll never be as good at this as he is," "This is going to be a lousy day," or "I'll never get this done." What you think about regularly in your life tends to appear in your life.

Pay attention to what you say to yourself. When you notice negative thoughts, put up a mental STOP sign and say to yourself, “I’m better than this, I don’t need to think this way. Is there another way of looking at this?”

2. STEP ASIDE
Imagine yourself walking down a long, straight road. You can see a good distance ahead and you notice a large truck coming straight at you at high speed. What do you do?

Step out of the way! When heading into situations you know might be stressful, take a moment to mentally, or physically, step aside and review your options for dealing with the situation.

3. CHOOSE
There is nothing in your life that can MAKE you angry, glad, sad, fearful, or happy. You choose to react in the manner
that fits your belief system.

Take a moment to ask yourself, before or after, “How could I react (have reacted) differently to this?” and make a conscious choice.

4. PERSONAL TIME
Take breaks. In a busy, sometimes stressful day, schedule time for regular breaks. Take a walk, meditate, or just get up from your desk and go somewhere else for a few minutes.

5. BREATHE
Follow the old advice and “Take a deep breath” before you act. Breathing helps to center and calm the body and mind. We often forget to breath in moments of stress.

Try the following exercise and see how you feel: Breathe in for 4 counts, hold your breath for 4 counts, breathe out for 4 counts, and hold for 4 counts. Do this 3 times.

After the odyssey through the Magic Theatre, the hero in Herman Hesse’s Steppenwolf laughs out loud as he realizes that reality is nothing but the free choice of one of the many doors that are open at all times.
-Paul Watzlawick, The Language of Change, 1978.

This article appeared in the Winter 2003 issue of The APHP Journal, a publication of The Association for Professional Hypnosis and Psychotherapy.

As always, I welcome your comments.

Click here for more information about Portland Hypnotherapy and HypnoCoaching.

What do you think?

2007-05-11T11:10:00.000-05:00

Just found these great quotes on Steve Chandler's blog:

"You only lose energy when life becomes dull
in your mind. You don't have to be tired and bored.
Get interested in something. Throw yourself
into it with abandon."

Norman Vincent Peale
___________________

"We are not troubled by things,
but by the opinion we have of things."

Epictetus
______________________________

"Start by doing what's necessary,
then what's possible, and suddenly
you are doing the impossible."

St. Francis
________________________________

"It's so hard when contemplated in advance,
and so easy when you do it."

Robert Pirsig
____________________________________

"Shallow people believe in luck,
wise and strong people believe in cause and effect."

Ralph Waldo Emerson
______________________________________

"When there is no feeling of accomplishment,
children fail to develop properly and old people rapidly decline."

Joseph Whitney
________________________________________

"Learn to use ten minutes intelligently.
It will pay you huge dividends."

William A. Irwin
______________________________

"You will never 'find' time for anything,
if you want time you must make it."

Charles Buxton
________________________________

"You have more to do than you can possibly do.
You just need to feel good about your choices."

David Allen
__________________________________

"We either make ourselves miserable,
or we make ourselves strong,
the amount of work is the same."

Carlos Castaneda

Let me know what you think.......

Do You Feel Lucky?

2007-05-04T08:39:00.000-05:00

Are you Lucky? Do you want to be? Peter Ragnar of Roaring Lion Publishing posted this great list of Lucky Personality Traits in his newsletter today.

Having A Sense of Humor Lucky people don't take themselves too seriously. Humorous people see the world differently from non-humorous people, and they tend to have better luck precisely because of their different viewpoint. They don't allow trivial events to tense them up. Tension blinds us to opportunity. A sense of personal playfulness is a ticket to good fortune.
Positive Expectation A feeling of optimism is a prerequisite for good fortune. I believe your outer world is the material manifestation of your inner world, a reflection of your honest internal expectations. Expectations form attitudes, which determine behaviors and thus choices. Right choices result in luck.
The Attitude of Gratitude Gratitude is a way of sincerely saying "thank you" for your good fortune. As you look for the good things in life, you'll find them; as you find them, you'll realize you are blessed by them. Learning to say "thank you" is a way of attracting good luck.
Generosity The most successful people I know are the most generous. Generosity is a major component of becoming lucky because helping other people get what they want is the premise upon which all success rests.
A Relaxed Sense of Urgency There is an inner sense of eagerness that has a certain spontaneous quality. Lucky people have a hearty willingness and promptness to act on opportunity. Responding to an opportunity is called luck!
Observant Naturally, before you can act, you must be able to see. If you are mentally asleep, you'll be blind to the countless opportunities passing you each day. Many people have stopped seeing, looking, or observing- they wait for someone else to point out opportunities to them. Of course, by then it's too late- some lucky observant soul has beaten them to the prize.
Immune to Rejection The luckiest people I know are unaffected by the past and immune to rejection. There are always some disenfranchised souls who will be ready to rain on your parade, if you let them; fearful little creatures whose only joy in life is tearing others down and ripping up their dreams. All courageous and lucky souls must deal with the people in the dark who never venture beyond the fence of chance. They know that good fortune will smile as long as they go forward into the light of luminous possibilities.

What do you think? What could you work on today that would help you to develop or enhance these traits in yourself?

Opportunity

2007-05-02T11:01:00.000-05:00

"If opportunity doesn't knock,
build a door."
~~Milton Berle

Martha Graham on Practice

2007-05-02T07:06:00.000-05:00

Another great quote from Martha Graham;

"I believe that we learn by practice. Whether it means to learn to dance buy practicing dancing, or to learn to live by practicing living, the principles are the same. In each, it is the performance of a dedicated precise set of acts, physical or intellectual, from which comes shape of achievement, a sense of ones being, a satisfaction of spirit. One becomes, in some areas, an athlete of God. Practice means to perform, over and over again in the face of all obstacles, some act of vision, of faith, of desire. Practice is a means of inviting the perfection desired."

Comments?

A Great Argument for Coaching

2007-04-27T12:42:00.000-05:00

According to the blog Trizle (my latest discovery and a daily must read for me):

Progress Breeds Happiness

Harvard’s Teresa Amabile and Researcher Steven Kramer studied how people became most happy at their work:

We found that the single most important differentiator was a sense of being able to make progress in their work.

Achieving a goal, accomplishing a task, or solving a problem often evoked great pleasure and sometimes elation. Even making good progress toward such goals could elicit the same reactions.

Even very mundane successes led to positive feelings.<

That, folks, is what HypnoCoaching is all about - helping you to move forward in any area of your life that you want/need to work in. Call or email me to set up a free trial HypnoCoaching session to see if it will work for you.

What Do You Want? (Part 1000)

2007-04-20T07:14:00.000-05:00

What do you want?

...and what would be better than that?

...and what would be better than that?

Comments?

Reality Check

2007-04-16T09:05:00.000-05:00

"To know and not to do is not to know. To learn and not to do is not to learn."

Dr. Stephen Covey

Ouch!

I post these quotes as much for me as for you, my readers.

Keep smiling! Let me know what you think.

Focus

2007-04-15T13:03:00.000-05:00

For those who are sometimes discouraged and impatient with their personal improvement progress, as I often am, Dr. Stephen Covey offers the following metaphor.

"There is a certain species of the Chinese bamboo tree that, when you plant it, you see nothing for four years. Just a little shoot our of the ground and that's it. You weed, water, cultivate, nuture and do everything you can do to make it successful, but you see nothing. In the fifth year, this particular species of the Chinese bamboo tree grows up to eighty feet. In its initial stages, all of the growth went underground in the root. Then, once it had its roots in place, all of the growth went above the ground and was visible..."

This is a reminder to me to keep working, stay focused, and the results will surely come.

What do you think?

5 Blogs I Check Every Day

2007-04-11T07:49:00.000-05:00

I have probably 20 blogs in my Google Reader now, but there are 5 in particular that I check first thing every day (and sometimes several times a day).

Scott Ginsberg's HELLO, my name is Blog
Scott, That Guy With The Nametag, offers some of the freshest, most usable personal development and marketing material you will find anywhere. Read everything he has written!

Aaron Potts' Today is that Day
All about personal development and the Law of Attraction. I like the way he thinks and the path he is on. Always something to think about and apply to your life.

Seth Godin's Seth's Blog
One of finest marketing minds around. Posts sometimes several times a day. And I LOVE his short posts.

Steve Rubel's Micro Persuasion
Marketing, PR and always something for my inner geek.

What are your 5 favorite blogs?

Greatness

2007-04-10T07:08:00.000-05:00

I'm on a roll with quotes. I read this one this morning and had to post it.

Psychologist and philosopher William James said,
“Most people live in a very restricted circle of their potential being. We all have reservoirs of energy and genius to draw upon of which we do not dream.”

What do you think?

Excellence

2007-04-09T07:22:00.000-05:00

"We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit."

~Aristotle

Failure To Notice

2007-04-07T17:38:00.000-05:00

Here's another great quote to think about. Read it, think about it, and then do it again. I am......

"The range of what we think and do is limited by what we fail to notice. And because we fail to notice what we fail to notice, there is little we can do to change; until we notice how failing to notice shapes our thoughts and deeds."
~Daniel Goleman, Vital Lies, Simple Truths: The Psychology of Self-Deception

As always, I welcome your comments.

It's All About You, Isn't It?

2007-03-23T11:15:00.000-05:00

From Dr. Wayne Dyer’s book, The Power of Intention:

Two prime ministers are sitting in a room discussing affairs of state. Suddenly a man bursts in, apoplectic with fury, shouting and stamping and banging his fist on the desk. The resident prime minister admonishes him: “Peter,” he says, “kindly remember Rule Number 6,” whereupon Peter is instantly restored to complete calm, apologizes, and withdraws. The politicians return to their conversation, only to be interupted yet again twenty minutes later by an hysterical woman gesticulating wildly, her hair flying. Again the intruder is greeted with the words: “Marie, please remember Rule Number 6.” Complete calm descends once more, and she too withdraws with a bow and an apology. When the scene is repeated for a third time, the visiting prime minister addresses his colleague: “My dear friend, I’ve seen many things in my life, but never anything as remarkable as this. Would you be willing to share with me the secret of Rule Number 6?” “Very simple,” replies the resident prime minister. “Rule Number 6 is ‘Don’t take yourself so damn seriously.’” “Ah,” says his visitor, “that is a fine rule.” After a moment of pondering, he inquires, “And what, may I ask, are the other rules?”
“There aren’t any.”

Thanks to Steve at The Fast Lane for reminding me of this quote.

Dream Big Dreams

2007-04-04T11:10:00.000-05:00

Questions:

If time and money were no object, what would you like do with your life?

Why aren't you doing that right now?

What would be the first, simple step you could take to move you in that direction?

remember, Potential minus Interference = Performance
(Timothy Gallwey, The Inner Game of Work)

As always, I welcome your comments.

The Secret controversy

2007-02-21T12:52:00.000-05:00

Hopefully you have seen the movie or read the book The Secret. In the last several weeks, since the discussion of The Secret on the Larry King and Oprah shows, lots of bloggers and commentators have jumped on the bandwagon against the ideas expressed in the movie. But the word continues to spread.

Yes, the concepts presented in The Secret are simple, but not easy. You do have to work at them. But if you decide that this belief system might work for you, keep the following quote in mind.

"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident"
~~Arthur Schopenhauer

If you haven't purchased the DVD yet, you can get it here. You can get the book here.

Don't Do What I Did

2007-03-29T08:28:00.000-05:00

I had an idea for a blog post this morning and didn't write it down. Don't do what I did. Carry something to write your ideas down and keep it with you at all times.

Get a Moleskin.

I'll think of it later....where's that Moleskin?

Doing Nothing

2007-03-20T11:44:00.000-05:00

From my friend Pete:

"The problem with doing nothing is that you never know when you're finished."

Comments?

Breakfast of Champions

2007-03-27T08:03:00.000-05:00

I've said it before, and you'll hear it from me again.

Take time to ask yourself "What am I like when I'm at my best?"

Write your answers down, boil it down to a list of keywords (i.e. calm, focused, cheerful, competent, etc.), and put the list somewhere you can see it during your day, maybe even on a Post-It note.

Do everything you can today to be the person on that list.

Rules to Live By

2007-01-02T16:59:00.000-05:00

From Bob Parsons, CEO of GoDaddy.com

Bob Parsons' 16 Rules to Live By

Get and stay out of your comfort zone. I believe that not much happens of any significance when we're in our comfort zone. I hear people say, "But I'm concerned about security." My response to that is simple: "Security is for cadavers."
Never give up. Almost nothing works the first time it's attempted. Just because what you're doing does not seem to be working doesn't mean it won't work. It just means that it might not work the way you're doing it. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it, and you wouldn't have an opportunity.
When you're ready to quit, you're closer than you think. There's an old Chinese saying that I just love, and I believe it is so true. It goes like this: "The temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed."
With regard to whatever worries you, not only accept the worst thing that could happen, but make it a point to quantify what the worst thing could be. Very seldom will the worst consequence be anywhere near as bad as a cloud of "undefined consequences." My father would tell me early on, when I was struggling and losing my shirt trying to get Parsons Technology going, "Well, Robert, if it doesn't work, they can't eat you."
Focus on what you want to have happen. Remember that old saying, "As you think, so shall you be."
Take things a day at a time. No matter how difficult your situation is, you can get through it if you don't look too far into the future and focus on the present moment. You can get through anything one day at a time.
Always be moving forward. Never stop investing. Never stop improving. Never stop doing something new. The moment you stop improving your organization, it starts to die. Make it your goal to be better each and every day, in some small way. Remember the Japanese concept of Kaizen. Small daily improvements eventually result in huge advantages.
Be quick to decide. Remember what General George S. Patton said: "A good plan violently executed today is far and away better than a perfect plan tomorrow."
Measure everything of significance. I swear this is true. Anything that is measured and watched improves.
Anything that is not managed will deteriorate. If you want to uncover problems you don't know about, take a few moments and look closely at the areas you haven't examined for a while. I guarantee you problems will be there.
Pay attention to your competitors, but pay more attention to what you're doing. When you look at your competitors, remember that everything looks perfect at a distance. Even the planet Earth, if you get far enough into space, looks like a peaceful place.
Never let anybody push you around. In our society, with our laws and even playing field, you have just as much right to what you're doing as anyone else, provided that what you're doing is legal.
Never expect life to be fair. Life isn't fair. You make your own breaks. You'll be doing good if the only meaning fair has to you is something that you pay when you get on a bus (i.e., fare).
Solve your own problems. You'll find that by coming up with your own solutions, you'll develop a competitive edge. Masura Ibuka, the cofounder of Sony, said it best: "You never succeed in technology, business, or anything by following the others." There's also an old Asian saying that I remind myself of frequently. It goes like this: "A wise man keeps his own counsel."
Don't take yourself too seriously. Lighten up. Often, at least half of what we accomplish is due to luck. None of us are in control as much as we like to think we are.
There's always a reason to smile. Find it. After all, you're really lucky just to be alive. Life is short. More and more, I agree with my little brother. He always reminds me: "We're not here for a long time; we're here for a good time."

How Good Are You?

2007-01-05T14:43:00.000-05:00

Question of the day -

What are you like when you're at your best?

hm.............

What Do You Really Want?

2007-03-20T08:29:00.000-05:00

Steve Johnson at The Fast Lane has a post called What Drives You. I was going to comment on its eloquence, but go read it. This is so important!

What do you want? What do you really want in your life?

Keep it Simple, and Get What You Want

2007-02-17T10:53:00.000-05:00

Many years ago I attended an afternoon talk by Mark Victor Hansen, one of the co-authors of Chicken Soup For The Soul. He suggested that the best strategy to use in listening to a speaker is not necessarily to try to absorb everything, but to listen for the ideas that struck a chord with who you are at the moment, the "aha!" moments.

My most recent aha! came in listening to James Ray, one of the teachers from The Secret, on the Oprah Show. He said the secret to getting what you want consists of three steps, Intention, Attention and Action.

INTENTION - Decide what you want. Write it down. "I Intend......." Remember to always state your INTENTION in positive terms.

ATTENTION - Focus on your INTENTION. Visualize it as an accomplished fact. Feel the emotion impact of already having it in your life. Read about it. Write about it. Look at pictures of it. Pay ATTENTION to it.

ACTION - When opportunities present themselves in the flow of your life to take ACTION toward your INTENTION, seize the moment and take ACTION.

Keep it simple. Life was not meant to be a struggle.

By the way, do yourself and your loved ones a favor and buy The Secret, DVD or book. You might just experience a few aha's yourself.

Live Life Like A Mountain

2007-03-04T18:36:00.000-05:00

A great blog post by Aaron Potts at Today Is That Day.

Simply, a powerful mindset - Live Life Like A Mountain

CCSS - Be Calm. Be Centered. Be Still. Be Strong.

Do yourself a favor and read the article.

As always, I welcome your comments.

Are You Performing at Your Full Potential?

2007-03-18T11:27:00.000-05:00

"There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through into action, and because there is only one of in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is, nor how valuable it is, nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep yourself open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open." - Choreographer, Martha Graham

Remember, as Timothy Gallwey says, "Potential minus Interference = Performance."

What do you think? I welcome your comments.