If you have read any literature about how the mind works, you are probably aware that there are subconscious needs and beliefs that are held below our surface thoughts. These needs and beliefs don’t solely determine our thoughts and behaviors, but our thought and behaviors are filtered through them. In other words, wearing a pair of green glasses doesn’t mean you can’t see other colors, but it’s going to be a lot harder to see colors that aren’t green.
The mind has a specific way that it transforms beliefs and needs into thoughts and behaviors:
Belief/Need → Emotion → Behavior → Thought
The way that a belief plays out in your life is different than the way a need does, but for this article, we can treat the process the same. As you can see, a subconscious belief or need is at the root of the thought process. When a belief or need becomes strong enough, it generates an emotion. For most people it’s the emotion that gets noticed first. Sometimes people fight that emotion, or try to overcome it. People who have social anxiety for instance, often try to overcome that fear by psyching themselves out and trying to feel really confident about talking to others, or maybe by drinking alcohol to dull their anxiety.
Most of the time though, that emotion goes unchecked, and generates a behavior. This is the stage where most people fight back. Sticking to that diet, or forcing themselves to socialized, or starting that project they’ve been putting off, no matter what they feel. This is hard to do, but many people do it, using willpower to force themselves to make it happen again and again. Others give in to the behavior. They smoke that cigarette, or cancel their appointment, or make up a reason why it’s ok to put off that project till tomorrow.
Did you notice what I did there? Making an excuse isn’t a behavior. It’s a thought. The behavior already happened. That’s the last step, and often, it happens without us even realizing it. Those thoughts aren’t generating our behaviors, they are being produced by them. That's probably the hardest part for people like me, who are very analytical about everything. I rely on my thoughts to be accurate, but really, surface thoughts are the least significant part of who I am, and why.
The problem with thought based therapies, and solutions based on your willpower, is that they are approaching the problem from the wrong end. Sure, you can rationalize that something is hurting you, you can overcome that bad behavior today with willpower, but it’s just going to keep coming back. Some approaches even go as deep as targeting the emotion behind it (although not very many) but until that subconscious need is dealt with, it’s always going to come back. You will never be free of it.
That is why Hypnotherapy is different. Hypnotherapy is all about interacting deeply with the subconscious mind, and working with the needs and beliefs that drive your emotions, behaviors, and thoughts. That’s why Hypnotherapy works in a way that other approaches don’t, and why it doesn’t feel like other approaches when it works. When your needs are met, and your beliefs are aligned in your best interests, doing what is good for you doesn’t feel like work. It feels like you are finally you.
That isn’t to say that Hypnotherapy is a magic pill that will fix all your problems for you. It’s still up to you to desire change in your life, and you have to commit to it. But if you are serious about creating positive change in your life, start by aligning who you are with who you want to be first.