There are no doubt many reasons that smokers give for not giving up the habit.  “I am under so much stress these days with my family and work and the economy”, “I need something to do with my hands”, “I have no willpower”, “I smoke because I am bored”, ”I have smoked for 30 years”, and so on. 

But what is the real reason?  Is it fear of gaining weight, fear of failure, fear of success?  Denial – “I am young, I don’t have to worry about the effects from smoking for years.”  Is it a type of rebellion because you hate being TOLD that you “should” quit?  People usually do not like being told they HAVE to do something.  We would rather choose to make our own decisions – do it ON OUR OWN TERMS.

Perhaps you are thinking about quitting, but have reservations.  Many have tried and failed, but just as many have tried and succeeded!  Many people have tried more than once and may not have been successful at first, but kept trying and succeeded.  Why is that?  Are they weak?  Not at all!  Those people who tried the first time and failed learned something that helped them quit for good the next time around, so never give up on yourself!

Those who have succeeded in quitting often say the same thing – “I just decided in my mind that I was going to do it”.  That’s the key – once YOU DECIDE IN YOUR MIND that you quit for good and you choose to be a non-smoker for your own reasons, that is literally half the battle. 

Hypnosis can help you decide in your mind to stop “smoky thinking”, as well as help you gain confidence to get past any hurdles or blocks and reach your goal to quit smoking.  Used alone or with other stop-smoking aids, hypnotherapy can increase the odds that you will become, now and forever, a non-smoker!

So, when you are ready, take some time to really think about it and even write down the reasons why you smoke and when you have ”trigger” times (with morning coffee, after a meal, etc.).  

Then,  list the reasons why YOU  WANT TO QUIT SMOKING - not because you feel like you HAVE TO (your family or doctor keeps nagging you or your place of employment is banning smoking on premises).  The reasons are different for everyone, but here are a few that might come to mind - save money for something special (like a vacation), be around long enough to see children grow up, feel more socially acceptable, keep from getting premature wrinkles, etc.  

Choose something that you can do INSTEAD of smoking, especially during trigger times, something that uses your hands for a different purpose than holding a cigarette.  Some suggestions might be doing something with your family, exercising, cleaning, taking up some type of craft or hobby, using a plastic straw instead of a real cigarette - there are so many from which to choose!  Be creative!

Tell your family and friends that you are quitting and set a quit date.     Their encouragement and support can be a big boost to your confidence. 

Consider joining a smoking cessation program.  Many companies are offering them free for their employees, and even allow them to attend on company time!  Being around others who have recently quit smoking helps you to realize that you are not alone and provides group support in the decision to be free from smoking.

Check out some web sites, like smokefree.gov, helpguide.org, or healthline.com, for lots more smoking cessation information and tips for success, including hypnosis!

Complete the contact form on this page to schedule a complimentary 1/2 hour session to find out more about hypnosis and how hypnotherapy can help.

If you hear the words, but still have the subconscious belief that you do not deserve the perfect job,  to find love, etc., or that you are not smart enough or good enough – then your subconscious mind will find a way to keep it from happening.

Why do we limit ourselves?

Because we learn at a young age what is comfortable and safe, and resist going outside of that comfort zone for fear of being hurt.  In my previous post,  we looked at the parts of the mind – the subconscious, the conscious and the critical factor.

The critical factor is not present in children.  It does not begin developing until about age 7 and is firmly in place by approximately age 15.  Until then, everything goes directly into the subconscious, both positive and negative.  Young children use more intuitive reasoning (see Child Development  Institute link listed below).  They absorb a tremendous amount of programming, mostly from authority figures like parents and teachers, but also from siblings and other peers.

Where things tend to go awry is when the child either takes something that is said literally or does not want to hear (like “no”).  The child feels  hurt, sad, angry or any number of negative emotions.

The subconscious mind stores that whole scene, along with the emotions that are attached to it. As time goes on, these feelings are reinforced by subsequent experiences, until they are firmly in place as a negative belief.  This is not to say this only happens with negative beliefs.  It is the same process for positive beliefs as well.  We develop our own perception of ourselves through our experiences and the emotions we feel.

Here is an example of how a negative belief can occur.

When you were a child of, say 4 years of age, you saw a toy that you wanted.  When you said, “I want that”, your parent said, “No, you cannot have that, it’s too expensive.”  How would you feel about that?  Hurt?  Angry?  Sad?

So, in order to keep from feeling those feelings and being hurt again, your 4-year old subconscious mind developed a protective belief that you cannot want or have expensive things.

Did your mother or father mean that you do not deserve the toy?  Of course not!  They only meant that they could not afford to buy it.  However, your 4-year old subconscious mind heard , “you cannot have… expensive”, and took it literally. This continues to play out into adult life.

You limit yourself in every aspect of life to keep from being hurt and feeling bad because you feel you cannot have a high-paying job, a nice car, home, relationship, etc.

Hypnosis just doesn’t tell you to think differently.

It actually helps you find the root cause of why you have the negative belief in the first place.  You have been listening to a 4-year old, whose perception was based on how things seemed, not how they actually were (and are now).

Once you realize this, the positive suggestions become even more powerful in changing the programming. You no longer limit yourself and can realize your full potential!

For more information on stages of cognitive development in children and teenagers, as well as parenting information, see the Child Development Institute web site at  http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com

[image text]

Come celebrate World Hypnotism Day.

Join us at Books A Million:
2601 NW 13th Street
Gainesville, Florida
(352) 376-6623
Saturday, January 9th, 2010
11:00AM – 7:00PM

Presentations Hourly!

Certified Hypnotherapists

Hypnosis Explained and De-Mystified

Learn How You Can:

- Keep New Year’s Resolutions
- Manage Stress
- Lose Weight
- Speak in Public
- Reduce Pain
- Stop Smoking

This is a FREE event.  Open to the Public!

Free Samples of Joe Muggs Coffee!

The subconscious is the mind’s vast data warehouse, where every thought, emotion, past event – everything – is stored.

Picture your mind as an iceberg, where only a small portion is above the surface in the conscious and the majority is underneath in the subconscious.

The conscious mind is your analytical mind. Within the conscious mind is a filter, called the “critical factor”. When a thought, idea, feeling, etc. comes into the conscious mind, the critical factor analyzes the data, and based on past experience and belief systems, either accepts it, allowing it into the subconscious mind, or rejects it. For example, if someone tells you that you are intelligent, but you have a belief that you are stupid, your critical factor will ask, “Do we believe that we are intelligent? No, we don’t – we are stupid.” The idea is rejected and you will probably respond with a statement like, “Oh, it’s nothing, any idiot can do it.”

What hypnosis does is allow the critical factor to be bypassed, so that the negative belief in the subconscious mind can be changed to a positive belief. Think of your negative belief as a computer document file. Imagine that you have this document named ” negative beliefs”. Hypnosis allows you to change the “negative beliefs document” and then save it as a new “positive beliefs document”. The old file is gone – updated to a new, positive document.

You have this incredible power within your own mind to change any negative belief – hypnosis is a way to access this power and make it your reality!