There’s a fun little saying: “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.” That’s so true, especially with ways of thinking or mental ruts. You get into a groove, or a trap, and that’s it, you’re stuck. This can be so limiting, and there’s no reason for it.
Today I’m going to give you a simple little imagination exercise which will help you in breaking out of that box, those mental ruts. It’s a new way of seeing, which will increase your flexibility and power. It’s the magic of “as if.”
Think about a problem you’re experiencing. Maybe your problem begins with the words: “I can’t do x…” Imagine now, what if you could? Imagine yourself 6 months down the road, as if, miraculously, the problem is totally resolved. Ask yourself: “What would things be like if they were different?” Mentally, we’re going to reach into an alternate reality and pluck out one you’d like better.
This is May and I want you to imagine that it is now October and you’ve made all the changes in your life that you could only dream about back then. You’ve lost the weight. You’ve let go of that negative emotion surrounding that relationship. You’ve broken through the block to advancing your career. Whatever it is that you want, think about it AS IF you have it now. You’re in October. You have all the solutions, behaviors, responses, and they’re fully integrated into your life. What’s it like to have the wonderful change you wanted back then? How does it look? How does it feel? How are you acting?
Feels good, right?!!
Now look back at the preceeding 6 months. What did you do to get here? What steps, what preparatory changes and adjustments did you make to accomplish this? What obstacles or problems did you encounter, and what did you do to overcome them? Because you did overcome them. Creatively. Powerfully.
This simple act of imagining possible worlds, the world of your success in particular, helps you break out of the “I can’t” pattern. You’ve now set your unconscious mind on the search for insights, resources, and ideas to move you forward positively. Enjoy the ride!
Copyright© Connie Brannan, CHt, & Licensed Trainer of NLP®, 2008
