Often times when someone first starts using hypnosis in their lives it is because they have reached a stumbling block in their attempt to create lasting change.  I often hear things like, " A part of me really wants to do this, and part of me doesn't."  Or, " I do really good at dieting for awhile, then a part of me takes over and I am back eating the wrong foods again."

More often then not, these clients feel that they lack the willpower, discipline and internal strength to create a lasting and permanent change within themselves. The one thing I have discovered over and over again is that they are not lacking in any those areas.  Where the main issue lies is in the ability to understand our make-up as human beings and how our mind works for us.

One common aspect about most of us is the fact that we really do not like being told what to do.  Now the real funny thing is that not only do we not like being told what to do when it comes from another person, but we don't care to much for it when it comes from our-self either.

You see your subconscious mind is like a large library, or the biggest computer in the world.  It remembers everything that you have seen, heard, smelled, touched, read about or experienced from the very start of your existence.  Now imagine if you had to consciously sort through that huge bank of knowledge every second of everyday before you could make a decision.  You would never get anything done.

Fortunately for us not only is our subconscious the biggest storehouse of information around , it is also the fastest processor of information in the universe.

Our resistance to being told what to do is stored into the subconscious, as well as how we will typically react and rebel against it.  Most people develop this resistance when they are very young, so it has been stored into the subconscious for a very, long time..

When we consciously make a decision that we are going to lose weight, or quit smoking, or reduce stress, or make any major change in our life, the decision itself may be a good one.  But its how we present that decision to our self that makes all the difference in the world to our success in changing.

Unlike your conscious mind which can be easily coerced into change by the environment you live in, the subconscious is pretty steadfast.  It is old reliable.  It draws upon information that has proven the test of time, information that your actions, thoughts and feelings have fed into it throughout your lifetime. 

Grant it the information may be outdated, that's true.  However if you are the type of person who is resistant to being told what to do, then even updating the information in your subconscious can be a complicated thing to do.

One of the reasons for this is because we live in a very fast moving society.  We have learned that if we want something we can typically get it quite fast, and for most of us that is how we want everything..fast. 

We want to lose weight but we want to see results right away.  If we don't then we tend to give up on that diet and try another. 

We want to move faster and change faster then our subconscious mind can accept.  You see, your subconscious learns from repetitive actions. It learns by what works for you and what does not work for you. So for example: if your the type of person that switches from one diet to the next, then the only thing you are teaching your subconscious mind is that dieting does not work for you. So it resists the idea of dieting.

We usually develop bad habits because of repetitive action so it takes repetitive action to change those habits.

Generally we also have a way of rationalizing our bad habits, and we have fed that to our subconscious as well.  Things like, eating makes me feel good, I feel comforted when I am eating, I eat because I am bored, I smoke because it helps me deal with stress, and the list of rationalizations goes on and on. Once these rationalizations are embedded into your subconscious they also become a part of your automatic responses.

Here is an example of how these embedded patterns in  our subconscious play out. 

You decide your going to go on a diet, your feeling heavy and your clothes are not fitting as well as they should.  Now as with all diets we realize that there are certain foods and times of the day that we have to refrain from eating.  So we start saying things to our self like, I can't eat candy, I can't snack after 7pm, I can't eat that gravy with my potatoes anymore,etc.

When you become focused on losing weight and that is your major concern, the more you think about weight the more your subconscious mind will help you get that weight.  The subconscious does not think or rationalize negatives, so losing weight becomes weight to the subconscious. 

Another thing is when you are resistant to being told what to do and now all of a sudden you are saying things to yourself like I can't have that candy bar, or I can't have that piece of cake, your subconscious will resist you.  Basically for two reasons, one you are using words like can't, don't, won't that your subconscious does not process, and two you are demanding that this be done without defining and outlining any type of reward.  So in essence you are ordering yourself to go on this diet.

Another problem arises when you find yourself in one of those situations that you have continually used to rationalize why your eating habits or behaviours are out of control.  I eat because I feel stressed, I eat out of boredom.  Your subconscious has stored these as triggers to eat, so even though consciously you want to diet, when you find yourself bored your subconscious will send a message to you , Its time to Eat!  You may resist this signal at first but the more bored you become the more the signal will increase until finally you give in.