“Fake it till you make it” I love this saying. By doing so, you can rewire your neural pathways for lasting positive personal change. What’s not to love about that?! NLP, Hypnotherapy and Thought Field Therapy has effective and powerful techniques to achieve these positive outcomes. I am going to share some with you below.
Perhaps you want to up your confidence, or feel more positive, maybe more focused or calmer? Here are some of the ways you can build these neural pathways to embed internal strategies and behaviours that after a while become habitual.
Become a mimic.
Try studying and adopting the subtle mannerisms of those people you notice display the behaviours you are aiming for. (NLP calls this modelling). Over time this helps you to become that version of you. It may feel like acting at first. But soon enough, you’ll find yourself with a new positive habitual way of behaving and feeling. Whether it is someone in the public eye who is your hero for the changes you are trying to achieve, or perhaps it’s your best buddy? Just study how they carry themselves, their posture, how they interact, the language they use and how they even breathe, and try on some or all those subtle behaviours for size. Then adapt them to work for you. This gives your mind more flexibility and choice of how to feel and behave in more situations.
A successful comic impersonator does not look like the person they are impersonating. However immediately we know who they are portraying by recognising their unique behaviours – they way they speak, the look on their faces, the posture – and many more subtleties.
Mind your language!
By consciously choosing positive language and behaviours, we influence our thoughts and emotions in profound ways. This is also true of our internal language. Being mindful of our internal dialogue, changing the negative dialogue to a supportive influence, encourages positive outcomes. As Henry Ford said “If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right.”
Being our own mentor is very empowering! An internal dialogue’s emphasis to help you to achieve rather than stopping you from failing – is surely enticing and compelling. Both ways may motivate you in life towards your goal, but I know which strategy I find is more attractive and supportive. I can help you to set up your internal supportive strategies and reset for your positive personal change. Schedule an exploratory video chat. No fee and no obligation.
Tap into the power of your imagination.
At the start of a ‘Faking it’ journey, and regularly during the process of change, imagine, project and enjoy how your future self will be. Jump to the moment you can see, feel, and hear you are that more positive, or confident, focused or calmer selves. By investing our senses and energy this way, we are not only imagining the change, but giving the journey some legs.
Taking that time to feed our mind with how it looks, feels, and sounds to be that future version of ourselves, imprints that reality in our mind. Neural pathways are formed, deepened, and established and your mind gets the message! If you ever watch a kicker in a rugby match going for the goal posts, you will see almost all of them scribing the path the ball will take over the posts – before they even kick the ball. They give their minds the detailed experience of successfully conducting the task, and the mind responds! Helping the body to react in the way it needs to get that ball over the post.
These are just a few of the ways how ‘Faking it till you make it works!’ Essentially, it’s about consciously choosing the path towards positive change. And then after a while those behaviours and thoughts become unconscious and are part of you. A positive NLP, Hypnotherapy and TFT change coach can help you on your path. Check out Thoughts Matter blog and facebook for more wellbeing tips.
Have you tried any of these techniques? Share the good stuff in the comments below.